Eight local companies are set to be the first to join the North East Offshore Wind Innovation and Demonstration (NEOWIND) programme – accelerating offshore renewable energy innovation in the region.
NEOWIND, delivered by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and funded by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, has revealed the eight winning companies that will take part in the programme from now until July 2028, and receive a share of £1.87 million to support their technologies.
- Succorfish, North Tyneside
- TRL 9 Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Kinewell, Newcastle upon Tyne
- SeaThor, Newcastle upon Tyne
- H2CHP Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Spirit Advisory, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Acuity Robotics, Northumberland
- Sensing 360, Newcastle upon Tyne
The NEOWIND cohort
North Shields based company TRL 9 Ltd is developing a process to treat wind turbine blades at the end of their lives to determine what materials could be further reused and cut down on wind turbine blade waste.
Peregrine Solly, Head of Commercialisation at TRL 9 Ltd, said: “Wind turbine blades are designed for decades of demanding service, which makes recovering value from them at the end of their life a significant engineering challenge. With NEOWIND’s support, we can take the next step in developing Cyclonox and test its potential to recover both energy and useful materials. Our ambition is to establish a practical, commercially viable solution that supports the wind industry’s long-term sustainability.”
Acuity Robotics is based in Northumberland, and they will use NEOWIND support to develop an advanced robotic inspection system for use on wind turbine towers and offshore support structures.
Jason Liu, Chief Technology Officer at Acuity Robotics, said: “Offshore wind is a rapidly growing industry, but inspecting and maintaining these large structures remains challenging, costly and often requires people to work in hazardous environments. This funding gives us the opportunity to build on our existing robotic technology and develop smarter, more autonomous systems that can make inspections safer, more efficient and more reliable. We’re particularly excited to be developing and testing this technology in Blyth, contributing to the North East’s growing offshore wind industry and helping bring innovative British robotics closer to commercial deployment.”
The NEOWIND programme, funded by the North East Mayor, will inject £4.5 million over the next three years into the local economy.
Kim McGuinness, North East Mayor, said: “The North East is the home of the green energy revolution with many opportunities for our people and our businesses to thrive.
“We’re putting forward millions to deliver NEOWIND – the only regional offshore wind innovation programme in the UK, because we want our businesses to grow and create new high-quality jobs and apprenticeships as we work to double the number of green energy jobs by 2035.
“It’s a really exciting time for the offshore wind sector as we re-industrialise the region and deliver our ambitions for the sector.”
Claire Canning, Head of Supply Chain Excellence at ORE Catapult, said: “This is fantastic for the North East of England and a great opportunity for the offshore wind industry to capitalise on.
“These eight ambitious companies demonstrate the innovation we need to make clean power a reality, and we look forward to supporting them over the next few years within the NEOWIND programme as they develop their technologies – to support the industry, boost the local economy and support the wider supply chain.”
NEOWIND is sponsored by industry leaders, Equinor and Morven Offshore Wind Farm.
