The vision of the Joule Challenge is to transform the UK supply chain for Offshore Wind by harnessing the full impact of composite materials. It aims to:

• Deliver transformational innovation in the high value manufacturing supply chain.
• Create innovative and sustainable designs for the next generation of turbines.
• Position the UK as a global centre of excellence for composites in offshore wind.

Delivered by a collaboration of two Catapult centres: ORE Catapult and the National Composites Centre (NCC), part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, the Joule Challenge Phase 2 project, which started in November 2021 and concluded in June 2023, set out to prove that composite materials can deliver significant performance and light-weighting opportunities that will be essential to addressing the technical challenge of developing the next generation wind turbine platform beyond 20MW.

To support this Phase 2 had the following objectives:

1. For each turbine component, generate a suite of concepts that might/could decrease the LCoE and/or mass of the turbine;
2. Taking into account CAPEX, LCoE, mass and global warming potential (GWP), down select the concepts and components to contribute the most to system level benefits;
3. Engage the wind industry to align the working practices and project outcomes.

You can read the full report to find out the key outcomes and findings in the link below: