Offshore Wind in China 2018
In October 2018, an Innovate UK Global Expert Mission visited China to meet key stakeholders from the Chinese offshore wind (OSW) market. During the five-day mission, the delegation travelled to Yangjiang, Guangzhou and Beijing to learn more about the Chinese OSW market and R&D landscape, and identify opportunities for collaboration between China and the UK on OSW innovation,
Abstract from outcome report:
The Chinese market is developing fast and it is going to be one of the, if not the, biggest OSW markets in the world in the next decade. Accessing the Chinese market does not just offer access to one market but presents an opportunity for global expansion of the supply as Chinese developers and suppliers look to enter other global markets with their partners.
China has the capabilities to build a comprehensive domestic supply chain but it is likely that specialist niches, for specialist knowledge or cutting edge technology will remain. Despite being niche, these still represent a significant opportunity for UK companies if they can negotiate the complexities of the Chinese OSW market and cultural challenges of working in China.
An effort to integrate UK companies into the Chinese supply needs to happen fast. The UK has a limited window of time to access this market before the Chinese supply chain becomes fully-established and other European countries are the development partner of choice.
Closer collaboration between the UK and China OSW sectors on innovation has the potential to provide significant opportunities for stakeholders in both countries. As discussed, Chinese stakeholders are keen to use both European technology and experience to both accelerate the Chinese OSW market and better position themselves to access a global market. The Chinese market can potentially offer UK innovators a route to overcoming many of the key barriers faced when commercialising OSW technology in the UK; in particular:
- Finance for later stage development and large-scale demonstration
- Access to OSW turbine manufacturers
- Access to sites/turbine for demonstration.
Through collaboration, Chinese stakeholders can provide a route to the market for UK technology companies.
About Global Expert Missions
The Global Expert Missions (GEM) programme is funded by Innovate UK to support the Industrial Strategy’s ambition for the UK to be the international partner of choice for science and innovation. Led by Innovate UK KTN, GEMs play an important role in building strategic partnerships, providing deep insight into the opportunities for UK innovation and shaping future bilateral collaboration programmes.