Plans have been unveiled for an entrepreneurial nerve centre at the heart of the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) proposed for Aberdeen.
The £6.5 million energy incubator and scale up “hub” (EISH) is said to be the first of its kind in Scotland.
Energy giant BP has pledged £1.25 million to the project, with a further £2 million coming from economic development quango Scottish Enterprise (SE).
Both organisations will become “founding partners” of the new facility.
The remainder of the cash for the project will be delivered through the Scottish Government’s Energy Transition Fund.
Focal point
EISH is intended to be the focal point of an innovation campus, one of five specialist sites planned for the ETZ, which is earmarked for the south side of Aberdeen.
Once complete, the cluster is expected to become the largest dedicated energy transition complex in Scotland, helping the north-east become Europe’s low carbon capital.
The transition zone development is led by no-for-profit company ETZ Limited.
Sir Ian Wood, the firm’s billionaire 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.”
He added: “We are hugely grateful to BP and Scottish Enterprise for supporting this major project.”
32,000sq ft facility
Earmarked for Hareness Road in Altens Industrial Estate, plans for EISH comprise 32,000sq ft of “flexible industrial and collaboration space”.
Subject to planning permission, work on the site is expected to start this summer, with an official opening already pencilled in for next year.
ETZ Ltd chief executive Maggie McGinlay said the new facility would “complement” existing incubator programmes, rather than compete with them.
She added: “This is about providing the physical space for companies to be located in, so that they can develop prototypes, products and services. We’ll do that in a way so they’re supported by others within the ecosystem, whether that’s Scottish Enterprise, the NZTC (Net Zero Technology Centre), ORE (Offshore Renewable Energy) Catapult, or universities.”
“EISH has been in the pipeline for about 18 months, and it’s really recognising the north-east has always been about helping young companies to grow and be successful.
“We want to ensure that continues as we move into cleaner, greener forms of energy.”
Doris Reiter, BP’s senior vice-president for the North Sea, said: “A highly skilled and innovative supply chain has been the beating heart of the north-east of Scotland for decades.
“Expertise and technology developed here is a global success story.
“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.”
SE chief executive Adrian Gillespie added: “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.
“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.”
Sir Ian Wood revealed plans for the ETZ in 2020, with the aim of developing and nurturing renewable and low carbon energy businesses.
It is hoped Aberdeen can reduce its economic reliance on oil and gas, while ensuring workers have alternative employment.
But local residents fear the zone, which will encroach on St Fittick’s Park, risks their last remaining access to green space.
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