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This month's dispatch from the leading edge of offshore wind, wave and tidal innovation - delivered straight to your inbox.

 

Catapult cuts ribbon on Chinese research centre

Tus-ORE Catapult Research Centre opening ceremony

Catapult CEO Andrew Jamieson (second left) at the TORC opening ceremony.

The Catapult has officially opened a £2m offshore wind research centre in China in collaboration with TUS Clean Energy.

The TUS-ORE Catapult Research Centre (TORC) in Yantai City will act as a leading renewable energy technology research and development facility with unique links into both the UK and China, to support the growth of their respective offshore wind industries. The Centre will develop collaborative research programmes, support market entry and incubation for UK businesses in China, provide commercial support for Chinese offshore wind developers, and support the demonstration of new technologies on a 300MW wind farm in the Shandong Province.

Catapult Chief Executive Andrew Jamieson said the Centre will support UK businesses as they engage with one of the fastest-growing offshore wind markets in the world. "With more than a decade of experience and expertise in this sector, and global exports expected to be worth £2.6bn a year by 2030 for UK companies, now is the time for innovative companies to act and establish themselves at the heart of the Chinese market," he said.

 

Read the full story on our website

Data and digital technologies underused in offshore wind, says Catapult survey

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A Catapult-commissioned survey has found that more needs to be done when it comes to adopting and sharing new data and digital technologies in offshore wind.

 

The Digital Innovation Priorities Survey was launched with the aim of identifying the biggest digital challenges currently facing the industry. Almost all participants who took part in the research (94%) said there is a gap between the way in which the offshore wind industry currently operates, and how it should be operating in order to extract the full value from data and digital technologies. One third of the respondents (31%) also admitted to having a low or very low understanding of data and its potential for the sector.

 

“Data owners are struggling with volume, modern digital technologies are not being exploited to process and analyse data, and many digital service providers are lacking awareness of the industry,” said Dr Conaill Soraghan, the Catapult’s Data & Digitalisation team leader.

 

“Concepts and techniques in areas such as big data and artificial intelligence are yet to have an impact in offshore wind, and that’s something that needs to change if the sector is to embrace a more cost-effective future.”

Read the full story on our website

Sector Deal announced for offshore wind

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The Sector Deal puts offshore wind at the heart of the nation's future clean energy system.

 

The offshore wind industry welcomed the launch of the Sector Deal in March.

The agreement, which will help to create tens of thousands of highly-skilled jobs across the UK and attract billions of pounds in investment, puts offshore wind at the heart of the UK's future clean energy system. Capacity is set to almost quadruple to 30GW by 2030.

The Sector Deal builds on the UK's success in offshore wind. That will be maintained thanks in part to an an investment of up to £100m in a new industry programme, the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership, to be launched by the Catapult later in 2019. It will help UK companies seeking to grow their business in the rapidly-growing global offshore wind market, as well as a new initiative to develop skills for the sector.

OWGP Non-Executive Director Recruitment

The OWGP is seeking to recruit three Non-Executive Directors who have a passion for growing UK businesses and want to play a key role in building on the UK offshore wind success story. To find out more about the role and apply, contact Carolyn Emmerson at the Catapult before 12 April.

 

Find out more   on our website

 

Hear from robotics and autonomous systems experts at IMechE seminar 

ATAM Group blade inspection device at Blyth
Catapult engineer Tony Fong examines a robotic inspection system.
 

Despite the remarkable advances made in robotics and autonomous systems in recent years, the industry still faces an uphill challenge to realise their ultimate potential in offshore wind O&M.

This IMechE event in May is bringing together leading organisations to explore the cutting edge of developments in the sector, and how the engineering challenges around robotics and autonomous systems can be addressed. The Catapult's resident robotics expert Tony Fong will be discussing the application of robotics in offshore wind, alongside representative from Catapult collaborators like Rovco, Cyberhawk, and ASV Global.

Book your place belowread IMechE's interview with Tony here, and download our Analysis & Insight paper, Autonomous Systems in O&M: Removing the Barriers to BVLOS here.

Register your  place now

O&M Case Studies turn focus onto game-changing robotic tech

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UAV inspection technology in action.
 
The latest papers in the Catapult's O&M Case Studies series focus on game-changing robotics and autonomous technology .
 
The series sheds light on the strategies used to solve some of the offshore wind industry's most pressing maintenance challenges. 
 
In Autonomous Systems for Bathymetry Surveys, Alistair Lee details Bibby HydroMap's successful survey of four turbines and three inter-array cables at Gwynt y Môr– the first bathymetry survey carried out by an autonomous surface vessel at a UK wind farm.

And in UAV Approaches to Turbine Inspection, Craig Stout and David Thompson lift the lid on the unmanned inspection process  using actionable, operational insight from Cyberhawk, one of the wind industry's leading inspection service providers.

Also new in Analysis & Insight this month was Driving Cross-Sector Innovation in Offshore Wind, Alex Louden's exploration of the synergies between offshore wind, oil and gas, and aerospace and defence, with insight into the strategies behind mission-led and open innovation.

Download the papers today, and get ahead of the game with insider advice on the most innovative O&M strategies in the sector.

Download the new  O&M Case Studies

 Scotland's energy expertise can put it at the forefront of renewables revolution, says supply chain guru

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The Catapult's Innovation Manager Claire Canning. 

With the Sector Deal forecasting a global offshore wind market worth £30bn by 2030, 27000 jobs, a diversity target of 33% women employees, and exports worth £2.6bn a year, it has never been more important for Scottish companies to diversify and galvanise their performance to ensure they grab a slice of this lucrative prize.
 

And ORE Catapult's Innovation Manager Claire Canning says that the country's world-leading expertise in oil and gas can make it a global leader in the energy sector.

In a new blog for the Catapult, Claire says that "it has never been more important for Scottish companies to establish a firm foothold in this increasingly competitive landscape. We have a real opportunity to cement the country’s reputation as a frontrunner in renewable energy generation."

 

With 8GW of installed offshore wind deployed or in planning, the sector is on track to provide half of the 17GW renewables capacity needed to meet Holyrood's 50% green energy target by 2030. Cross-sector collaboration and technology transfer will be key to maximising Scotland's share of the opportunity, says Claire.

 

"We are already working with several companies to transfer their skills, experience and technology to the offshore renewables market in ways that, as newcomers to the sector, they might not have previously considered," she says, highlighting Fit for Offshore Renewables as just one example of the Catapult helping the Scottish supply chain get ready to bid for work in the sector.

Read Claire's blog and find out more about Scotland's opportunities in the renewables sector below.

 

Read the full blog   on our website

 

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410 SMEs Supported // 628 Industry Collaborations // 301 Academic Collaborations // The UK's leading technology innovation centre for offshore renewable energy