UK GRID SOLUTIONS LIMITED

Their core work

UK Grid Solutions (operating under GE Renewable Energy, Grid Solutions) is a large industrial company specializing in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems and power grid infrastructure for offshore wind energy. They provide critical grid connection technologies — including circuit breakers, protection systems, and diode rectifier converters — that enable large-scale offshore wind farms to feed power into onshore grids. Their work spans the full chain from offshore wind turbine upscaling to meshed HVDC network design and grid integration of renewables.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 involvement (2016–2017) centered on HVDC transmission infrastructure — meshed offshore grids, circuit breakers, protection systems, and North Sea grid regulation. By 2018, the focus shifted toward the generation side: next-generation 12+ MW offshore wind turbines, cost reduction (LCoE, grid parity), and digitalisation of wind energy systems. This trajectory shows a move from pure grid hardware toward end-to-end offshore wind solutions encompassing both generation and transmission.

They are expanding from transmission-only expertise toward integrated offshore wind solutions, making them increasingly relevant for projects targeting cost-competitive, utility-scale offshore renewable energy.

How they like to work

UK Grid Solutions overwhelmingly participates as a third party (3 of 4 projects), contributing specialized industrial expertise without taking on coordination or formal partner roles. They operate within large consortia — 115 unique partners across their portfolio — suggesting they are called in for specific technical contributions rather than project leadership. This is typical of a large industrial company that provides real-world equipment and testing capabilities to research-driven projects.

Despite limited formal participation, they are connected to 115 unique consortium partners across 18 countries, reflecting the large-scale nature of offshore wind and HVDC projects that require pan-European consortia. Their network is heavily concentrated in North Sea and Northern European energy markets.

What sets them apart

As part of GE Renewable Energy, they bring actual industrial manufacturing and deployment capability to EU research projects — not just research expertise but the ability to build and install HVDC equipment at scale. Their combination of grid transmission hardware (circuit breakers, converters, protection systems) with offshore wind domain knowledge is rare among H2020 participants. For consortium builders, they offer a direct path from research results to industrial deployment in offshore energy infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROMOTION
  Major EU initiative on meshed HVDC offshore transmission networks — their only project as a direct participant, with EUR 268K in EC funding, addressing a critical bottleneck for North Sea wind power.
• ReaLCoE
  Long-running project (2018–2026) targeting next-generation 12+ MW offshore wind turbines and grid parity — signals their strategic direction toward integrated offshore wind solutions.