‘Phenomenal’ energy innovators secure £150m investment boost

Energy technology firms showcased at an event in Aberdeen impressed leaders from the UK’s Great British Energy which is now “ready to get moving”.

The organisation’s director of policy and public affairs Paul Addison said the Net Zero Innovator’s conference and event was “phenomenal”

“The reason it is phenomenal is because it is packed with innovators and companies that have a huge potential in the net zero space,” he said.

“It’s one of those things where you have to look beyond the headline, to come to a place like this and then realise they sheer potential of net zero technology and the ability that market will have to create new businesses, new scale ups and new projects right across the UK.”

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The £8 billion publicly-backed firm is in track to open up its headquarters in Aberdeen and will become formalised when the Great British Energy bill receives royal assent in the next month, he said.

GB Energy made its first big investment in a £200 million project to install sola panels on hospitals in England, 

Addison added the organisation was “ready to get moving” and also invested in “nascent technologies”.

“It’s a really exciting time for Great British Energy and the reason for that is we’re getting ready to be established in the way we would like to be established – which is that we want to be a company that invests in nascent technologies, new projects. That could be in floating offshore wind, it could be hydrogen, CCUS. But we are in a space now where we’re feeling like we are ready to get moving,” he said.

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The event was the first to be hosted by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) which is soon to reveal a new strategic vision. Established as the not-for profit Oil and Gas Technology Centre in 2016-17, the venture was backed with £180 million worth of Aberdeen City Region Deal funding over 10 years.

NZTC said dozens of clean energy start-ups have secured £150m in private investment after receiving support from the centre, including its TechX Accelerator programme, which has invested almost £7 million since 2017, helping secure around 20 times that amount in private equity funding.

Companies supported through the programme have generated £36 million in revenue to date, boosting the economy and creating job opportunities across Scotland and the UK.

More than 80 companies have been backed by the NZTC, driving the development of  alternative fuels, carbon capture, hydrogen, renewables and digital technologies.

Overall, NZTC has co-invested £420 million and delivered 1,550 jobs through its technology development and deployment projects.

Around 500 people attended the conference, which showcased breakthrough technologies in offshore robotics, ocean monitoring, wind energy and more to potential customers from energy operators, the energy supply chain and wider industry.

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TechX programe graduate Myriad Wind Energy Systems showcased its wind turbine design characterised by use of many small rotors on one support structure.

Paul Pirrie, co-founder of the firm, developed the modular design approach which saves time and money relative to turbines with huge blades as part of his research into wind and marine energy systems at Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde.

He said: “That solves a lot of problems in the wind industry from large component sizes, hard to manufacturer components that are hard to transport and maintain. What we do is scale things down to a more manageable size. Everything fits on the back of an HGV. You can lift things a lot more easily. It’s easy to manufacture. You get a lot of cost savings and there’s a lot of other benefits as well.”

Currently the firm is closing its first seven-figure fundraising. It will start its commercial journey by targeting the distributed wind market including farms, distilleries and data centres and is on track for a full scale pilot in 2027. He sees potential in developing its technology approach for floating offshore wind also.

“We can service everything with SOVs instead of jack up vessels and that means you can have scheduled maintenance only. You can cluster maintenance operations together and have a much more manageable system. You don’t have to tow anything. Everything can be done at sea with manageable component sizes.”

Exhibitors also included HonuWorx, developing all-electric, uncrewed mothership submarines for subsea robots, cutting emissions by up to 30 tonnes per day, and and Frontier Robotics, which enhances marine robots’ ability to operate autonomously, potentially transforming offshore wind farm maintenance.

ACUA Ocean is developing the world’s first hydrogen-powered uncrewed surface vessel for offshore monitoring, built for long endurance and zero emissions.

Other notable exhibitors included Wastewater Fuels, converting wastewater into green hydrogen, and JET Connectivity, which uses 5G mesh buoys to replace outdated offshore communication methods.

The event also featured panels on decarbonisation, with former semi-professional footballer turned entrepreneur Chris Herd, founder of Firstbase, discussing scaling up and Aberdeen’s role in energy innovation.

A roundtable explored how to unlock energy tech innovation and TechX Accelerator participants competed in a ‘pitch battle’ to showcase their clean energy solutions.

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NZTC chief acceleration officer Mark Anderson said: “The £150 million in private investment raised by companies through our TechX Accelerator programme shows the real value of the work happening here.

“We have committed nearly £7 million since 2017 and in return these companies have secured private funding, created jobs and generated real economic growth.

“It is not just about technological breakthroughs. It is about making the right connections, matching innovators with industry leaders who can help trial, scale and deploy their solutions.

“By bringing together cutting-edge startups with industry decision-makers, we are accelerating the development of breakthrough technologies and ensuring they can be deployed at scale to make a real difference in the energy transition.”

“This conference has showcased Aberdeen’s role in advancing energy innovation and how collaboration is key to driving growth, creating jobs and building a more sustainable economy for communities across the UK.”

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