Posted on June 15, 2022
Equinor and BP have announced the launch of a New York-based Offshore Wind Innovation Hub aimed at facilitating partnerships with start-ups that bring new technological solutions to the rapidly growing U.S. offshore wind industry. The initiative springs from a new three-year partnership between Equinor, the Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium (NOWRDC), supported by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
The new Innovation Hub will build on the success of the Urban Future Lab in promoting and helping the launch of clean tech start-ups, fostering collaboration with the international incubator community to cultivate pilots and demonstration projects that accelerate advances in offshore wind.
The Innovation Hub will create a physical location for offshore wind programming and serve as a center for the industry’s innovation ecosystem. It will host educational programming, workshops and curricula for the start-ups, as well as networking opportunities with industry participants. It will be located adjacent to Equinor and BP’s new project office in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Equinor is leading the initiative on behalf of its 50-50 strategic partnership with BP which is developing the Beacon Wind and Empire Wind projects.
“Offshore wind is increasingly accepted as a viable new source of renewable energy, but the industry has evolved by harnessing the power of nature through cutting-edge technological solutions,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, president of Equinor Wind U.S. “Equinor and BP are thrilled to launch this partnership in an effort to push the envelope even further by nurturing innovative new ideas from around the world that will help drive technological growth and efficiency even further. Establishing this innovation hub is just one way we are accelerating the development of the offshore wind industry in New York and beyond.”
In the coming months, the partners will develop a call for applications to identify and select industry-leading start-ups whose technologies address key challenges facing U.S. offshore wind. Once chosen, these startups will receive tailored support laying the groundwork for potential partnerships with Equinor and the participating start-ups.
