The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub, led by Equinor and BP, has opened for business and announced its first call for applications to help accelerate the development phase of offshore wind in New York.
The Accelerator Program is looking for start-ups that provide innovative technology and solutions related to the development of offshore wind in New York.
The initiative is being led by Equinor on behalf of its 50/50 joint venture with BP and is a result of a three-year partnership between Equinor, the Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NY Tandon School of Engineering, and the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium (NOWRDC), backed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
Once selected, the start-ups will receive support and programming from UFL and NOWRDC, and could potentially become partners of Equinor.
The applications are due on 27 March 2023.
The partners will use the Innovation Hub to host educational programming, workshops, and curricula for the startups, as well as for networking opportunities, and the hub will also serve as a centre for the industry’s innovation ecosystem.
The Innovation Hub is located adjacent to Equinor and BP’s new project office in Sunset Park that serves as the base for the companies’ large-scale offshore wind operations, including the 816 MW Empire Wind 1, the 1.2 GW Empire Wind 2, and the 1.2 GW Beacon Wind 1 projects.