Advancing technology innovation for green energy
The Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine (LDT) in Fife provides a unique, world-leading facility, hosting some of the offshore renewable energy industry’s most exciting new technologies.
Access to ORE Catapult’s Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine has given our technology and services the crucial edge, providing the track record we needed to win contracts in the industry.
Providing a unique test-bed for UK innovators
The Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine provides open access to data from over 120 installed sensors and ongoing operational data.
ORE Catapult acquired the towering machine in 2015 from Samsung to provide real-world demonstration opportunities for new offshore wind and marine energy products and services. This transformed the Turbine into the world’s most advanced, open-access offshore wind turbine dedicated to research and development.
Since 2016, the LDT, has attracted over a hundred SMEs for technology development, testing or demonstration. It is also a key asset in ORE Catapult’s core research and development programme, leveraging over £16m in additional funding.
For example, Limpet Technology approached the Catapult in 2016 to seek help in developing their ‘Get Up Safe’ (GUS) system, a hoist that would provide maintenance teams with ladder-free access to offshore wind farms safely. A successful demonstration for with global offshore wind leaders Ørsted led to them acquiring a 22.5% stake in Limpet spin-off company, Pict Offshore, who has subsequently set up nearby manufacturing facilities.
In 2018, Livingston-based Cyberhawk was one of a group of autonomous inspection providers that were invited to perform representative commercial tests on the turbine so that an industry baseline for quality inspection could be identified. Later in the year, Edinburgh’s MarynSol tested its SeaSmart automated marine survey using autonomous vehicles at the LDT.
The Turbine attracts world-leading collaborative research projects, such as the £4.3m Horizon 2020 Total Control project and the €4m Demowind-funded Offshore Demonstration Blade project, both developing cutting-edge innovative offshore wind technologies with international industrial and academic partners.
The Catapult has also funded a STEM ambassador at Levenmouth Academy, delivering extensive programmes throughout the school in areas such as robotics, drones and programming to spark local children’s interest in offshore renewable energy as a future career.
