INDUSTRY NEWS Powering Next Generation Technology For
Offshore Wind Innovation • Innovate UK is supporting high potential innovators with a coordinated set of offshore wind innovation initiatives spanning technology development, business acceleration and industrial-scale innovation capability.
• The package includes an initial £10 million Offshore Wind Innovation Programme competition, a new £5m Wind Innovation Hub incorporating a £2 million accelerator fund, and support for phase one of NCC’s Large Structures Innovation Centre (LSIC), backed by £10 million from Innovate UK alongside a further £2 million from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
• Together, the initiatives aim to accelerate the best UK innovators into growing domestic and global supply chains and help maintain the UK’s global leadership in offshore wind.
Offshore Wind Innovation Programme A key element of the package is the recently launched Offshore Wind Innovation Programme, supporting high-potential businesses to develop new technologies, scale their businesses and compete internationally.
Innovate UK has committed an initial £10 million through the programme’s first competition,
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• Future electrical systems and cables
• Smart environmental services innovation in installation, operations and maintenance.
Wind Innovation Hub Complementing the programme is a new £5 million Wind Innovation Hub, which will bring together industry, government and innovators to better align offshore wind research, development and commercialisation activity across the UK.
As part of the hub, a new Innovation Accelerator fund will provide up to £2 million of targeted technical support to high-growth companies entering or operating in the offshore wind sector, helping companies move more quickly from innovation to commercial deployment.
with successful projects due to be announced later this year.
The programme focuses on key technology areas identified within the Industrial Growth Plan for Offshore Wind as representing the biggest opportunity for the UK, including:
• Advanced turbine technology
• Next-generation foundations and substructures
NCC’s Large Structures Innovation Centre The package also includes support for phase one of NCC’s Large Structures Innovation Centre (LSIC), with Innovate UK investing £10 million alongside a further £2 million from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Based on the Isle of Wight, the open- access facility will enable industry to design, develop and de-risk next- generation manufacturing methods for large structures at full industrial scale, starting with wind energy.
Vestas has been announced as the centre’s first industry launch partner, deepening its collaboration with NCC on sustainable blade innovation.
LSIC strengthens the UK’s ability to build, retain and grow capability in essential clean energy supply chains, helping ensure that innovation developed in the UK is also manufactured and deployed in the UK.
Funded by Innovate UK and delivered through a partnership between the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, led by NCC and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), the hub will provide a national platform for offshore wind innovation and scale-up.
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