The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) is launching 16 new research and development (R&D) projects this year.
They span five areas of logistics and operations and maintenance, cables, electrical systems, foundations, yield and performance.
Tenders for each will be available to apply for this month through the Carbon Trust’s website.
One upcoming project will conduct research looking at the impact of climate change on offshore wind resource.
Research has already been conducted into the impact of climate change on global wind patterns, but this new project will enable wind farm owners to have a better understanding of the future impacts on local wind resource, OWA said.
Another will look at ways of reducing the emissions associated with installation and operations of offshore wind farms.
Hybrid electric vessels, and even full emission-free vessels, are becoming more common, but the charging infrastructure is not widely available for offshore farms.
The OWA is developing a new industry standard for charging vessels offshore and will extend this work to accelerate deployment of charging infrastructure within ports.
Carbon Trust director for offshore wind Jan Matthiesen said: “This new round of 16 projects announced by the OWA will conduct critical research, which aims to generate knowledge to increase the pace and scale of industrialisation of the offshore wind sector globally.
“These findings are needed now more than ever to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, which will be key to achieving Net Zero targets and increasing energy security.
“In recent years, offshore wind has proven its maturity with drastic cost reductions and a rapid pace of deployment.
“The sector now faces a new challenge to scale up to meet the increased ambitions across global markets.
“This will require new innovations and methods to support this unprecedented level of industrialisation and collaboration will be key to achieving success.”