Deep tech solutions set to maintain the UK’s offshore wind success

Aaron Blutstein 30 April 2026  

Digital Catapult, in partnership with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind, is unlocking deep tech innovation in offshore wind through collaboration with two UK innovators.  AIM Group and Entopy were selected through the Digital Innovation Challenge to adapt and enhance existing digital and AI solutions, with the aim of strengthening offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) and equipping the UK industry to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving energy landscape. 

Offshore wind farms generate significant amounts of data which could be leveraged to inform and advance decision-making, strengthening O&M capabilities and unlocking benefits such as enhanced safety, cost-savings and improved operational efficiency. The Digital Innovation Challenge will enable the maturation of AI-led solutions to determine how data can drive progress by reducing the operational costs and safety risks associated with operating and maintaining offshore windfarms across the UK.  

For the challenge, AIM Group will look at how AI can be used to transform structural risk management across man-made assets, detecting tiny changes as early-stage defects and forecasting how they will evolve over time, with 99% accuracy. The second innovator, Entopy, is pioneering ‘Unified Operational Intelligence’ for complex infrastructure systems, helping decision-makers to understand how events propagate across operations, and enabling better oversight of where small disruptions can create large cascading impacts. 

As part of the programme, Digital Catapult will support both innovators by providing innovation and technological consultancy, ethical and responsible AI guidance, and considerations for the successful implementation of their AI innovations in offshore windfarm operations. ORE Catapult will strengthen the innovators’ understanding of the sector, ensuring that the adapted solutions have strong product-market fit, while outlining the inter-dependencies, complexities and data structure of offshore wind asset management.  

As the offshore wind industry continues to grow in the UK, the number of assets entering the O&M phase of the life cycle is set to grow significantly, increasing the demand for efficient, cost-effective, and scalable solutions that can accelerate the broader digitalisation of offshore wind O&M. As part of the programme, the innovators will receive support from Ørsted and both Catapults over six months, with opportunities to partner with Ørsted to further develop the solutions, and potentially pilot them within Ørsted’s global portfolio, including its 12 operational UK offshore wind farms. 

Jessica Rushworth, Chief Partnerships Officer, Digital Catapult, commented: “The UK is a global leader in offshore wind as the world’s second-largest market, generating around 17% of the country’s electricity. Maintaining this position will require continued deep tech innovation to meet growing demand and strengthen long-term energy resilience that will equip the UK to be future ready. That progress can only be mobilised through meaningful partnership between innovators, industry leaders and innovation organisations, and Digital Catapult is proud to partner with Ørsted and Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult to demonstrate how collaboration can drive tangible progress towards a more sustainable and efficient energy future.”