Will Bateman, the brains behind the Ccell wave energy project, believes we have been there before - and lost out. The comparison he makes is with Denmark and the development of wind turbines. The Danish suppliers co-operated, they shared results and learned from each others mistakes, and now they are the dominant force in the maturing wind energy market.
Bateman believes that it is difficult to even get accurate performance figures from other developers of wave energy products, which at least would define what are the worthwhile development paths. While Bateman commends the efforts of the Government agencies - particularly Innovate UK - he does not think the necessary spirit of co-operation exists between his peers. Without it the danger is that another potential industry may be lost overseas.
Competition is always critical, but are there times when co-operation could be just as constructive.
