The University of Plymouth has announced a new partnership as part of efforts to boost the UK’s global position within the offshore renewable energy sector.
The institution has agreed to establish a new research accelerator scheme with the government’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, a leading technology innovation centre for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy.
Hosted within the university’s marine building, the collaborative scheme will aim to increase industry access to facilities and expertise and fast-forward the development and deployment of new products and services.
The organisations added the research facility would look to tackle key engineering challenges to the roll-out of new technologies.
Academic researchers, industry and businesses will focus on the hydrodynamics of floating offshore structures, offshore engineering and control systems.
A technology development laboratory will test equipment to optimise structural designs in a bid to reduce future project risk and costs, and increase the competitiveness of offshore renewables compared with other energy sources. A PhD sponsorship scheme will also offer industry the opportunity to collaborate on research.
The ultimate aim is to enhance the resilience of structures and reduce the cost of operations, increasing the competitiveness of offshore renewables compared with other energy sources.
The facilities will also have access to test rigs located across the South West, the real seas trials site Smart Sound Plymouth, and national test facilities operated by ORE Catapult across the UK.
The organisations said the agreement would support a government target to deploy up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, including 5GW provided by floating offshore wind.
Professor Judith Petts, vice-chancellor of the University of Plymouth, said: “Through recent announcements, the government has made it clear that offshore renewables should be one of the main providers of UK energy in the coming decades.
“For that to become a reality, there are a number of engineering challenges that need to be overcome to make the technology fully effective in terms of performance and cost. This collaboration will build on the common research and innovation interests that exist between the University and the ORE Catapult to help meet those challenges.”
ORE Catapult chief executive Andrew Jamieson, said offshore renewable energy would be “the backbone” of the UK’s future energy supply, adding the new initiative would help to create “high-value, sustainable jobs and greater energy security from a stronger and more sustainable domestic energy supply.”
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