Facilities & Areas of Focus
Information about the facilities and capabilities of the Founding Parties relevant to the AARC effort.
PLOCAN offshore facility
A unique testing resource
PLOCAN (Canary Islands, SPAIN)
PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) is a multipurpose service centre with land-based and novel sea-based infrastructures to support research, technology development and innovation. PLOCAN is a member of the BlueTech Cluster Alliance (BTCA).
PLOCAN will focus on:
· Unique offshore facilities and fast approval process for operations
· Training courses geared towards operations (i.e. not university courses)
· PLOCAN and USTL – primary responsibility to coordinate field experiments, establish prices, etc.
· Offer storage, repair and support services when compensated (service when appropriately trained)
AIR Centre signing ceremony
Collaboration at its best
AIR Centre (Azores, PORTUGAL)
AIR Centre (Atlantic International Research Centre) is an international collaborative framework for an integrative approach to space, climate, ocean and energy address global challenges in the Atlantic Ocean.
AIR Centre will focus on:
· Integrate AARC robotics operations into thematic missions to foster knowledge-driven Blue Growth
· Provide initial operational facilities, personnel and funding to manage AARC in start-up phase
· Offer storage, repair and support services when compensated (service when appropriately trained)
Forum Oceano fosters the Portuguese Blue Economy
Supporting companies globally
Forum Oceano (Porto & Lisbon, PORTUGAL)
Forum Oceano is a non-profit recognized as the national Portuguese Maritime Cluster bringing academia, business, government, R&D centres, and other organizations together to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization in the Blue Economy and to promote ocean literacy. It is a member of the BlueTech Cluster Alliance (BTCA).
Forum Oceano will focus on:
· Promote AARC across its network nationally and internationally
· Assist with fund raising
· Provide administrative services and oversight for grants
· Provide meeting locations in Lisbon and Porto
TMA BlueTech runs annual BlueTech Week
Promoting cluster development globally!
TMA BlueTech (TMA)(San Diego, CA, USA)
TMA is a non-profit industry association/organizer for the largest U.S. BlueTech cluster. It’s Mission Statement is “Promoting Sustainable, Science-Based Ocean and Water Industries”. It is a member of the BlueTech Cluster Alliance (BTCA).
TMA will focus on:
· Utilizing extensive national and international network to promote AARC
· Assist with fund raising
· Independent Board member (outside of Portugal and Spain) for AARC