Darren is currently a Senior Portfolio Manager at ORE Catapult, with responsibilities for projects relating to full-scale wind turbine blade testing including the Blade Erosion Test Rig, as well as the capital upgrades programme for the Blyth site.
Before starting with ORE Catapult he was responsible for the delivery of blade repair projects as part of the Major Projects team at Siemens Wind Power UKIE. During this time, he was key in the introduction of several new access methods and repair technologies to the Siemens blade maintenance programs.
In 2014 Darren completed his PhD which investigated the impact the structural complexity of ship structures had on both the application of protective coatings and their in-service performance. Darren has published several papers on the subject of protective coatings in the shipbuilding industry.
Prior to completing an undergraduate MEng in Marine Technology at Newcastle University in 2008, Darren served as a Marine Engineering Officer in British Merchant Navy