Oil & gas supermajors Shell and Total are joining offshore wind developers EDF, EDPR, Equinor, Mainstream, ESB, ScottishPower, SSE, and a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and Scottish start-up RIDG to drive forward a new floating wind R&D hub launched last year in the UK.

The Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOWCoE), run by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, aims to tackle “critical challenges” to the industrialisation of the rapidly emerging sector, in areas of technology development, supply chain and operations, development and consent, and delivering on Britain’s 2050 net zero ambitions, while creating business opportunities for UK companies.