ARC Marine Ltd., Verlume Ltd. and ForWind, the Center for Wind Energy Research at the University of Oldenburg, have won RWE’s first international Innovation Competition. The companies participated in the competition that was launched by RWE in November last year, searching for innovative solutions to improve the ecological impact of offshore wind farms and to optimise the system integration of offshore wind into the energy grid. RWE initiated this competition because it has the strong conviction that collaborating with companies, start-ups and individuals around the world provides new valuable insights for the sustainable and cost-efficient expansion of offshore wind.
The competition focused on two key areas: ecology and system integration. ARC Marine from England is the winner of the Ecology Innovation and focuses on sustainable cable and scour protection. In the category System Integration, there are two winners: Verlume from Scotland, a company that works on offshore subsea battery systems with integrated intelligent energy management, and ForWind from Germany, which has developed a unique methodology for lidar- and observer-based forecasting of wind power production.
For the selection of the winners, RWE has performed a thorough technical assessment with a jury consisting of leading experts from RWE in all different technical and commercial fields, and discovered the great potential of the innovations. During a live ceremony at RWE’s headquarters in Essen, the winners received a specially-made award, handed over by Frank Scholtka, Head of Electrical, Instrumentation & Control from RWE Renewables, on behalf of RWE’s innovation team. Furthermore, the winners are in close exchange with RWE’s innovation team and will jointly assess opportunities for further developing their solution towards commercialisation. RWE has already included the winners into its bid for the Dutch offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust West site VI and VII and will evaluate the use for other commercial offshore wind projects.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Wind Offshore of RWE Renewables states: “As one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, RWE promotes the pursuit of innovation in offshore wind energy. To support this ambition, we have launched this Innovation Competition to establish, in addition to our own expertise, refreshing new partnerships with resourceful people and companies. From a large number of high quality applications.
ARC Marine, Verlume and ForWind, the Center for Wind Energy Research at the University of Oldenburg, emerged as the winners. The winners have devised solutions that help to accelerate the energy transition by creating a positive impact on marine ecology and integrating offshore wind energy into the energy system. We strongly believe in working together in order to make a real difference for the future energy supply.”