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OWGP launches £4.2M support package for UK offshore wind supply chain

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched its latest and largest tranche of grant funding and tailored business support for UK offshore wind supply chain companies in a package totalling £4.2M.

The package includes a £3.5M Development Grant Funding Competition for transformative supply chain projects and a £700K Wind Expert Support Toolkit (WEST) programme for needs-focused expert business support.

Development Grants

In its largest funding call to date, the OWGP is releasing £3.5 million for Development Grants to be awarded to high-growth supply chain companies. Development Grants of between £100K and £1 million are available for capital and operational expenditure on projects that will unlock significant growth potential in UK content, jobs and export opportunities. This latest call builds on the £2.5M of grant funding already allocated to successful companies in the last 18 months.

Development Grants are available to UK companies and 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. Eligible applicants can request up to £1M in a single grant application to cover up to 50% of the total project budget.

To date, OWGP has awarded funding to over 20 offshore wind supply chain projects, including the development of innovative robotic solutions for welding and component assembly, machine learning solutions to enhance wind farm accessibility and O&M decision making, and virtual reality simulation training for offshore wind workers.

For more details on Development Grants and to apply, please visit https://owgp.org.uk/about/grant-funding/

Wind Expert Support Toolkit (WEST)

Building on the success of the Wind Expert Support Toolkit pilot programme that supported 32 companies in 2020-21, OWGP is now accepting applications for the refreshed WEST Programme. The 2021 WEST programme will offer £700k of needs-focused support to over 60 new and existing offshore wind supply chain companies. OWGP is working with an established framework of expert delivery partners to provide bespoke support such as targeted specialist advice, market intelligence and business planning to accelerate the growth of UK companies in the offshore wind sector.

For more details on WEST and to apply, please visit https://owgp.org.uk/about/business-transformation-programmes/

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