Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has chosen 20 UK-based companies to benefit from the Fit For Offshore Renewables (F4OR) business improvement and supply chain growth programme.
The F4OR programme, which is funded by the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) and delivered in partnership with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Opergy, focuses on preparing the companies to compete for and secure contracts at UK offshore wind farms by making them more attractive to project developers.
As part of the Scottish Government’s GBP 14.3 million (about EUR 17.1 million) North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF), ETZ has been awarded GBP 250,000 (approximately EUR 300,000) to support the programme.
This latest regional F4OR round includes 20 businesses from North East Scotland, which brings the total number of Scottish companies supported through the programme to 49, with 12 of them already achieving F4OR “Granted Status”.
Some of the winners are Petrofac, PIM Ltd, Fugro GB (North) Marine Limited, ICR Integrity, Brimmond Group, Air Control Entech, and Survitec.
According to ORE Catapult, the F4OR cohort announcement follows the ScotWind leasing round results that present “a once in a generation opportunity” to drive economic and supply chain growth and job creation within the offshore wind sector.
North East Scotland has a strong heritage of offshore operations from its role in the global oil and gas sector and is well placed to take advantage of the vast opportunity ahead with offshore wind, ORE Catapult said.
In the first North East Scotland cohort, cross-sector pull was significant, with 93% of successful applicants not considering offshore wind as their primary market. Since taking part in the programme, several F4OR beneficiary companies in the region have secured contracts in the sector, including the growing floating wind market, the company commented.
According to ORE Catapult, F4OR looks to bring companies in the region with the skills, expertise and ambition to support the energy transition.
“Crown Estate Scotland’s decision to approve developments that will generate 24.8GW of offshore wind power, a significant increase on the anticipated 11GW, is hugely encouraging and recognition of the sheer scale of the opportunity before us,” said Andy Rodden , ETZ Ltd Director of Offshore Renewables.
“ The Fit For Offshore Renewables programme continues to help companies across the region develop the skills and capabilities from manufacturing right through to operations and maintenance needed to be part of the fast-evolving transition our industry is currently undergoing .”
Last year, ORE Catapult selected 28 UK businesses to support through the regional F4OR programme, 16 companies from the northeast of Scotland and 12 in North East England.
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