In 2019, ORE Catapult joined forces with renewable energy giant Vattenfall as part of a three-year agreement to strengthen the UK supply chain and promote a competitive offshore wind industry.

In 2024, a new deal was signed to extend the partnership for another three years. Now, more companies ready to test their technologies offshore will be supported by ORE Catapult and Vattenfall at the 11-turbine wind farm, 2.5km off the Aberdeen coast, until the end of 2026.

The £1.5 million jointly-funded alliance gives innovators in the offshore wind supply chain the opportunity to test and demonstrate technologies in real-world conditions at Vattenfall’s pioneering £300 million European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), also known as the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast of Aberdeen.

The programme addresses current challenges facing offshore windfarm operations and maintenance, such as blade repair and leading edge erosion, robotics and autonomous systems, and remote array cable monitoring and inspection.

Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm

The 96.8MW Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm is an offshore wind test and demonstration facility, hosting 11 of the world’s most powerful and innovative wind turbines, mounted on novel “suction-bucket” jacket foundations.  Annually, it offsets 134,000 tonnes of CO₂ every year on average, and meets the power needs of 80,000 UK households – 70% of the city of Aberdeen. Situated approximately 3km from the shore, the wind farm was fully commissioned in September 2018

Project Updates

 

Zelim

Edinburgh-based Zelim tested their Swift Rescue Conveyor System, which significantly cuts the time taken to recover people who have fallen overboard. They demonstrated that their system was 20 times faster in recovering people overboard offshore than conventional systems. The system can be incorporated into the design of new crew transfer vessel or retrofitted for use in the offshore wind industry.

 

JF AIS

Aberdeen-based JF AIS, as part of James Fisher and Sons PLC, brings its powerful digital twin solution, named R2S, to the offshore wind industry. The product produces virtual walk-throughs of offshore assets embedded with data, enabling technicians to visit sites remotely and easily access technical and operational data – saving time and cost, improving safety, and enhancing collaboration.

Having completed a research project with ORE Catapult to trial its digital twin solution by virtually mapping our Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine, JF AIS is bringing its next generation technology to the EOWDC, further developing an understanding of how visualisation can optimise asset management and project lifecycles. Learn more >

 

Pegasus Welfare Solutions

To address the issue of a lack of toilet facilities offshore, Pegasus Welfare Solutions (PWS) constructed the world’s first in-turbine toilet. The unit’s design was finalised in collaboration with ORE Catapult and each of the eleven turbines at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) has now been fitted with the toilet cubicle, which represents PWS’ first entire wind farm order. The toilets will save time for workers at Vattenfall’s Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, boost hygiene, welfare and efficiency standards, as well as supporting gender diversity.

 

Miros

Miros installed their new Fusion sensor at AOWF on 1 June 2023. It is a unique dual sensor for measuring directional wave spectra in all areas including shallow waters. The sensor accurately collects data in real-time both next to the structure together with the dual-footprint radar technology utilising up to 13 sample areas to measure far away from the structure. Combining the footprints, complemented by smart algorithms, enables new levels of data performance, reliability and redundancy 24/7, and is not impacted by rain or bad weather. Find out more >