Four Forth & Tay members are amongst the 10 innovative Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected for the inaugural Launch Academy Scotland programme, a technology accelerator led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The initiative is designed to fast-track the development of cutting-edge solutions for the offshore wind industry, reducing risks and costs while supporting the UK’s renewable energy and net-zero targets.

The companies, including Forth & Tay members AJT Engineering, Innovair, Kraken Robotics, and Revive Geoscience, were chosen for their pioneering technologies after pitching solutions to challenges set by industry sponsors, including Scottish Enterprise, Ocean Winds, and BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership.

The programme offers a seven-month journey of business mentoring and industry support to commercialise these innovations for the UK and global offshore wind markets. Since its inception in 2020, Launch Academy has supported 57 companies, collectively raising over £35 million in private and grant funding.

Read more and see the full list of winners. 

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The developers of the 100MW Salamander floating wind project off Scotland have opened the second phase of a call for supplier innovations.

Salamander Offshore Wind Farm, a joint venture between Orsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, located approximately 35km off the coast of Peterhead, has committed to providing opportunities for domestic supply chain participation throughout construction and operation.

Through a dedicated supplier and innovation pathway, originally launched in 2021 and now being refreshed, organisations can have a direct route for project consideration.

This second call is open now and can be accessed until the 14 of January 2025, through the link above.

At this time, five areas of interest have been outlined by the project team: construction and operational health and safety, wind turbine foundation integration, anchor technology, low carbon materials and processes, and construction vessel optimisation.

It is hoped the outcome will be the selection of multiple suppliers who will undergo technical evaluation of unique or novel solutions.

This will create a platform for suppliers to demonstrate the benefit of their innovation in direct comparison with current solutions being taken through the project’s engineering process.

Read more. 

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Scotland CAN DO Offshore Wind Innovation Feasibility Challenge Call

Scottish Enterprise is providing 100% grants to Scotland’s best innovators to address challenges in Scotland’s offshore wind sector. They’re looking to support innovative solutions that address the most important innovation challenges identified by the industry. In particular, your products and services should help to drive the offshore wind sector and Scotland’s supply chain forward.

The funding will cover 100% of the eligible costs of R&D feasibility projects and is open to companies across Scotland. Grant support of £30K - £50K is available for projects lasting 3 months.

For further details on this Scotland CAN DO Innovation Challenge and access to the application forms please click here. 

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 10th January 2025. 

There is an informative webinar being held on Tuesday 17th December at 10 am if you’d like to learn more about innovation support in Scotland. Come prepared with your questions regarding the CAN DO Offshore Wind Innovation Feasibility Challenge Call by reading up on the call details above. 

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One of the world’s first commercial scale floating offshore wind projects is on track to be built in Scottish waters, after the team behind it announced it has hit a major milestone.

Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm confirmed today that it has submitted two key consent applications for consideration by the relevant authorities.

The project is the first fully floating offshore wind farm from the ScotWind leasing process to reach the point of submitting both offshore and onshore consent applications for determination, following a 12-month period of consultation with local communities and stakeholders most impacted by the development.

Once operational the wind farm will be able to generate up to 1GW of clean power, enough to provide electricity for the equivalent of up to 1.2 million homes every year.

This will in turn make the country’s energy supplies more secure, as well as aiding with the UK Government’s clean power mission.

Read more.

Muir Mhòr are developing their supply chain and are eager to hear from those active in the supply chain as well as those wishing to explore how they can participate. You can register your interest to become a supplier here. 

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Are you a business leader or in a position to affect change in an ambitious Scottish Company? Are you open to exploring new opportunities in the offshore wind sector? This programme helps you to develop the business capabilities required in order to be in the best position to access this sector and supports you to build an action plan for transition and growth.

Join Scottish Enterprise specialists and partners in a fully funded Supply Chain Ready programme where you’ll be guided through a series of facilitated workshops, interactive tools and specialist support.

The programme will:

• Introduce you to the opportunities and risks when considering transitioning to the Offshore Wind Sector 
• Allow you to work & network with like minded businesses
• Support you to identify development needs within your own business with the guidance of specialists
• Provide tools and techniques to support your journey of transition and growth
• Conclude in the development of an action plan and the identification of projects that can be taken forward with SE & partner support

The programme will take place from 30th January 2025 until 27th May 2025. See the attachments for further details of dates and locations, FAQs and the application form.

Email supplychainready@scotent.co.uk for more information or submit an Expression of Interest form to apply for a place on this programme. 

