17 June 2026
An independent, mission-led partnership has been officially launched at Global Offshore Wind aiming to become the innovation and industrialisation engine for the UK’s offshore wind industry.
The Wind Innovation Hub is a new independent initiative which combines the specialist skills and expertise of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult with the advanced manufacturing know-how of NCC and National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), both part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
Its stated mission – to accelerate innovation across the UK’s offshore wind sector, focused on the five priority areas of opportunity outlined in the Industrial Growth Plan (IGP) for offshore wind. These include advanced turbine technology, industrialised foundations and substructures, future electrical systems and cables, smart environmental services, and next generation installation and operations and maintenance (O&M).
Funded by Innovate UK, the Hub will bring together industry, government and academia to define technology priorities and identify knowledge gaps, in addition to aiding the design, development, de-risking and demonstration of next-generation technologies to accelerate their transition from advanced R&D into industrial deployment.
Its first initiative will be the £2 million ‘Accelerating Innovations’ programme, designed to provide tailored in-kind support to high-growth UK companies developing mission-aligned technologies. Qualifying businesses will be able to access expert technical assistance, manufacturing and materials insight, testing and validation, commercial readiness support and stronger routes to investment. Though central UK industrialisation focus points exist for other industries, including the aerospace and automotive sectors, the Wind Innovation Hub will be a first for the wind sector.
Lynne McIntosh-Grieve, Programme Director for The Wind Innovation Hub said:
The UK has built a global leadership position in offshore wind, but staying ahead will take faster innovation, stronger collaboration and better support for the technologies and businesses shaping the next generation of projects. The Wind Innovation Hub has been created to do exactly that.
“Our role is to identify and accelerate the innovations and technologies the sector needs most, focusing effort on the five key technology areas identified in the Industrial Growth Plan. By combining market intelligence, roadmapping and hands-on technical support, the Wind Innovation Hub will connect the right challenge to the right expertise – and turn shared insight into coordinated action.
Minister for Energy, Michael Shanks, said:
Offshore wind is the backbone of our future energy system. By backing British innovation, we can go further and faster in building a system that protects families and businesses from fossil fuel price shocks.
“This is an exciting new initiative that will help businesses grow, support jobs, boost manufacturing and speed up the transition to clean, homegrown power we control.
Rob Saunders, Director Clean Energy, Innovate UK said:
The Wind Innovation Hub represents a key coordinator of Innovate UK’s Offshore Wind Innovation programme, supporting collaboration across industry, research and regional clusters to accelerate offshore wind innovation.
“As part of this wider programme, we are working to turn the UK’s high-potential innovations into scalable, globally competitive businesses.
Jo Dally, Chief Business Officer at NCC said:
The UK has an opportunity to strengthen its leadership in offshore wind technologies and the industrial growth this would unlock. Realising this depends on effectively translating innovation into industrial impact. The Wind Innovation Hub brings together expertise from across the sector to identify the most important innovation challenges, accelerate the solutions needed to address them, and to anchor and scale companies across the supply chain. We are proud to be part of this collaboration and to help drive the next phase of growth for offshore wind in the UK.
Chris Courtney, CEO, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) said:
Offshore wind represents one of the UK’s biggest industrial opportunities. The challenge now is to ensure that more of the manufacturing, technology and economic value associated with the sector is delivered right here in the UK.
“Through the Wind Innovation Hub, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) will work alongside ORE Catapult and the National Composites Centre (NCC) to accelerate the development and adoption of the technologies required to create a globally competitive UK offshore wind sector. Success will mean more UK businesses securing work in offshore wind, more manufacturers developing the skills and capacity required to scale production, and a stronger domestic supply chain helping to deliver the energy transition.
The Wind Innovation Hub will bring together multiple strands within the wind sector to create a blueprint for a connected industrial pathway that can deliver major economic benefit for the UK. That will include identifying and supporting critical demonstrations and investments geared towards de-risking key technologies and manufacturing processes, as well as the businesses capable of bringing them to fruition.