Equinor and Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult have announced a collaboration agreement that will tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the offshore renewables sector.
According to the partners, ORE Catapult and Equinor have a joint aim to collectively invest in technology readiness for offshore wind and together they will focus on developing skills in the industry, on operations and maintenance (O&M) initiatives, on improving turbine reliability/performance, and energy integration.
The partners said they are aligned on key areas such as supporting the UK Offshore Wind Sector Deal, accelerating innovation, and developing opportunities in clusters across the UK.
Broader collaboration in the future could include hydrogen electrolysis and battery storage.
ORE Catapult and Equinor already worked together on several offshore wind projects including the Hywind Scotland floating offshore wind farm.
ORE Catapult shared the data gathered from the floating offshore wind farm through its Operational Data (POD) service to the supply chain businesses and academia.
“We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with ORE Catapult, building on our relationship developed in North East England and around our floating wind project, Hywind Scotland, where we have previously collaborated to share data “, said Trine Borum Bojsen , SVP North Sea Renewables at Equinor.
The companies also joined forces on the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm. As part of the delivery of the project, several components in the Dogger Bank supply chain went through testing and certification at ORE Catapult’s testing facility in Blyth.
SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, while Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
Equinor has also been a delivery partner on ORE Catapult’s Technology Innovation and Green Growth in Offshore Renewables (TIGGOR) programme since its inception and currently supports Catapult’s UK-wide Launch Academy programme.
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