An offshore wind ‘living lab’ will be created off the Grimsby coast through the development of a 5G Testbed that includes Grimsby Port and the Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farm.The £2.8m project will accelerate the development of a new generation of digital technologies essential for the expansion of offshore wind generation. It is being driven by a consortium led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and bringing together the expertise of Microsoft, Vilicom, JET Connectivity, XceCo, Associated British Ports (ABP), Accelleran and Satellite Applications Catapult.The 5G Testbed will allow technology providers to test and demonstrate their equipment in real world conditions, with access to reliable, high-speed communications. It aims to kickstart a digital revolution in offshore wind O&M in the region and attract users from the global offshore wind sector.
The project will be funded with £1m from the Innovate UK Cyber Physical Infrastructure (CPI) fund, an expected £1m from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and industry match funding.
