The Naval & Maritime Consortium, which launched in Groton in November, is holding its first membership event on Thursday, one largely geared toward networking. It will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the Innovation Partnership Building at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

The consortium is a program of Thames River Innovation Place, a CTNext-funded initiative to spur innovation primarily in Groton and New London.

The consortium has 21 members, including AMK Welding, the construction company Mohawk Northeast Inc. and the autonomous underwater vehicle manufacturer Aquabotix. Members and businesses interested in learning about membership are welcome at the event Thursday.

"It's time now to get to work," program manager Alexandra Halvordson said in a news release. "We have a diverse group of businesses who believe in our mission, and I'm looking forward to growing the Consortium into a regional resource for developing our maritime economy."

Members are primarily small- and mid-sized businesses from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts who want to be involved with offshore wind or with supporting submarine building at Electric Boat.

For more information, contact Halvordson at (860) 949-7474 or a.halvordson@thamesriverinnovation.org.