OrbisEnergy is spearheading a bid to set up a technology innovation centre (TIC) for East Anglia. Orbis is answering an invitation from the Technology Strategy Board, which stimulates technological innovation in sectors boosting UK growth and productivity and is creating a network of TICs.
The renewable energy TIC – the third to be announced by the board – will specialise in wind, wave and tidal technology. OrbisEnergy is based in Lowestoft and brings SMEs and larger companies to its suite of offices, virtual office services and conference facilities. Johnathan Reynolds, business development manager at OrbisEnergy , said: “We feel we have a very strong platform or a very credible application. We could do this almost immediately: we do not need a lot of capital funding to put up new buildings.”
The government has said that it will fund the TICs with £200 million over four years. Core funding for each centre is expected to be at least £5 million to £10 million a year –corresponding to an annual turnover of around £20 million to £30 million. Each centre, once established, will need to attract around £10 million to £15 million a year from business to be viable. Once it is fully established the Lowestof t centre would generate its funding roughly equally from three sources:
· Business funded research and development (R&D) cont racts, won competitively;
· Collaborative applied R&D projects, funded jointly by the public and private sectors, also won competitively;
· Core public funding for long term investment in infrastructure, expertise and skills development.
So far, OrbisEnergy has talked to the University of East Anglia, Cranfield University and University Campus Suffolk about contributing their facilities mand expertise to the renewable energy TIC bid. “We will be looking in particular at how knowledge transfer and technology from the automotive and aerospace sectors can drive innovation and cost reduction in offshore renewables,” said Mr Reynolds.
The Technology Strategy Board has suggested that if each TIC builds to a turnover of between £20 and £30 million, it would be employing between 100 and 150 people, and create some new jobs. Mr Reynolds explained that some of the jobs could go to those already in the partnership with the universities who are redeployed.
The board’s literature shows the TIC is likely to cover the range of technologies involved in offshore wind power development – transferring knowledge from the established offshore engineering industry into foundations, installation, connection, operations and maintenance but also into developing turbines, blades and other subsystems and components, where links with the UK’s high value manufacturing technologies such as composites, direct drive and control systems may help. Mr Reynolds estimated that there were only three centres across the country which were as ready as OrbisEnergy to start a renewable energy TIC.
[mappress]
Source: orbisenergy, September 02, 2011