Global offshore wind leader Orsted has launched its UK and Ireland Innovation Hub as it seeks to inspire fresh solutions in the fight against climate change.
Backed by an initial £500,000 investment, the virtual hub - drawing on talent from its physical bases in Grimsby, London, Edinburgh and Cork - will seek new answers to ongoing challenges. The remit includes how to enhance the contribution of home-grown suppliers in meeting green energy targets, supporting domestic skills development and job creation, integrating substantial amounts of new renewables into the electricity grid and how to best protect and enhance the environment while accelerating renewable energy roll-out.
It is described as providing a “front door” for innovators wanting to work with Orsted and builds on success seen in the US and the Netherlands.
Read more: Grimsby to host world's largest 'living lab' for offshore wind tech development
David Bould, head of UK&IE ventures and open innovation, said: “There are many fantastic start-ups and researchers in the UK and Ireland with important pieces of the jigsaw to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. They all have different parts of the solution and Orsted has the connections, the kit and the access to funding to help them make their innovations a reality. We’re expecting game-changing discoveries to come out of this.”
The company’s largest operations are in the Humber, with a £14 million East Coast Hub and a team of more than 600 looking after the world’s largest offshore wind farms, Hornsea One and Hornsea Two, as well as some of their predecessors.
Examples of the innovative start-ups and early-stage companies with whom Orsted will be working include:
- Spoor, a Norwegian technologically advanced start-up which has built a specially designed artificial intelligence system to monitor and track birdlife around offshore windfarms
- Eleven-I – a start-up company based in Derbyshire that has developed special technology to detect damage to wind turbine blades, reducing disruption to energy supplies meaning more competitive electricity prices.
- Highview Power – a London-based company that has developed a liquid air energy storage technology, helping unleash the full potential of renewable energy by enabling it to be stored and used on-demand
Bill Slatter, chief executive of Glossop-based Eleven-I said: “Buy-in from companies such as Orsted, which is a major developer, and long-term owner and operator, is incredibly important to start-ups such as Eleven-I Not only do they help inform product development but having the world's largest offshore wind developer showing interest in the systems will also show others that such technologies are necessary, making industry wide adoption more likely.”
The Innovation Hub will also support academic research, helping combine Orsted’s existing involvement with universities and research organisations such as the universities of Hull, Sheffield, Durham, Oxford and Aberdeen.
Alongside Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy UK, it has developed ways to make wind turbine generators more efficient, reliable, lighter and cheaper. This included 20 projects and a total budget of £7.6 million.
Dr Arwyn Thomas, principal investigator for A New Partnership in Offshore Wind - the Durham, Sheffield, and Hull collaboration, said: “This unique partnership has clearly demonstrated how collaboration and innovation can really move the industry forward together, by making renewable technologies much more efficient and affordable.”
Read next:
Winners crowned at Humber Renewables Awards 2023
Humber's offshore wind exemplar status toasted
Two new state-of-the-art offshore wind vessels are heading to Grimsby
RenewableUK CEO calls for 'radical reformist approach' if offshore wind is to hit huge targets
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