Jul 22 2020
The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) is launching a new £2m package of funding and business support activities for the UK offshore wind supply chain.
Galloper offshore wind farm (Credit: innogy)
The package includes two new funding calls totalling £600k, as well as intensive business transformation support activities through the £1.5m Sharing in Growth Programme.
The OWGP is a key part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal between industry and the UK Government and is funded by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), with a budget of £100m over ten years. The programme supports the growth of UK businesses looking to capitalise on the huge opportunities offered by the global offshore wind sector. A new tranche of funding from OWIC members has enabled these new programmes, which will form part of the UK’s green economic recovery following the global Covid-19 health pandemic.
The two new funding calls include:
- A cross-sector call that aims to bring technology and companies from other sectors into offshore wind.
- An open call, which provides a wider opportunity for UK companies already working in the offshore wind sector to grow market share through increased competitiveness and development of new products or services.
In addition, expressions of interest to participate in the Sharing in Growth programme will open in August. The Sharing in Growth programme has been highly successful in the aerospace sector, and up to £1.5m will be used to deliver a similar, high-value programme to up to ten supply chain companies in the next 12 months.
This new round of funding builds on the success of the pilot funding calls in January 2020, which saw seven supply chain companies share £400k in projects to drive cost reduction from advanced manufacturing techniques and develop advanced sensors and communications solutions for offshore wind.
Martin Whitmarsh, Chair of the OWGP, said: “The offshore wind sector has shown remarkable resilience to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK has a fantastic opportunity to use this as a springboard to a green economic recovery. Many engineering sectors have been badly hit by the pandemic and support from OWGP can ensure that the best of UK engineering from all industries can develop UK IP in a sector that is set for strong global growth.”
OWIC Sponsor for the OWGP and vice president for the Dogger Bank Development at Equinor, Halfdan Brustad, said: “The OWGP is a key part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, supporting the industry’s ambitions to increase UK content and competitiveness in the offshore wind supply chain. It’s fantastic to see the next round of funding from the OWGP being made available to support these growth ambitions. The Sharing in Growth programme and the new calls each offer excellent opportunities for suppliers to access support that can help them capitalise on the growth of the UK and global offshore wind markets. OWIC has huge expectations from the OWGP and looks forward to seeing the projects that come through these programmes and how they may be applied to UK offshore wind farms.”