Fifteen UK businesses have secured a share of £2 million Innovation Grant funding from the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP). The selected companies will be supported by OWGP on projects that could improve the reliability of offshore wind and help decarbonise its operations.

In addition, OWGP is launching a separate £2 million Development Grant today (Wednesday), which provides up to £500k for UK applicants that can demonstrate significant growth potential in the offshore wind sector.

OWGP is a long-term business transformation programme established in 2019 to grow the UK’s offshore wind supply chain. Funding and structured business support programmes from the OWGP have led to the commercialisation of UK products, contract wins and exports for successful participants who want to establish or further develop their offering for the offshore wind market.   

The 15 projects to secure funding from the latest Innovation Grant focussed specifically on the challenges of reliability and decarbonisation. These projects will work towards a range of commercial solutions, including:

• Charging stations for electric vessels operating offshore, reducing the need for diesel-powered craft.
• Software to accurately predict weather conditions at sea, improving the safety and efficiency of offshore wind farm/s.
• Robots and remotely operated vehicles to inspect and analyse wind turbines, improving safety for offshore workers and diagnosing faults faster.

OWGP’s funding competitions and business transformation programmes are funded by members of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) and delivered by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The latest Innovation Grant has been championed by leading three major developers with global offshore wind portfolios – Equinor, Ocean Winds and ScottishPower Renewables.

Sophie Banham, Offtake Director for Dogger Bank D Wind Farm at Equinor, and vice-Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, said:
"The diversity of organisations that came forward for the OWGP’s latest competition showcases the ability of the UK’s supply chain to support the growth of wind power. The outputs of the latest Innovation Grant could lead to new technologies emerging in the UK that address some critical challenges facing the sector.

"Innovators across the UK supply chain are already helping industry progress with wind farms like our Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North East, as well as numerous other UK wind farm developments. Thanks to the work of organisations like OWGP, the supply chain and offshore wind developers have even more opportunities to work together on world-leading renewable energy projects – bringing forward new ideas and expertise to deliver them.”

The newly launched OWGP Development Grants of up to £500k per project are open to UK applicants until 21 July 2023.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, visit https://owgp.org.uk/about/grant-funding/ 

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: ORE Catapult   l   Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP)