The Net Zero Technology Centre has confirmed the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and the National Robotarium as consortium partners for the delivery of the Offshore Low Touch Energy Robotics and Autonomous Systems (OLTER) project.
The OLTER project has been allocated £4.5m from the £16.5m Scottish Government Energy Transition Fund awarded to the Net Zero Technology Centre to accelerate energy transition projects that will help deliver Scotland’s net zero economy.
The project, set to be delivered over 36 months, will be match-funded to £9.6m by industry and should position Scotland as an international leader in the development, testing and delivery of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) technologies to support the energy transition.
RAS technologies are rapidly accelerating, becoming smarter and more versatile. The development and deployment of these technologies has the potential to enhance offshore operations through real-time, data-driven decision-making.
The OLTER project funding will provide the test bed and environment necessary to develop RAS concepts and products.
The fundamental aim of the OLTER project is to galvanise industry support to facilitate the development of RAS in a more co-ordinated way across multiple industry sectors and ultimately lead the way for a RAS centre of excellence.
Myrtle Dawes, solution centre director at the Net Zero Technology Centre, commented: “We are delighted to have agreed the consortium partners for the project which, with the support of industry, will play an important role in successfully driving the roll out of RAS technologies within the energy sector.”
Dan Sumner, project development manager for ORE Catapult, said: “We are building a position as a pioneer and expert in this field and the OLTER project will help us to further hone our world-leading expertise.
“The opportunity this presents for Scotland and the UK is significant – across the supply chain we can create jobs, up-skill our energy workforce, build export potential and add value to our economy.”
The National Robotarium, which supports a variety of sectors in developing, testing and applying robotics and artificial intelligence solutions to industry challenges, is progressing research and technology developed by the Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets (ORCA) Hub through OLTER.
Stewart Miller, chief executive of the National Robotarium, said: “Established in 2017, the ORCA Hub has demonstrated both the potential and success of academia and industry collaboration in accelerating the adoption of RAS in offshore energy - achievements to date range from launching tech that can help humans and robots to speak the same language to autonomous drones that can inspect offshore turbines.
“Our facilities will assist with joint working, experimentation, test and validation which all help to demonstrate the significant benefits of RAS.”
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