The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched a new Innovation Grant funding competition targeted to address offshore wind industry innovation priorities:
- Future Cables and Electrical Systems
- Next Generation Installation and O&M Technologies
OWGP has released its latest Innovation Grants competition, which will see a total of £1 million awarded to successful supply chain companies to develop new products and services for the offshore wind sector. The OWGP Innovation Grant will be supported by offshore wind industry champions Ocean Winds and ScottishPower Renewables who have expressed an interest in the innovation themes.
Innovation Grants between £25k to £200k are available for projects that focus on future cables, electrical systems, next-generation installation and operations & maintenance technologies. The scope of the Innovation Grant call reflects the high growth areas within the Supply Chain Capability Analysis and the recently published Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan, which sets out how the UK can create thousands of jobs in offshore wind manufacturing and billions in economic value over the next decade.
Grants will be available to UK companies which are already active in the offshore wind supply chain or seeking to diversify into the sector. They will be awarded on a competitive basis, with successful proposals demonstrating near-to-market or market ready solutions and a clear ambition for growth in the sector. Eligible applicants can request up to £200k in a single grant application to cover up to 50% of the total project budget.
Daniel Santa Cruz Prego de Oliver, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Director at Ocean Winds, said: “Ocean Winds is thrilled to support again this initiative for progress in the growing offshore wind sector. Now more than ever, as we stand at the heart of the construction phase of 2 GW of offshore wind in the United Kingdom and in France, innovation propels Ocean Winds to secure efficiency and safety in our journey to generating clean energy from offshore wind. This presents an excellent opportunity for us to champion innovation across the sector.”
Angela Angulo, Global Innovation Lead, Offshore Wind Business at Iberdrola said: “ScottishPower Renewables are delighted to champion the latest Innovation Grant from OWGP. Following the launch of the Industrial Growth Plan, this is a great opportunity to support the development of innovative solutions to accelerate the growth of a competitive offshore wind supply chain”
More information on the innovation grants and how to apply can be found here: Innovation Grants – Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (owgp.org.uk)
OWGP will be running a webinar to explain the application process on Thursday 9th May: OWGP 2024 Innovation Grant Webinar Tickets, Thu, May 9, 2024 at 2:00 PM | Eventbrite
Ends
Notes to Editors
The Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan can be read in full here: Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan – 2024 (ymaws.com)
About the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership
The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) is a long-term business transformation programme that has been established as part of the UK Offshore Wind Sector Deal. It promotes closer collaboration across the supply chain, implements structured productivity improvement programmes and facilitates shared growth opportunities between developers and the supply chain.
OWGP has supported 225 UK companies since the organisation’s inception in 2019. There have been over 1400 registrations of interest on the OWGP website, where further information on the Innovation Grants can be found. For more information and to apply for funding or business transformation support, go to https://owgp.org.uk/funding-and-support-opportunities/
With funding from the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), delivery is focused on direct support to supply chain companies through a combination of , business transformation and grant funding. The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult is managing the delivery of OWGP with support from specialist delivery partners.
About the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult
ORE Catapult is the UK’s leading innovation centre for offshore renewable energy, established in 2013 by the UK Government as part of a network of Catapults set up by Innovate UK in high growth industries.
Independent and trusted, with a unique combination of world leading test and demonstration facilities, engineering and research expertise, ORE Catapult convenes the sector, delivering applied research, accelerating technology development, reducing risk and cost, and enhancing UK-wide economic growth.
ORE Catapult operates in Glasgow, Blyth, Levenmouth, Aberdeen, the Humber, the East of England, the South West and Wales.
About the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC)
A senior Government and industry forum, OWIC was established in 2013 to drive the development of the world-leading offshore wind sector in the UK.