Last September MARIN launched a new initiative and invited maritime start-ups to have their innovative concepts tested at the Concept Basin of MARIN for free. Six free basin slots were available and more than twenty enterprises applied.

MARIN president Bas Buchner offered a symbolic cheque to the six enterprises that have been selected. Besides the basin time, the offer includes a one day workshop with MARIN Project Managers and Project Engineers representing a value of 40,000 Euros per client.The initiative is launched to stimulate innovation in the Dutch maritime sector and to lower the threshold for MKB (Small & Medium Enterprise) clients to test their new ideas or concepts. These tests allow feasibility checks and improvements in an early phase of a new concept developments (they are not meant as final or formal tests of a design, or for optimisation of existing designs).