19 North East businesses selected for offshore renewables supply chain programme

Nineteen businesses in the North East of Scotland have been selected for the successful Fit For Offshore Renewables (F4OR) supply chain support programme – ready to accelerate companies into the offshore renewable energy market.

F4OR North East is delivered by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, in partnership with the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ Ltd), and this will be the fourth time the programme has run in the region.

Davood Sabaei, F4OR project manager at ORE Catapult, said: “We are delighted to be delivering another round of F4OR in the North East of Scotland, grateful for the support from all the companies who have applied and can recognise the value in doing so, and for the endorsement from ETZ Ltd. who are aligned with our ambitions to creating a world class energy supply chain as part of the clean energy transition.

“Following this latest round, over 80 companies in the North East of Scotland will have been part of the F4OR programme – giving businesses the skills and expertise needed for success in the offshore renewables sector, building on the strong heritage of offshore operations in the region.”

ETZ Ltd are funding the latest F4OR North East programme with £288,000 after they also supported the second and third rounds in the region. F4OR is a key part of ETZ Ltd’s two-phase support initiative, alongside a challenge fund that will deliver capital investment grants to help North East Scotland energy supply chain companies achieve their low carbon business ambitions.

Freda Miller, Supply Chain Programme Manager at ETZ Ltd, added: “ETZ is delighted to partner with ORE Catapult in delivering the F4OR programme to another cohort of 19 companies in North East Scotland.  The advice and expertise given to companies is of true quality and benefits the companies greatly during the process in achieving granted status and beyond.  We have had great feedback from participating companies in achieving fantastic results in the offshore wind industry.”

The 19 companies selected for F4OR North East come from a wide range of sectors including engineering, operations and maintenance, and energy connection technology.

Kevin Drewett, Director of Clean Energy at Wood, said: “As offshore wind continues to play a key role in the UK’s energy security strategy, industry partnerships focused on enabling better collaboration across the supply chain are critical to ensuring the renewables sector continues to grow. We now look forward to working with F4OR and the newly selected cohort to accelerate the development of projects that will propel us towards achieving the UK’s carbon reduction goals.”  

David Halliday, Business and Commercial Manager at selected company Roemex, added: “Roemex are very pleased to have been selected for the F4OR North East programme. We have strategically diversified into offshore wind and geothermal sectors in the last five years, and this demonstrates not only our commitment to energy transition but our commitment to the wider energy sector for the long term. We are in the early stages of delivering our own net zero plan, and to have growing revenue streams from the green energy sector is part of the wider plan.

“The F4OR programme will be pivotal in helping us develop, and further commercialise, our offshore wind corrosion mitigation chemistry and we look forward to engaging with various stakeholders as we work through the programme.”

F4OR is a 12-18 month programme, designed alongside industry experts, and it has experienced widespread success across the UK since it started in 2019. To date, five F4OR regional programmes have been delivered in the North East of Scotland, as well as in the North East of England, East Anglia and Suffolk, alongside national programmes run across Scotland and UK-wide. Over 110 companies have been supported altogether, with participants experiencing an average 28% increase in turnover and many securing a wide range of new contracts.

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