The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) strengthened its institutional ties with France during a meeting held at its headquarters, attended by the French Ambassador to Spain, Kareen Rispal, alongside the Consul General of France in Madrid, Nathalie Berthy, and the Honorary Consul of France in Las Palmas, Pedro Diebra.
During the meeting, the Director presented the delegation with an overview of PLOCAN’s mission, capabilities and strategic priorities, highlighting its role as a leading scientific and technological infrastructure for the development of ocean innovation, the advancement of marine technologies, and international cooperation in the Atlantic domain.
The presentation addressed PLOCAN’s main areas of activity, focused on the development and validation of technologies aimed at marine environment observation, maritime security, advanced sensing, and applied robotics. Among other capabilities, its expertise in underwater acoustics was highlighted, as well as the potential of technological solutions such as subsea cables to enhance environmental monitoring and ocean knowledge.
PLOCAN’s role as an infrastructure that enables testing under real-world conditions was also emphasised, supporting companies, research centres and institutions in the deployment and assessment of emerging technologies.
The Director underlined the importance of the 23 km² test site as a unique environment for testing offshore wind energy devices and wave energy generation technologies, as well as for developing innovative solutions with direct application. In this context, the strategic value of the Port of Las Palmas and the oceanographic and logistical conditions of the Canary Islands were also highlighted, enabling year-round operability and consolidating the archipelago as an ideal hub for innovation and Atlantic observation.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to share PLOCAN’s future vision, focused on process automation and strengthening the use of data to develop advanced tools such as digital twins, with the aim of enhancing simulation, planning and test validation capabilities in the marine environment.
The visit also served to highlight PLOCAN’s participation in international projects, particularly within European programmes such as Horizon Europe. Collaboration with France was underscored through partnerships with more than thirty scientific and technological institutions and companies.
Following the institutional meeting, the delegation toured PLOCAN’s facilities, including the chemical analysis laboratory, the sensing and acoustics laboratory, the glider laboratory, and the large-structure integration hall, where they were able to learn about the technical and operational capabilities linked to ocean observation and the use of autonomous platforms for long-duration missions.
