Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster

Management

Director – Dr. Valerie Cummins

Lt Mike Brunicardi, IMERC Navy Strategic Co-ordinator.

Activity

Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) promotes Ireland as a world-renowned research and development location, that will unlock Ireland’s maritime and energy potential. IMERC aims to harness and integrate diverse research and industry expertise. The IMERC initiative comes at the dawn of a new era for maritime Ireland, stimulated by the growing realisation of the economic opportunities around maritime and energy, and in particular with regard to marine renewables.

Strategy

Across Europe and particularly in Ireland, public bodies are being challenged to do everything within their power to foster job creation. Three Irish public bodies University College Cork, the Cork Institute of Technology, and the Irish Naval Service have embarked on a bottom-up approach to public sector transformation. This is being achieved via reorganisation within the respective organisations, and via strategic collaboration across them.  This tripartite alliance, which forms the core of IMERC, is working to provide researchers, technology developers, companies (especially SMEs) and investors with the critical tools to build value creating relationships, to make alliances and supporting infrastructure more accessible and effective in the maritime and energy sectors.

Aim

IMERC aims to harness and integrate diverse research and industry expertise into an innovation cluster. This ecosystem of innovation supports job creation in a unique cluster and campus location. Launched in March 2010, specific targets for IMERC are for 70 new research jobs by 2014, five companies incorporated by 2015, and two foreign direct investment clients secured by 2016.

Vision Statement

The IMERC vision is to promote Ireland as a world-renowned research and development location, that unlocks Ireland’s maritime and energy potential.