The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has released its latest development grant funding call.
Up for grabs is £3.5m (€4.1m) for UK businesses looking to accelerate their growth in the offshore wind supply chain.
The grants can be used as capital or operational expenditure in projects that will unlock significant growth potential in UK content, jobs and export opportunities within the offshore wind sector.
Grants of up to £1m are available, to cover up to 50% of the total project budget.
Development grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, with successful proposals demonstrating a long-term business plan and a clear ambition for growth in the sector, OWGP said.
OWGP programme director Andrew Macdonald said: “Today’s announcement of this latest pot of funding from OWGP is a huge opportunity for UK businesses to achieve a step change in growth within the UK’s offshore wind market and beyond.
“To date, OWGP has invested more than £6m into offshore wind supply chain projects which is already resulting in significant contract wins and trade for some companies in our previous funding cohorts.
“We continue to seek ambitious, high growth companies that are either already active in offshore wind or looking to transition from other sectors.”
OWGP has also revealed the seven companies successful in securing a portion of the £3.5m funding pot released in May 2021.
JET Engineering Systems Solutions, Sulmara Subsea, Pict Offshore, Anakata Wind Power Resources, DFS Composites, James Walker & Company and Granada Material Handling have all been awarded grants.
The successful projects have a key focus on improving capability, increasing competitiveness, and driving forward business growth within the offshore wind sector.
Anakata Wind Power Resources chief executive Huw Griffiths said: “Anakata are delighted to have been awarded funding from OWGP for the development of our 3D SuperAero Tip Booster for offshore wind turbine blades – an innovation that will improve revenues through additional energy capture as well as significantly reduce costs by tackling leading edge erosion and reducing fatigue loads on the blades.
“The support from OWGP will accelerate product development and deliver a market-ready solution to advance the performance of existing blades and new blade designs.”
OWGP plays a key role in delivery of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal and is funded by members of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), with a budget of £100m over ten years.
The programme, delivered by ORE Catapult, supports the growth of UK businesses looking to capitalise on the huge opportunities offered by the global offshore wind sector.