Competition-winning firm awarded £10k to develop tech to reduce wind farm impact on marine life in Northumberland

The Offshore Wind Spin-in competition was launched last year for businesses with new technology in the industry to help them make connections in the local area.

Winning firm Pulcea was awarded the grant for its work on protecting marine life from the effects of wind farm construction noise.

The Stirling based company is developing a solution that will allow existing projects on hold for environmental reasons to proceed.

As a finalist, the firm has also been receiving free networking and advisory services from Advance Northumberland for a number of months.

Ian Armstrong, managing director of Pulcea, said: “The Advance Northumberland team has helped Pulcea become embedded into the North of Tyne region, opened the door to new connections in the offshore wind industry and given us a clear understanding of the sector in this region.

“With assets such as the Port of Blyth, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and organisations such as NOF and Global Underwater Hub having a strong presence in the region, North of Tyne’s offering to the offshore wind sector is hugely exciting.”

Michael Black, director of economic growth and investments at Advance Northumberland, added: “Pulcea is a fine example of the kind of visionary and ambitious companies that are being attracted to North of Tyne’s vibrant and rapidly developing offshore renewables industry, and its supporting infrastructure, specialist expertise and facilities.”

The competition’s runner-up was Istanbul-based Kavaken, which uses artificial intelligence to improve wind farm efficiency.