ETZ has won £1.25m from BP and £2m from Scottish Enterprise to develop Scotland’s first Energy Incubator and Scale Up Hub (EISH) in Aberdeen.
ETZ, the not-for-profit company tasked with leading North East Scotland’s energy transition ambitions, says the venture will help the local energy supply chain to grow and innovate.
The Hub on the Altens Industrial Estate will be the focal point of the Innovation Campus, one of five specialist campuses being developed across Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone.
BP and Scottish Enterprise will become founding partners of the hub. The remaining funding for the project will be supported through the Scottish Government’s Energy Transition Fund.
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It will include 3,000 sq m of flexible industrial and collaboration space designed to foster manufacturing, supply chain company building, technology research and development and commercialisation, alongside targeted business support to drive entrepreneurship, innovation and growth.
Subject to planning permission, work is expected to begin this summer with opening planned for summer 2024. In the run-up, ETZ will be launching a number of initiatives focused on building the supply chain community including regular networking events, a mentoring programme and targeted energy transition challenges.
Sir Ian Wood, ETZ Ltd chairman, said: “Innovation and a pioneering entrepreneurial spirit have been the hallmark of the North East of Scotland’s energy sector for over 50 years. The Energy Incubator and Scale Up Hub will help build on that proud reputation, allowing us to expand our vital energy supply chain, and be an integral part of the Innovation Campus and Energy Transition Zone.
“We are hugely grateful to BP and Scottish Enterprise for supporting this major project which is further evidence of the importance of collaborating closely with industry and government if we are to achieve an accelerated and successful energy transition, one that creates sustainable jobs and company growth as we create a cutting-edge innovation ecosystem.”
Adrian Gillespie, Scottish Enterprise chief executive, said: "In a region renowned for its engineering talent, innovation and ingenuity, Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone will be a leading innovation district at the forefront of a green energy future.
“Scottish Enterprise has supported the Energy Transition Zone since its inception and is delighted to provide its Energy Incubator and Scale Up Hub project with £2 million funding. The hub will provide a base for green energy start-ups as well as oil and gas companies and associated supply chains who are pivoting their expertise towards the net zero transition.”
Doris Reiter, Senior Vice President North Sea, BP, said: "A highly skilled and innovative supply chain has been the beating heart of the north-east of Scotland for decades. The expertise and technology developed here is a global success story and you would be hard-pressed to visit an oil and gas region anywhere in the world and not find Scotland's influence.
“We're at an exciting moment again in this region's energy story, not least through bp's own plans to scale up offshore wind, hydrogen production and electric vehicle charging, while continuing to focus on safe, reliable, and low emission production of oil and gas from the North Sea. We're proud to be supporting the ETZ's EISH to help ensure this region's pioneering spirit lives on for many more decades."
