The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult launched its national accelerator programme at TusPark Newcastle, featuring 10 new UK innovators in the industry. The cohort includes a member from the TusPark Newcastle incubator, Force 55. The 10 companies were selected from a highly competitive pool of national applicants, and pitched at the launch event to programme partners and industry representatives including OREC, BP, Scottish Renewables, and Scottish Enterprise. The North East of the UK, where TusPark Newcastle is based, is one of the world’s most important hubs for ORE innovation, with the world’s largest offshore windfarm being constructed now at Dogger Bank. ORE Catapult is one of 9 government-funded strategic platforms to help innovators from the offshore wind industry grow. The National Accelerator programme paves the way for supply chain development, focusing on near to market solutions. The 10 winning companies of the programme – Steamology, MJR Power & Automation, 4Ax Technologies, Future Energy Associates, JET Engineering System Solutions, MasterFilter, Crack Map, VRAI International, Force 55 and IONATE – are all developing ambitious and innovative technologies that could be game-changing for the offshore renewable energy industry, making a vital contribution to technological advancement and cost reduction. The companies were asked to pitch against specific industry-sponsored challenges from bp and ScottishPower Renewables, addressing areas such as zero-emission crew transfer vessel operations, minimising the impact of offshore wind on natural ecosystems, improving inter-array cabling for floating wind farms and integrating autonomous vessels into offshore logistics operations. Read More