Addressing a market failure by providing real-world offshore wind demonstration opportunities
Having the turbine available as a site that we can access easily, compared to a genuine offshore site, is enormously valuable. It is of huge significance in terms of reducing the cost and time of bringing new systems to market.
The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult has transformed the 7MW Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine (LDT) into the world’s most advanced, open-access offshore wind turbine dedicated to research and development and a unique test and demonstration asset.
It plays host to some of the industry’s most exciting new technologies and provides access to data from 800+ sensor outputs.
It advances technologies in robotics and autonomous systems, data and digitalisation and training and personnel transfer systems, as well as providing a hub for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and skills development.
It enables academics to develop new solutions and SMEs and other innovators to prove and de-risk their technologies for investors and end-users.
Since 2016, the LDT has attracted 137 SMEs for technology development, testing or demonstration, enabled 71 separate international R&D programmes and leveraged over £25.6 million in additional funding.
Notable successes include Pict Offshore, which provides access, lifting and height safety solutions for the offshore wind energy sector. Through access to the facilities at Levenmouth they were able to attract significant investment from global offshore wind leaders, Ørsted, who acquired a 22.5% stake in the company.
Securing major UK and international export contracts, Pict have invested in new manufacturing facilities in Fife, creating over 20 highly skilled jobs.
And the LDT is playing a vital role in the development of new low carbon energy systems, providing the clean energy to generate green hydrogen for gas company SGN’s ‘H100’ project, a ground-breaking demonstration project that will evidence the role hydrogen can play in decarbonising heat.
