UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and China’s Tus-Wind have officially opened the TUS-ORE Catapult Research Centre (TORC) for offshore wind in China.
The GBP 2 million center opened today, 21 March, in Yantai City following a trade mission of 11 UK companies eager to explore offshore wind opportunities.
TORC will act as a renewable energy technology research and development center with links into both the UK and China to support the growth of their respective offshore wind industries.
The center will develop collaborative research programs, support market entry and incubation for UK businesses in China, provide commercial support for Chinese developers and support the demonstration of new technologies on a 300MW offshore wind farm in the Shandong Province.
“Our new Research Centre, in partnership with TUS, will support UK businesses as they take advantage of a new wave of opportunities to engage with one of the fastest-growing offshore wind markets in the world – and present a fantastic opportunity to develop a supply chain that can compete on a global scale,” said ORE Catapult’s Chief Executive, Andrew Jamieson .
“With more than a decade of experience and expertise in this sector, and global exports expected to be worth £2.6bn a year by 2030 for UK companies, now is the time for innovative companies to act and establish themselves at the heart of the Chinese market.”
The Innovate UK Global Business Innovation Programme offshore wind mission was set up to provide UK companies with an opportunity to both engage with potential Chinese technology partners in the sector and gain insight in how their technology development programs can be adapted for offshore wind.
“Following the development of TORC, I believe the government will provide more favourable policies to UK companies seeking to enter China to create real benefit to both sides, furthering the technological cooperation between China and UK and creating significant opportunities and reliable incubation service for UK companies,” said Tus Clean Energy’s Senior Vice president, Charlie Du .