INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
GE Renewable Energy and
ORE Catapult sign five-year
R&D agreement
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G to develop the UK supply chain and increase
access to demonstration opportunities for
innovative small businesses.
GE’s recently announced Haliade-X 12
MW offshore wind turbine and existing
Haliade 150-6MW will undergo advanced
test and demonstration programmes that
accurately replicate real-world operational
conditions to enhance performance and
reliability. Testing will take place at ORE
Catapult’s 15MW power train test facility in
Blyth, Northumberland. Welcoming news of the agreement,
UK Government Energy & Clean
Growth Minister, Claire Perry, said: “This
collaboration is great news and highlights
our world-class research and testing
facilities. Through our Industrial Strategy,
we are making the UK a global leader
in renewables, including offshore wind,
with more support available than any
other country in the world. With 22% of
all investment in European wind projects
coming to the UK, the offshore wind
industry is exceptionally well placed to
boost supplies of home-grown clean energy
while growing new jobs and opportunities.”
E Renewable Energy and the UK’s
Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE)
Catapult have signed a five-year
research and development agreement to
test and develop next-generation offshore
wind technologies.
Research and development activities will
include cooling technologies, converters,
loading conditions across mechanical and
electrical components, grid testing and
design validation. This collaboration will drive
technology improvements that will also help
John Lavelle, President & CEO of GE’s
Offshore Wind business, said: “This is an
important agreement because it will enable
us to prove Haliade-X in a faster way by
putting it under controlled and extreme
conditions. Traditional testing methods rely
on local wind conditions and therefore have
limited repeatability for testing. By using ORE
Catapult’s facilities and expertise, we will be
in a better position to adapt our technology
in a shortened time, reduce unplanned
maintenance, increase availability and power
output, while introducing new features to
meet customers’ demands.”
ORE Catapult Chief Executive, Andrew
Jamieson, said: “This five-year collaborative
programme with GE Renewable Energy is
a testament to the Catapult’s world-class
engineering, research and development
capabilities across all aspects of wind turbine
development and performance.
“By working closely together in areas
such as power trains, blades and electrical
infrastructure, we look forward to helping
GE to both enhance their existing portfolio
and bring new products and services to the
offshore wind market, while simultaneously
generating significant economic growth
opportunities in the UK.”
In addition to the R&D activities, the
agreement also includes a £6 million (US$
8.5 million) combined investment with
Innovate UK and the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) to install
the world’s largest and most powerful
grid emulation system at the Catapult’s
National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth.
Supplied by GE Power, Grid Emulation, in
conjunction with the Catapult’s power
train test facilities, will enable the partners,
UK companies and researchers to better
assess the interaction between the next
generation of large-scale wind turbines and
the electrical distribution network in the
most challenging environments. n
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