EMEC was established in 2003 by a grouping of public sector organisations following a recommendation by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in 2001.

To balance the fluctuating tidal power and supply the 670 kW hydrogen electrolyser, a 1.8 MWh vanadium redox battery was installed in 2022.

These non-grid-connected test sites, situated at Shapinsay Sound and Scapa Flow, provide a more flexible sea space for use by smaller-scale technologies, supply chain companies, and equipment manufacturers.

Such accessible real-sea testing enables marine energy developers and suppliers to learn lessons more cheaply by reducing the need for big vessels or large plants.

Bespoke test support buoys allow developers to dissipate the electricity generated by their devices in an environmentally conscious way while transferring wave and tidal data back to the control centre.

For most developers coming to deploy at EMEC, installation at these facilities will be the first time their device has been in the open sea and grid connected.

Therefore, whilst the central purpose of EMEC is to provide an operational test facility, there is also a key role in establishing and facilitating monitoring of devices in relation to their impacts on the receiving environment.

The main driver to this has been through the consenting process, which requires developers to consider environmental issues prior to testing at EMEC and to mitigate against any potential for negative impact.

The involvement within the research field has led EMEC to occupy a unique position, having links with a range of different developers and devices, as well as academic institutions and regulatory bodies.

Producing hydrogen and using it as an energy storage medium is a solution to overcome local grid constraints, enabling large scale renewable integration.

[citation needed] In 2016, EMEC installed a 0.5 MW rapid response PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser in the laydown area adjacent to the substation to produce ‘green’ hydrogen from excess renewable energy produced by tidal energy converters testing at the Fall of Warness and from the 900 kW Eday community wind turbine.