Scotland’s First Minister, the Rt Hon. Humza Yousaf MSP on March 18 officially opened the world’s first dedicated innovation centre for floating offshore wind.

ORE Catapult’s £9 million national floating wind innovation centre (FLOWIC), delivered in collaboration with ETZ Limited, is designed to help supercharge the development of floating offshore wind technology in the UK, with funding from both the Scottish Government and Innovate UK.

Through the successful roll out of this pipeline of activity, industry has estimated that floating offshore wind has the potential to deliver over £43.bn in UK gross value add (GVA) by 2050, and create more than 29,000 jobs.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Delivering our net zero ambitions will require economic and societal transformation, with sustained investment, both public and private, to achieve it.

“We know the scale of the change needed. The National Floating Wind Innovation Centre embodies the spirit of collaboration that will drive the offshore wind industry forward.”

He also said that “FLOWIC epitomises the relentless pursuit of science in helping to decarbonise our economy and represents a collective determination to solve the complex challenges posed by our net zero ambitions.

“We share a common objective to establish Scotland as a first mover in floating wind technology on an industrial scale and by seizing this advantage we can position Scotland among the world’s leaders in this groundbreaking industry as we maximise the opportunities of our Just Transition.”

Andrew Jamieson, chief executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, said: “This facility represents a groundbreaking step forward in the commercialisation of floating offshore wind – a sector that will be critical to meeting our Net Zero targets.

“When you look at the projected global market demand for floating wind technology over the coming years, the opportunity is eye-watering; dynamic cables alone will be a more than £2bn global market over the next decade.

He added: “Here in the UK we are well placed to play a leading role in that market by developing the supply chain to support the innovations that will bring this potential to life.

“Others are chasing the same prize though, so the time is right to make sure Scottish and UK companies are at the front of that race, and this facility is a key part of helping that happen.”

Source: Ore Catapult.