Located in the heart of Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone, 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.

The FLOWIC facility hosts and array of state-of-art equipment, including a large-scale dynamic cable flex fatigue rig, specifically designed for testing and validating the strength, performance, and reliability of dynamic subsea cables crucial for floating offshore wind farms.

Additionally, there’s a large-scale anchor test rig dedicated to testing dynamic anchoring systems, essential components of floating wind technology. The facility also houses a floating offshore wind scale motion simulator, also known as a Hexapod, capable of dynamically testing scale structures and electrical & mooring connections in a simulated marine environment.

Furthermore, there’s a virtual reality studio that allows engineers to envision scenarios and challenges likely to be encountered during the construction of future floating wind turbines.

FLOWIC’s aim is to provide these unique facilities for companies to develop and derisk many of the technologies essential to the future success of the sector, with significant demand from industry for use of these services to capitalise on the unrivalled pipeline of floating offshore wind projects in UK waters.

Speaking as he officially opened the centre, 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.

“FLOWIC also 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”

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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.

“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.”