MIMRee explores the future of offshore wind O&M

A new £4m cross-sector innovation project is set to develop the world's first fully-autonomous robotic inspection and repair solution for offshore wind farms, which is expected to save the average wind farm approximately £26m over the course of its lifetime.

The two-year, Innovate UK-funded MIMRee project will bring together a plethora of knowledge and expertise from multiple industries in order to prove that offshore wind operations and maintenance missions can be conducted autonomously. The Catapult will provide offshore wind industry insight, engineering expertise and access to facilities to test and demonstrate the MIMRee system.

"This project... will position the UK as a world leader in robotics and autonomous systems development," said Chris Hill, the Catapult's Operational Performance Director, "as well as highlight a route to market for innovators in robotics, data, and digitalisation services."

Digitalisation up for discussion at Catapult masterclass

Join ORE Catapult and Teesside University at our next Future of Energy Systems Masterclass, which explores the increasing importance of digitalisation in the energy sector as well as the business support services on offer.

Digitalisation and decentralisation are bringing about rapid change for the sector, with new technologies, business models and social preferences also playing a role. Our panel of expert speakers, including representatives from the Catapult, Transmission Dynamics and Teesside University, will discuss smart robotics and artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance, digital twins, and energy system management and testing before a drop-in session and an overview of the support the Catapult can provide to innovative companies.

This particular masterclass is ideal for companies and academic institutions interested in data analytics, energy storage, energy suppliers, renewable technologies and robotics.

O&M Case Studies shine light on new strategies

The latest papers in the O&M Case Studies series focus on game-changing digital approaches that could bring significant benefits for offshore wind owner/operators.

The series sheds light on the strategies used to solve some of the offshore wind industry's most pressing maintenance challenges.

In Inspection Management Tools: Improving Safety, Efficiency and Compliance, Roberts Proskovics and Craig Stout run the rule over Papertrail's digital inspection management system and the time, cost, and health and safety benefits it offers.

And in Analysing Turbine Stop Events: Enabling Better O&M Decision-Making, Alistair Lee highlights the benefits of a structured, thorough approach to analysing turbine stop events and the significant added value this could bring.

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

EnFAIT project cuts cost of tidal energy by 15%

The EnFAIT project, led by Scottish tidal energy company Nova Innovation, aims to showcase the development, operation and decommissioning of the world’s largest tidal array over a five-year period to prove a cost reduction pathway for tidal energy. Only 18 months into the project, we can get a sense of just how successful it will be, both locally and European-wide.

After just 18 months, EnFAIT has reduced the cost of tidal energy by 15%, highlighting the project is on track to exceed the 40% cost reduction forecast by 2020. Additionally, the project has enabled the growth of its supply chain from four to 14 countries throughout Europe, which includes 60 Scottish companies, exemplifying the economic case for local tidal energy production.

In other news, ORE Catapult is working on the three-year ELEMENT project from June 2019, which will use Artificial Intelligence to improve tidal turbine performance and accelerate the commercialisation of tidal energy. The ELEMENT project looks to adapt Artificial Intelligence technology from wind energy into tidal turbines to deliver a control system that improves turbine performance. In doing so, it will slash the lifetime cost of energy by 17% and drive the tidal energy sector to commercial reality.

Tidal tech boosted by cross-Atlantic collaboration

The success of Future Proof, our recent collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada, led to an agreement that will see our organisations work on launching eight cross-border projects to advance marine energy technology.

The plans were formalised this month by NRC President Iain Stewart and our Research Director Stephen Wyatt, and will see collaboration on technology testing, autonomous vessels and artificial intelligence.

Synaptec secures £2m investment

The Catapult has been working with Synaptec, a highly-innovative company based in the centre of Glasgow. It has developed a remote fault detection technology that can reduce the time it takes to identify faulted cables from days to milliseconds.

Recognising the huge export potential for their technology, Synaptec joined ORE Catapult in China in March on the Innovate UK-sponsored "Global Business Innovation Programme Offshore Wind Mission" and attended the opening of our TUS-ORE Catapult Research Centre (TORC) in Yantai. TORC was able to introduce a host of practical discussions for Synaptec with a number of potential customers and we are now working together on how to engage cost effectively in this market.

We also introduced Synaptec to Foresight Williams EIS Fund, which subsequently invested £2m in the Scottish tech company. The funding will be used to scale-up production, grow international sales and exploit future data analytics opportunities.

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