As companies across the globe reinvent their business practices following the social, economic and humanitarian impacts of Covid-19, one UK based start-up is looking to power operational change with new technologies that will transform the renewable energy and utilities sectors.
Origin Tech, founded by entrepreneurs, Phil Surtees, Steve McKenny and John Marsden, has fast-tracked the development of a remote and autonomous inspection vehicle, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, and it is set to be a ‘game-changer’ for the offshore wind sector.
This technology is aligned to the UK Government Clean Growth element of its industrial strategy and will significantly reduce operation and maintenance costs, improving safety for the sector.
This comes on the back of flagship project announcements in the North East of England for the Port of Tyne to become a new operations and maintenance base for the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Anticipated to provide enough renewable electricity to power 4.5 million homes across the UK, the multi-million-pound investment by Equinor and SSE, will see the operations and maintenance hub serving the 3600MW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm.
Furthermore, a recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency indicates accelerating investment in renewable energy could generate huge economic benefits post Covid-19 while also helping tackle the global climate emergency.
Mr Marsden believes that innovation in this sector – driven by new technology – will be an integral part of wider economic recovery and continued growth. He said: “This is why we have prioritised the acceleration of our development – without compromise on the final output – to launch our wind turbine inspection technology.
“Our solution can perform highly accurate and repeatable inspections of wind turbines eliminating the need for multiple teams with rope access, reducing manpower requirement by a factor of ten.
“As operators look to streamline operations, minimise risk to staff and implement robust social distancing measures, now is the right time to launch our solution in response to Covid-driven change and which we will be doing in the coming months.
“The announcement of the Port of Tyne being chosen as an operations and maintenance hub provides a fantastic opportunity for the local supply chain and we firmly believe that innovative technology, such as our inspection solution will be a welcome addition to enable smoother and safer operations, while also reducing costs.”
Meanwhile, Origin Tech is also preparing launch another novel technology that is set to transform pipeline repairs for utility providers and save them millions of pounds, allowing for household bills to be reduced.
The company has developed a technology that will ensure water mains pipeline leaks can be repaired without the need to dig up the road or street to fix the leak.
This means that the teams of workmen required to dig up the road or street will be significantly reduced, enabling social distancing for the workforce. It is currently in discussions with utility providers to test the technology on working mains and distribution networks.
Origin Tech Ltd was founded in 2019 and specialises in developing a range of innovative technologies that are designed to gather accurate intelligence to inform integrity management decisions. Its technologies will be applied across a range of sectors including, oil and gas, renewables, process and utilities.