The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched a new £2 million Development Grant competition and announced a combined £3 million in funding awarded to 12 companies from their 2024 funding calls.
OWGP’s Development Grant programme aims to support UK supply chain companies to scale up, significantly strengthening the country’s position in the global offshore wind market with a total funding pot of £2 million.
The grants available will range from £50k to £500k, with applicants eligible to request up to £500k for projects that cover up to 50% of the total budget. The competition is open to both offshore wind sector companies and those outside the industry, provided their projects align with priorities outlined in the Supply Chain Capability Analysis and Industrial Growth Plan.
Funding will be awarded on a competitive basis, with priority given to proposals featuring near-to-market or market-ready solutions, and a clear ambition for growth within the sector.
In 2024, OWGP awarded £3 million in funding to 12 UK-based supply chain companies, helping to drive innovation in line with the Industrial Growth Plan and Supply Chain Capability Analysis. This included £1 million in Innovation Grants, championed by Ocean Winds and ScottishPower Renewables, and £2 million in Development Grants to foster sector growth.
Hutchinson Engineering, Power CSL, RelyOn, Global Greenergy Group, and Oxford Sensors have been awarded Development Grants, while Synaptec, Sedwell Ltd trading as InterBolt, Marine Power Systems, Apollo, Crondall Energy, HonuWorx, and HPR Rov have been awarded funding through the OWGP Innovation Grant.
Melissa Read, Offshore Wind Manager at Equinor and Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) OWGP Board Observer, commented:
“As the UK works towards its ambitious offshore wind capacity targets, the need for a resilient and competitive supply chain has never been greater. OWGP’s Development Grant programme is designed to support this growth, providing financial backing to help businesses scale up.”
Claire Canning, OWGP Programme Manager, stated:
“This funding will be directed toward projects that have the greatest potential to strengthen the UK’s position in the global offshore wind market, aligning with industry priorities and contributing to economic growth, job creation, and sector-wide advancements.
“The success of last year’s funding calls showcases the immense potential within the UK’s offshore wind supply chain, and we look forward to continuing to support the development of transformative projects that will drive the sector forward and empower more companies to achieve their ambitious growth goals.”
Applications for stage one of the Development Grant open today and will close on Friday 28th February.
For further details on eligibility and how to apply for the OWGP Development Grants, please visit OWGP’s website.
Contact Information
| Media Team |
| media@ore.catapult.org.uk |
Notes to editors
For more information contact:
Rhianna Knight-McGrath, Communications Manager at OWGP, rhianna.knight-mcgrath@ore.catapult.org.uk
More detail of the 2024 awarded companies
Development Grant 2024
| Company | Project Title |
| Hutchinson Engineering | Design, manufacture, and assembly of a modular quayside assembly building to enable serial assembly of internal platform structures. |
| Power CSL | Development of next generation array cable field joint / connector for fixed and floating offshore wind farm applications |
| RelyOn | Building of a mobile training unit dedicated to delivering accredited training for the renewable energy sector. |
| Global Greenergy Group | Further development of the Global Greenergy Moonraker Turbine Handling System (THS) which will house, safely secure, hold in transit, move and install partially or fully assembled turbines |
| Oxford Sensors | Further development of Oxford Sensors existing laser vision and control system by extending its proven monopile longitudinal welding for monopile circumferential welding |
Innovation Grant 2024
| Company | Project Title |
| Synaptec | Integrated fiber-optic thermal and electrical cable health (InFoTECH) cable monitoring solution. |
| Sedwell Ltd (T/A InterBolt) | Smart Torque-Tooling – Integrating InterBolt date into a torque tightening tool. |
| Marine Power Systems | Provide costed engineering solutions to an innovative installation methodology for the PelaFlex FLOW Platform. |
| Apollo | Apollo PALM Quick Connection System (QCS) technology – Front end engineering design for deployment onto a full scale floating offshore wind installation. |
| Crondall Energy | SafeMoor – Live online mooring integrity management platform, driving
down CAPEX, OPEX and risk of failure. |
| HonuWorx | Acquiring HonuWorx’s first industrial Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) and supporting test infrastructure to accelerate the development of its core Loggerhead and HonuNet products. |
| HPR ROV | Development of Micro ROV deployment solutions for the offshore wind industry |
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. Recently OWGP was appointed by OWIC to become the Delivery Body for the offshore wind Industrial Growth Plan.
OWGP has supported 255 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 Development 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/
OWGP operates as a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee with funding for its activities provided by the Offshore Wind Industry Council. Delivery is focused on direct support to supply chain companies through a combination of business transformation and grant funding. Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult supports the delivery of OWGP activities through the provision of staffing, administrative and logistical support.