Horizon Ocean Mission: Testing-Site Network

Building or expanding a coordinated European network of ocean-technology testing sites — physical offshore and marine facilities, plus digital-twin-based sites built on the EU’s Digital Twin of the Ocean — so companies can test and validate ocean-tech prototypes in real or high-fidelity simulated marine conditions without running their own equipment. The funded coordinator has to map existing sites while accounting for the sensitivity of the marine ecosystems around them, analyse gaps in sites and services such as certification, simulation, prototyping support and environmental-impact assessment, harmonise access policy, governance, data security and IP protection across the network, build in outreach and training for SMEs and startups, and identify joint investment to keep the network’s capacity and services growing.