Global Underwater Hub (GUH) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have signed a memorandum of understanding which will see them work in partnership to establish a subsea supply chain ecosystem as a global centre of excellence for floating offshore wind.

The subsea supply chain ecosystem will provide a collaborative environment in which to drive capability and capacity in UK subsea companies so they can capitalise on the opportunities in floating offshore wind, a market estimated to be worth £1tr globally and £270bn domestically.

Gaps in the UK’s underwater supply chain capability, infrastructure, resources and expertise, relative to the needs of the floating offshore wind market, will be identified with targeted support provided to fill those gaps. Focus areas include subsea cable systems, mooring and anchoring as well as underwater operations and maintenance.

Part of the partnership’s remit will be funding and project development, working collaboratively to co-design and develop initiatives which will make effective use of public sector funding to support projects in the supply chain. The funding will anchor local companies and reinforce their competitive advantage in subsea technology and operations.

Neil Gordon, chief executive of the GUH, said: “The growth of floating offshore wind brings massive opportunities for our underwater supply chain. ScotWind alone represents £28bn in development, manufacturing, and installation opportunities to bring 30GW of generating capacity online over the next decade and a further £33bn from operations and maintenance over the full life of a windfarm.”

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