The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Vattenfall have signed a three-year extension on their testing and demonstration collaboration at the 97MW Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Scotland.
The partnership at the 96.8MW offshore wind test and demonstration facility first began in 2019. Since then, technologies which have the potential to address operation and maintenance challenges currently facing offshore wind farms have been tested at the site, such as blade repair, leading edge erosion, robotics, remote cable monitoring and remote and autonomous inspection.
Now, more companies ready to test their technologies offshore will be supported by ORE Catapult and Vattenfall at the 11-turbine wind farm, 2.5km off the Aberdeen coast, until the end of 2026.
“Extending our collaboration with Vattenfall gives innovative UK companies a unique opportunity to deploy, test and demonstrate their technology in a real-world environment at Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm,” said regional partnership manager at ORE Catapult Hugh Riddell.
“The UK is internationally recognised for technological innovation, but there is a need to fast track the commercialisation of these technologies and boost supply chain opportunities in the years to come.
“De-risking their innovations on an operating offshore wind farm in the north east of Scotland, which is already home to so many innovative engineering companies, will help to accelerate routes to market, increase confidence for potential customers, and further support the growth of offshore wind as part of the race to Net Zero.”
Vattenfall’s UK country manager Lisa Christie added: “As a leading developer of offshore wind, the collaboration between Vattenfall and ORE Catapult at Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm is absolutely vital.
“We are supporting technologies needed to promote a competitive offshore wind industry, strengthen the supply chain, and bring economic benefits to the UK.
“What we offer companies is a world class testing and demonstration facility. Technologies must meet the highest requirements – delivering increased safety in offshore wind operations, minimising impact on the environment, and reducing costs of renewable energy.
“We look forward to continued working with ORE Catapult to provide a test bed for exciting innovations that address the challenges facing offshore wind as we push toward net zero.”