Supergen ORE Hub awards £1million to advance research in offshore renewable energy sector

The Hub’s Flexible Fund has been established to enable UK researchers to respond to a number of key ORE engineering challenges.

It also aims to support project areas that complement existing research, fill gaps or add cross-cutting activities to explore the transfer of research findings between sectors within ORE.

The research being funded in this first Flexible Fund call ranges from new and novel technologies for autonomously inspecting offshore wind farms to advanced satellite observations to improve the performance of offshore renewable installations.

The Supergen ORE Hub was established in July 2018 thanks to £5million funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and was subsequently awarded a further £4million in June 2019. It provides research leadership to connect stakeholders, inspire innovation and maximise societal value in offshore renewable energy.

The Hub is led by Professor Deborah Greaves OBE, Head of the School of Engineering and Computing, Electronics and Mathematics at the University of Plymouth and includes Co-Directors from the University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter, University of Hull, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, University of Southampton, University of Strathclyde, and the University of Warwick.

Dr Philipp Thies, Co-Director of the Supergen ORE Hub, University of Exeter, said: “These projects span the width of the ORE sector, addressing research challenges in Floating Offshore Wind, wave and tidal measurements, control, physical testing and materials.

“The selected proposals are examples of excellence science with a targeted industry impact. Several projects are also led / involve Early Careers Researchers, so the funding makes a strong contribution to the R&D skills and capacity."

Professor Greaves, Director of the Supergen ORE Hub, said: “The Supergen ORE Hub’s first call for Flexible Funding has received a great deal of interest, with a large number of high quality research proposals submitted. We are delighted to award this funding aimed at enabling researchers, in collaboration with industry partners, to deliver fundamental research that will advance the development of the offshore renewable energy sector.”

Ross Wigg, Lead Industrial Partner of the Supergen ORE Advisory Board and Renewables Director – Asset Performance at the LOC Group, said: “With offshore renewables now a significant player in the nation’s energy landscape, the benefits of scientists and industry experts working closely together – utilising their combined knowledge and expertise – will be seen by large and small companies across the UK and beyond.

“The Supergen ORE hub is an excellent example of this in action. It has been incredibly exciting to see the level of industry engagement and collaboration across the first Flexible Funding Call applications. The successful research projects will be invaluable in tackling some of the key challenges that the offshore renewable industries face both now and in the future.”

More information regarding the successful applicants is available on the Supergen ORE Hub website, www.supergen-ore.net