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A survey of supply chain companies carried out by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has showed that confidence in future growth and overcoming challenges remains high. The survey results show a need for greater visibility of market opportunities, as well as initiatives to overcome skills shortages, as ways of further increasing supply chain confidence going forward.

The third edition of ORE Catapult’s annual supply chain confidence survey involved over 150 companies ranging from micro-SMEs through to large manufacturers, all of whom play a role within the UK’s offshore wind supply chain. The results show that 80% of respondents expect to increase their offshore wind workforce within the next 1-3 years. This rises to 89% in the period up to 2030

The results also show that companies with a majority renewables focus of operations have increased their confidence levels compared to last year, with 54% saying they had increased confidence in the sector, compared to 48% in 2023.

Among companies with a majority oil and gas focus, however, the picture is more mixed. With 73% saying their level of confidence was either higher or remained the same, compared to 81% in 2023. Despite this, respondents from oil & gas companies still remain optimistic about future growth in offshore wind up to 2030.

Read more. 

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Crown Estate Scotland has pledged £250,000 to support the Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence, led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The funding will bolster the Environmental Interactions Strategic Programme (EISP), a multi-year initiative aimed at addressing ecological and coexistence challenges within the UK’s floating offshore wind sector.

The EISP focuses on enhancing the environmental impact assessment process for floating offshore wind, tackling uncertainties related to mooring systems, dynamic cables, and interactions with marine ecosystems and other sea users. This effort aligns with the growing global expansion of floating wind technology, which differs from fixed installations in its environmental and operational considerations.

Read more. 

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22-23 January 2025 | SEC, Glasgow

There are still spaces available to exhibit at the Offshore Wind Conference 2025. 

Position your products and services in front of key professionals from the renewable energy industry to:

• Increase brand visibility
• Engage with business leaders
• Launch new projects
• Generate new business leads

Click here to register as an exhibitor or attendee. 

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To provide a policy blueprint for the Government’s Steel Strategy, UK Steel has published a new report, Public Procurement of Steel: Time for new thinking for a thriving industry. The report contains a range of proposals to improve the uptake of UK-made steel in taxpayer-funded projects.

This new report highlights the opportunity for the Government, as the single biggest purchaser of steel in the UK, to further support its steel sector by procuring the steel it buys from UK steelmakers rather than buying steel from abroad.

As the largest buyer of steel in the UK, the Government has a unique opportunity to support the domestic steel sector. However, the latest data reveals that one third of the steel it procures is imported, costing UK taxpayers £1.5 billion annually rather than supporting UK steel producers. Over the next decade, government steel requirements will exceed £4.3 billion without even accounting for major initiatives such as carbon capture and storage, hydrogen infrastructure, nuclear energy, and offshore wind.

£21bn offshore wind opportunity 

To shine a light on these missing sectors in Government figures and to show the real opportunity for both the Government and the British steel sector, UK Steel commissioned an independent report from LumenEE to identify the total steel needed for the rapid expansion of the UK’s offshore wind sector, out to 2050.

Offshore wind experts LumenEE estimate that up to 25 million tonnes of steel will be needed in the next 25 years for offshore wind investment around the coast of Britain. This single opportunity alone is worth approximately £21 billion in steel purchases. This case study in just one sector shows the massive opportunities for the UK industry across the wide metals supply chain if there was a supportive procurement policy environment.

Read more. 

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The joint Government-Industry Floating Offshore Wind Taskforce has published a new 2050 Vision report, Floating Wind: Anchoring the Next Generation Offshore. The Vision outlines the major opportunity for British industry from designing, building, installing and operating floating offshore wind projects in the UK and around the world.

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Offshore wind in Scotland is earmarked to receive £150m of government investment, announced in the draft Scottish Budget 2025/2026.

Shona Robison, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for finance, stated that the money will help leverage private investment of £1.5bn in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the sector, underlining the Scottish Government’s commitment to invest up to £500m in the offshore wind sector over five years.

Read more. 

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Supply chain companies operating in Scotland are encouraged to register for free to join Forth and Tay Offshore supply chain directory as a member. With over 300 members already listed, this searchable database is your gateway to customers, suppliers, services and partners. Register your business today here.

https://www.forthandtayoffshore.co.uk/

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Forth and Tay Offshore works on behalf of its members to promote the capabilities of companies and organisations in Scotland in the offshore wind energy sector and supports them in accessing new opportunities in this field. We play a key role in developing a sustainable renewable energy sector in Scotland, supporting our business network and attracting investment.

https://www.forthandtayoffshore.co.uk/

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