How innovation will accelerate Scotland's green energy transition

ØRSTED’S vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy.  If we want to truly achieve that and deliver green, cheap, and secure energy for everyone – we need to radically transform the entire energy system. 

That means we must accelerate radical innovation now – so we can proactively build the sustainable green energy system of the future. 

We’re working to do just that at Ørsted, but we know we can’t do it alone. That’s why we’ve launched the UK and Ireland Innovation Hub  to inspire fresh solutions in the fight against climate change.

We’re collaborating with start-ups, academia, other industry leaders, and the investment community to spark the best ideas for how to speed-up the renewable energy build-out and rapidly deliver it.

The Innovation Hub will provide a front door for innovators in the UK and Ireland looking to work with Ørsted and support for the larger innovation ecosystem.   

Our green transformation
OVER the last decade, we’ve accomplished our own green transformation. We’ve gone from being one of the most fossil-fuel intensive energy companies in Europe, to being a global leader in offshore wind and one of the world’s most sustainable companies. 

Offshore wind is its own innovation success story – most clearly shown by the cost reduction and upscaling journey that the sector has been on, and which we’ve spearheaded. 

But offshore wind is only one piece of the green transition puzzle. 

If we want to imagine a future where 100% of our energy comes from renewable sources, we need to rapidly accelerate innovation around energy system integration.
 
Wanted: Innovative solutions
OUTPUT from renewables is variable, but our current energy system is not built for that. So, we really need to rethink the whole energy system. 

Some of the biggest challenges we’re facing include: 

■ How do we make sure that we can get all the variable power generation onto the grid – and balance supply and demand? 

■ How can we update our old-fashioned grid designed for a completely different generation system?

■ How can we use data about generation, transmission, and demand to make our grids smarter? 

■ How do we deliver hard-to-abate decarbonisation? How do we incorporate renewable hydrogen into the larger system?

■ In terms of social sustainability, we know that we are creating well-paid, high-skilled jobs. But can we do even more? Can we as an industry do a better job supporting the local communities where we work and operate?

Ørsted has launched a UK & Ireland Innovation Hub to inspire fresh solutions in the fight against climate change

Collaboration is key 
WE’VE launched the UK and Ireland Innovation Hub to accelerate the next generation of renewable innovation and find solutions to these challenges. 

Backed by an initial £500,000 investment, the hub will seek novel answers to some of the biggest challenges we’re facing and will provide a pathway for innovators in the UK and Ireland seeking to work with Ørsted and the larger industry. 

It will also form part of a growing network of Ørsted Innovation Hubs, building on the success of those set up in the US and the Netherlands. 

By working with academia, start-ups, businesses in adjacent sectors and the investment community we can work at greater speed, across a greater range of concepts, and with a greater assortment of skills to accelerate the global green energy transition.

Supporting academic research
THE Innovation Hub will support academic research, helping combine Ørsted’s existing involvement with universities and research organisations such as Oxford University, while also working with new groups. 

For instance we’ve worked with Masters and PhD students enrolled in the Durham Energy Institute (DEI) at Durham University for over a decade on projects and research that have positively impacted the renewable energy industry’s growth. 

The DEI will receive funding from the Innovation Hub for a green energy systems professorship, scholarships for energy master’s students and a PhD research pot to support research into green energy solutions.

In Scotland, we’re funding a project called PREDICT led by the University of Aberdeen and the Environmental Research Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands. 

The three-year project aims to investigate fish migration patterns around offshore wind farms to better understand the movements of other marine species, including birds and marine mammals, and provide a vision for next-generation monitoring techniques.

We’ve also teamed up with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on their North Sea 3D project. 

They are using artificial intelligence and 3D imaging to map the growth of marine life on wind farms. This will allow us to quantify and understand the biodiversity impacts associated with offshore wind infrastructure more accurately.

Tap into start-up spirit
IN an effort to be agile, flexible, and responsive to developments in the larger renewable energy industry, the Innovation Hub will also work with start-ups and early-stage companies.

For instance, we’re investing in start-ups like Spoor, a Norwegian company that has designed an artificial intelligence system to monitor and track birdlife near wind power installations, particularly offshore.

Our hope is that the new technology will help Ørsted, and the broader industry, get a better understanding of how birds behave around wind turbines – which will allow for better spatial planning of wind farms and improved biodiversity in the long run.

The hub will also work with Eleven-I, a start-up company based in Yorkshire that has developed special technology to detect damage to wind turbine blades. The technology will be key to reducing unplanned downtime which in turn can help us limit disruptions to energy supplies and help us maintain competitive electricity prices.

These are just a few of the hundreds of external partnerships we are involved in across the globe that help us drive incremental changes to keep our core business competitive. 

But our real ambition is that these dynamic partnerships with start-ups, incubators and academics will lead to us developing, scaling and commercialising game-changing innovation that will accelerate the green energy transition. 

By working with start-ups, we hope to get them to the next level by providing them with access to our teams of sector leading technical and commercial specialists who can advise them on our wants and needs as a potential customer. 

We can also give with access to our existing green energy assets, including our offshore wind and onshore wind and solar farms, to test and pilot solutions. And we can help provide access to capital, either by making investments ourselves, partnering with investment firms, or helping to secure grant funding.  

Collaborative, radical innovation is what we need
ON the road to net-zero, we’ve come a long way. But in many ways, we’re all just getting started. 

To fight the climate crisis, what we need most now is speed and scale in the renewable energy build-out, but it must be done in a sustainable way that also generates real, lasting positive impacts on nature and society.  

Ørsted’s UK and Ireland Innovation Hub will help foster more collaborative work, so we can focus our attention on the radical end of the innovation spectrum and truly deliver a world that runs entirely on green energy. 

David Bould is Ørsted’s Head of UK and Ireland Ventures and Open Innovation