PLOCAN, an Off-shore environmentally sustainable infrastructure to accelerate ocean research, development and innovation at increasing depths.

Abstract

The Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (PLOCAN) is a public infrastructure for research, development and innovation in the fields of ocean science and technology at increasing depths. Located East of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands, Spain), PLOCAN will provide rapid access to great depths at short distance from the shore, accelerating research and the generation of water column and deep-ocean knowledge. Specifically, PLOCAN will host a permanent deep-sea observatory, be a test-bed for innovative technologies, form specialists and provide training in the field and be a national base of manned and unmanned submersibles. PLOCAN’s vision is focused on generation and exchange of science and innovations between the academic and the socio-economic spheres. PLOCAN will be a fully instrumented gate to the deep ocean, an efficient and cost-effective solution to test products and processes , and cluster private and public partnerships to face undersea challenges. Two years ahead of the planned official opening and start of operations, the academic world, entrepreneurs and corporations have already started to submit proposals to be included in the science and technology agenda. Activities will be essentially multidisciplinary, ranging from renewable energies, aquaculture, ocean observing fixed systems and submersibles, to biosciences and emerging technologies such as new materials and nanotechnologies. PLOCAN’s vision is to be a true accelerator for marine and deep-sea research and development, with optimal conditions and full environmental guarantees