A new cross-border collaboration between two of Europe’s leading technology innovation and research organisations is set to benefit industry and academia in the North Sea region by driving innovation in offshore renewable energy.
The Danish national cluster and innovation network for energy production, Energy Innovation Cluster, and the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, will work together to develop a technology roadmap for offshore wind, highlighting innovation and research and development opportunities arising from some of the biggest challenges facing the industry today.
The signing ceremony will take place on Wednesday 27 November at the Wind Europe Offshore Conference in Copenhagen, where Mrs Glenda Napier, CEO of the Energy Innovation Cluster, and Stuart Barnes from ORE Catapult will outline the long-term scope of the agreement and highlight the key initial projects to come from the cooperation agreement.
Chris Hill, ORE Catapult’s Operational Performance Director, said: “The UK has the largest installed offshore wind capacity in the world, giving us an unrivalled insight into installing, operating and maintaining the current fleet of offshore wind farms and a huge opportunity to export that know-how globally.
“Denmark has also played a leading role in the success of the industry and was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s. By combining our respective strengths, we can support European innovators and researchers to maximise the potential from North Sea innovation and ensure that offshore wind power is a European economic success story for decades to come.”
Mrs Glenda Napier, CEO at Energy Innovation Cluster, added: “Denmark was the first country in the world to install offshore wind turbines. Since then we have established ourselves as a global leader within green energy. The North Sea has the potential to become a Silicon Valley for offshore wind. Between 2012 and 2018, we saw a 60 percent reduction of the price of energy from offshore wind turbines – due to European innovation and the power of industry collaborations. The cooperation agreement with ORE Catapult and the UK-based offshore sector is a unique pathway for Danish companies and researchers to collaborate with the best UK companies within the offshore sector.
“We hope to bridge competencies and encourage companies, universities, technical institutes and other relevant stakeholders to engage in new innovative partnerships with a focus on the North Sea. We need to develop electricity connection points, P2X conversion and other aspects of the green transition – and our new collaboration with ORE Catapult will help us push the boundaries for innovation,” says Glenda Napier.
The two organisations first established a dialogue in early 2019, leading to the signing today of the new cooperation agreement. Denmark and the United Kingdom see mutual technological and innovative opportunities and challenges in areas such as offshore wind energy, storage and integration of wind in the power system, as well as new technologies for energy production. One of the first key projects for cooperation will be a focus on innovation in the North Sea.
