GBP 2 million funding pool available for UK offshore (wind) supply chain

July 22, 2020, by Adrijana Buljan

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched a package of funding and business support activities worth GBP 2.1 million, aimed at boosting the UK offshore wind supply chain.

innogy/Galloper Offshore Wind Farm/Illustration

The package includes two new funding calls and support activities for business transformation.

For the funding calls, OWGP earmarked a total of GBP 600,000, while business activities support will be provided through the Sharing in Growth programme and worth GBP 1.5 million in total.

One of the two funding calls is focused on cross-sector opportunities, with an aim to bring technology and companies from other sectors into offshore wind.

The other funding call is for UK companies already working in the offshore wind sector, and is set up to help grow their market share through increased competitiveness and development of new products or services.

To participate in the Sharing in Growth programme, businesses will need to submit an expressions of interest (EOI) applications. The period for EOI will open in August.

The GBP 1.5 million allocated to the Sharing in Growth programme will support up to ten supply chain companies over twelve months.

The OWGP is part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal between industry and the UK Government, and is funded by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), with a budget of GBP 100 million over ten years.

A new tranche of funding from OWIC members has enabled these new programmes, which will form part of the UK’s green economic recovery following the global Covid-19 health pandemic, OWGP states.

“The offshore wind sector has shown remarkable resilience to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK has a fantastic opportunity to use this as a springboard to a green economic recovery”, said Martin Whitmarsh, Chair of the OWGP. “Many engineering sectors have been badly hit by the pandemic and support from OWGP can ensure that the best of UK engineering from all industries can develop UK IP in a sector that is set for strong global growth”.