A New Partnership in Offshore Wind

Siemens has opened a £310m turbine blade factory in Hull, and the world’s largest offshore wind developer, DONG Energy, is pouring money into maintaining the growing fleet of offshore wind farms. This £7.64m, five-year programme brings together those two industrial giants with academic researchers to tackle the fundamental science problems that keep the cost of offshore wind electricity too high. The research focuses on the earliest stages of technology development (TRL1-3), where industry typically underinvests. The £3.83m from EPSRC unlocks £2.50m in industrial funding for this early-stage work, plus £1.31m from academic partners. If it succeeds, the programme will help reduce the Levelised Cost of Electricity from offshore wind—the metric that determines whether wind power can compete with fossil fuels without subsidies. Lower costs mean more offshore wind farms, more UK supply chain jobs, and cheaper electricity for consumers. The work also supports the growth of a domestic blade manufacturing and maintenance industry, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers for critical components.