Support mechanisms according to market maturity and deployment level. Full circles represent technology front-runners; hollow circles represent the general market maturity for each technology.
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Support mechanisms for emerging technologies need to be implemented with adequate timing in view of the market maturity of the technology. While more technology-oriented mechanisms are needed during the first stages of technology development, market-push and market-pull instruments have to come to play at a later stage. Taking into account the current technological status of ocean energy, only leading tidal energy technologies have shown to be at a stage where market push mechanisms could help the uptake of the technology (Figure 10).
The sector is at a critical stage, while market leaders are reaching financial close for the deployment of pre-commercial arrays; securing investment for demonstration and pilot arrays remains one of the main challenges the ocean energy sector currently faces, mainly due to high CAPEX for the first arrays Strategic Initiative for Ocean Energy and Anonymous
. Public funding and financial support for ocean energy technologies is still needed. An overview of the public support mechanisms implemented in EU Member States is presented in Table 2.