The UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult is partnering with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to support the growth of the Taiwanese offshore wind industry and create export opportunities for UK businesses.
In an agreement signed as part of the UK-Taiwan energy dialogue, the two organisations will collaborate on large-scale offshore wind research and innovation projects for the Taiwanese offshore wind market.
As the UK’s leading technology innovation and research organisation for offshore renewables, ORE Catapult will bring its expertise in Innovation, data and digital analytics and global market analysis and commercial insights to help grow Taiwan’s offshore wind capacity while also unlocking the potential for UK companies to export technology and know-how to the Taiwanese market.
As the world’s attention turns to COP26 and the imperative of global cooperation to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency, Taiwan is seen as an important emerging market for the growth of low carbon energy sources such as offshore wind. The Taiwanese Bureau of Energy recently announced plans to auction 15 GW of offshore wind capacity over the next 15 years. Many of Europe’s leading developers are already active in the Taiwanese market and were responsible for almost £1.7bn of inward investment in 2020 alone. And UK Export Finance (UKEF) is also providing credit guarantees of £500 million to finance several offshore wind projects in Taiwan, opening up a huge export opportunity for the UK’s offshore wind sector.
Dr Stephen Wyatt, ORE Catapult Research and Disruptive Innovation Director said: “Taiwan is one of the most innovative, progressive and fastest-growing markets for offshore wind technologies in the world. And as the largest offshore wind market in the world, the UK has a wealth of technologies, experience and know-how that can be shared with one of our largest global trading partners, helping us to expand global clean energy generation, reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change.”
Dr Ming Shan Jeng, Deputy Director General of ITRI Green Energy Lab said: “Taiwan’s first offshore wind farm began commercial operation in 2019, and several wind farms will continue to be completed in the future. After the wind farm is completed and connected to the grid, it will enter the operation and maintenance (O&M) period of at least 15 years, therefore the O&M technology is a key research area for ITRI. We’ve been engaged in international cooperation for the past two years. With UK’s profound experience in offshore wind development, we are glad to cooperate with ORE Catapult and hope to accelerate the research development of offshore wind technology exchange and information integration.”
Yu-Foong Chong, Chairman of the UK Renewables Energy Committee (UKRC) said: “This collaboration will strengthen UK-Taiwan offshore wind engagement and supply chain opportunities in both markets, sharing experience from the UK’s leading offshore wind technology innovation institute to identify and direct investment into new offshore wind technologies in Taiwan.”