ITRI and ORE Catapult Sign MoU
By:
Tom Russell
12/07/2021
ITRI
With support from the
Bureau of Energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the
British Office in Taipei, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
and the UK's Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) have signed
the Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperation of offshore wind generation.
This paves the way for an innovation program focusing on offshore wind
operation and maintenance technology that is based on the related experience
of the UK. Technical exchanges aim to strengthen R&D capacities, while
contributing to the improvement of Taiwan's offshore wind generation ecosystem.
In addition to the joint creation of an Innovation Programme, the memorandum
will enable the establishment of a joint working group to focus on wind
turbines, submarine cable equipment, and power facilities. It will also
introduce innovative AI and big data technologies in an effort to promote
offshore wind generation operation and maintenance to become more automated,
digitalized, and smart, consequently reducing energy costs. It is hoped
that the introduction of related technology will help establish the vibrant
development of this industry.
"UK-Taiwan cooperation in offshore wind is growing fast with 30
UK businesses now set up in Taiwan to support the sector," said
John Dennis, Representative of the British Office in Taipei, "It's
fantastic to see our partnership develop further with this MOU, which will
include UK-Taiwan R&D collaboration and spur new innovations in the
sector, increasing renewable capacity in Taiwan and helping to reduce carbon
emissions."
Cheng-Wei Yu, Director General of the Bureau of Energy, remarked that promoting
offshore wind power is an important direction of development for Taiwan.
"The government is committed to such policies to encourage related
academic research and technology R&D, with the hope of achieving the
energy transition to renewables and becoming a hub for offshore wind generation
in Asia," he said, "The UK has accumulated considerable experience
in offshore wind generation and has successfully developed an offshore
wind generation industry," he pointed out, adding that he
is pleased to see ITRI and the UK's ORE Catapult engage in cooperation,
and looks forward to this cooperation yielding abundant results.
ITRI President Edwin Liu commented that economic development among countries
throughout the world is leading to an increase in global demand for energy.
Taiwan is actively developing renewable energy sources, hoping to increase
its energy independence. He visited ORE Catapult in 2019, and since then
the two sides have engaged in cooperation. Taiwan's wind farms will gradually
see completion, and Dr. Liu hopes to incorporate more recommendations and
experiences from those with an international perspective.
"This will
foster more comprehensive development of the wind generation industry locally
and will create a win-win opportunity for the industries of both Taiwan
and the UK," said Dr Liu.
"Taiwan's first offshore wind farm began commercial operation in
2019, and several wind farms will continue to be completed in the future.
After the wind farm is completed and connected to the grid, it will enter
the operation and maintenance (O&M) period of at least 15 years, therefore
O&M technology is a key research area for ITRI," said Dr.
Ming-Shan Jeng, Deputy General Director of ITRI Green Energy and Environment
Research Laboratories, "We have been engaged in international cooperation
for the past two years. With the UK's profound experience in offshore wind
development, we are glad to cooperate with ORE Catapult and hope to accelerate
research and development through offshore wind technology exchange and
information integration."
Dr. Stephen Wyatt, ORE Catapult Research and Disruptive Innovation Director,
observed, "Taiwan is one of the most innovative, progressive and
fastest-growing markets for offshore wind technologies in the world. And
as the largest offshore wind market in the world, the UK has a wealth of
technologies, experience and know-how that can be shared with one of our
largest global trading partners, helping us to expand global clean energy
generation, reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change."
