Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has awarded seven UK companies with a total of GPB 364,000 in grant funding through its first funding competition.
Cedeco, Global Energy Group, Magnomatics and W3G Marine were successful in the call to drive cost reduction from advanced manufacturing techniques, whilst Cognitive Business, Sennen Tech and Smart Component Technologies will work to develop advanced sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and communications solutions for offshore wind.
The applications were assessed independently by external experts, with the highest scoring projects selected for grant funding. £364,000 was allocated to seven projects, with £156,000 leveraged in match funding contributions from successful companies, securing UK offshore wind supply chain projects worth £520,000 and due to begin on the 1st February 2020.
Some of the competition winners will work with delivery partners including the National Composite Center (NCC) and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC) to deliver projects including the application of machine learning in renewables fabrication and a robotic welding feasibility study, whilst other projects will tackle remote monitoring of critical fasteners and improving O&M efficiency through better use of data metrics.
Minister of State for Business and Energy Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The UK is a global leader in offshore wind and this funding will help our brilliant supply chain to innovate even further. Renewables are not just good for our climate, but for jobs and the economy as well – with up to 2 million new green-collar jobs by 2030. I look forward to seeing what these companies go on to achieve.”
Andrew Macdonald, OWGP Program Director, said: “This was a very competitive process and we received a high number of quality applications, totaling almost £2 million in project costs, demonstrating the huge opportunities to maximize the economic benefits of our world-leading position in offshore wind. The OWGP is committed to delivering increased productivity and competitiveness that will drive increased UK content into offshore windfarms in the rapidly growing global market, as well as in the UK.”
Halfdan Brustad, OWIC Sponsor for the OWGP, said: “On behalf of OWIC, I am delighted to see these contracts awarded by the OWGP. Utilizing the funding provided by OWIC members, the OWGP has been able to identify an exciting range of projects from UK companies which merit support and investment. Activities undertaken by the OWGP, such as through these Pilot Calls, are important opportunities to support the growth of the UK supply chain and to help us deliver on our ambitions under the Offshore Wind Sector Deal. I look forward to seeing the outputs from all seven companies.”