OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY CATAPULT

Their core work

The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (formerly NAREC) is the UK's national innovation centre for offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy. They operate large-scale testing infrastructure and provide applied R&D services to help the offshore renewables industry reduce costs, improve reliability, and accelerate technology deployment. Their work spans turbine blade testing, floating wind substructure qualification, tidal array demonstration, and wind farm control optimization — bridging the gap between academic research and commercial-scale offshore energy generation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), the Catapult focused broadly across the offshore renewables spectrum — tidal turbines, marine test infrastructure, and initial floating wind work. From 2019 onward, a clear shift emerged toward floating offshore wind (STEP4WIND), advanced materials (Carbo4Power), and operational optimization, reflecting the industry's maturation from demonstration to cost reduction. The tidal energy thread continued but the centre of gravity moved decisively toward wind, particularly floating concepts and system-level engineering.

Moving toward floating offshore wind system engineering and operational cost reduction — expect future work in deep-water wind farms and digital twin applications for O&M.

How they like to work

The Catapult operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator in H2020 — consistent with their role as an applied R&D centre that brings testing capability and industry expertise rather than academic leadership. With 131 unique partners across 20 countries, they are a well-connected hub, not a captive partner of any single network. Their participation across RIA, IA, CSA, and MSCA schemes shows versatility — they contribute to fundamental research, demonstration projects, and training networks alike.

Extensively networked across 20 countries with 131 distinct consortium partners, indicating a central position in Europe's offshore energy research ecosystem. Strong ties to both academic institutions (via MSCA training networks) and industry players (via innovation actions).

What sets them apart

As the UK's designated Catapult centre for offshore renewables, they occupy a unique position between academia and industry — they have industrial-scale test facilities that universities cannot match, combined with research depth that commercial firms rarely maintain. Their dual expertise in both wind and tidal energy is uncommon; most organisations specialise in one. For any consortium needing credible, industry-facing validation of offshore energy technology, they are a natural choice with pre-existing relationships across the European offshore sector.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EnFAIT
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.5M) — a flagship tidal array demonstration project running six years, proving real-world tidal energy viability.
• STEP4WIND
  Their most recent major project (EUR 744K), targeting the full lifecycle of floating wind farms from design through operation — signals their strategic direction.
• MARINET2
  Pan-European marine energy infrastructure network providing transnational access to testing facilities — positions the Catapult as a key node in Europe's research infrastructure.