The UK-based Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has launched the Offshore Wind Innovation Competition, which calls on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to apply with technological solutions for specific industry innovation challenges and connects them with potential investors and clients.
The successful companies will be able to access ORE Catapult’s market knowledge and test and validation facilities to de-risk their technology, as well as pitch their ideas to investment group Green Angel Syndicate and ScottishPower Renewables.
“Our Innovation Competition seeks to match innovative technology developers with the three most important elements they need to commercialise their products: the market, owner/operators seeking solutions; a technology proving ground, the Catapult’s testing and validation facilities; and finance, the private investors who provide the essential capital to make it all happen,” ORE Catapult’s Commercialisation Manager, Andrew Tipping , said.
“By working with the sector’s biggest players to understand their innovation needs, we demonstrate a ready market for new products. We then identify the high-growth-potential firms developing technologies to fit those gaps, and work with them to test, validate and de-risk their solutions. The Catapult’s backing adds clout to these smaller firms, making them more bankable and an attractive proposition for investors.”
The new program follows ORE Catapult’s recent partnership with subsea services firm Rovco, which will see the company test and validate its new technology at ORE Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre after attracting an initial investment of GBP 160,000 from Green Angel Syndicate.