Selected solution provider(s) may have the opportunity to present their solution to industry via the G+ Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation. It is also possible that further activities may be undertaken by members of the G+, such as product trials. This is not guaranteed and will be solely at the discretion of G+ members.

The G+ Organisation
G+ is the global health and safety organisation for the offshore wind industry, bringing together the World&rsquo;s major offshore wind farm operators and wind turbine manufacturers to pursue shared goals and outcomes. It is run in partnership with the Energy Institute, which provides the secretariat and supports its work.
The G+ has four main work areas:
<ul>
<li>Incident data reporting</li>
<li>Good practice guidance</li>
<li>Safe by Design workshops</li>
<li>Learning from incidents.</li>
</ul>
Offshore Wind Farm Operations
The UK is a global leader in offshore wind with over 14 Gigawatts of operational offshore wind farms in UK waters.
All offshore wind farms require significant operations and maintenance schedules that include technician teams, delivered to site via Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) or Offshore Service Vessels (SOVs). There is high demand for vessels, human resource, and tooling to enable maintenance of large mechanical and electrical components.
Figure 1: Offshore wind farm with CTV docked, ready for deploying technicians

Background

d5ec3735-a8e0-4aca-abe4-3415f95f9bc0/Picture1.png

The grease removal challenge
Main bearings are typically designed to receive grease repeatedly through their lifetime, where new grease is inserted into the bearing and old grease excretes into a grease tray. Once a year, for a main bearing in an offshore wind turbine, &nbsp;the grease needs to be removed from the grease tray and the surrounding area. The areas are very hard to reach for both the technician and any cleaning equipment. Used grease is often difficult to handle and in many cases has solidified or turned into a thick, glutenous substance that is difficult to remove. Effective removal takes up technician&rsquo;s time whilst at sea, leading to increased H&amp;S risks, as well as increased costs, of both the technician&rsquo;s time as well as the supporting infrastructure (CTV or SOV and equipment). The ergonomic challenge of reaching the area for cleaning also poses further H&amp;S risk.
Despite searching, operators have not found existing market-available cleaning or electro-mechanical devices that can remove the grease quickly and efficiently. This is due to the viscosity and sticky nature of the grease, after it has been through the bearing, and, in most cases, sat offshore for many months. The current process for removal of grease involves the technician manually scraping the grease tray and disposing of it in bags that are then removed from the turbine by the technician.
In the G+ offshore wind H&amp;S incident dataset (2014-Q3 2024), there were 86 incidents involving grease, 77% of which were in operational sites. Looking at the incident area, two areas stand out as being the most grease related. 24 incidents, representing 28% of the total, occurred in the turbine nacelle, and 22 incidents, representing 26% of the total, occurred in the turbine hub and blades. Over half of all grease incidents occurred in these two areas.
Figure 2: Images of areas that require grease removal (Source: SGRE)

The Challenge

22b402ca-a715-478a-8bbf-87e76a696ac5/Picture1.png

Further details on the specifics of the challenge can be found in the sections below.
The Challenge holder is looking for solutions to make the task easier or faster, while not compromising safety. Whilst not limiting the technologies from solution providers, it is expected that applicants would consider innovations from some of the following areas:
<ul>
<li>Industrial cleaning equipment</li>
<li>Industrial cleaning agents</li>
<li>Heavy engineering and manufacturing</li>
<li>Robotics and mechatronics</li>
<li>Aerospace engineering and manufacturing</li>
<li>Smart autonomous systems</li>
<li>Existing offshore wind farm O&amp;M industry (new ideas)</li>
</ul>
To meet the desired timescale and risks, it is preferred that the proposed solution, or the key part(s) of the solution, has been commercially proven in other sectors. As a guideline, solutions should be TRL 5+ or deployable for field tests within one year of competition closure.
Representatives of G+ and its member organisations, including turbine manufacturers (and their installation teams) Siemens Gamesa and Vestas, may be involved in the review of submissions to this competition. G+ will give successful applicants the opportunity to present to their member organisations from across both the offshore wind and broader maritime workboat industries, in both the UK and broader global markets.

A grease removal solution should:
<ul>
<li>Help technicians remove grease from grease trays from hard-to-reach areas (see figure 2)</li>
<li>Ensure removal of both the grease and any highly viscous residue that has built up in the areas that require cleaning. This can be seen in figure 2 and is often a very thick, hard clump of grease and waste materials mixed together.</li>
<li>Operate easily and simply by an offshore technician, or in cases where it is an autonomous in-situ solution, should operate without major requirement for manual intervention.</li>
<li>Be light enough that it would mitigate any manual handling risks associated with deploying it.</li>
<li>Be deployable offshore in remote locations</li>
<li>Not negatively impact a technician&rsquo;s freedom of movement.</li>
<li>Be cost effective for offshore wind industry operations</li>
<li>Be able to be deployed on offshore wind farm sites that typically have 100-300 turbines.</li>
<li>Align with offshore and marine operational, health and safety statutory standards</li>
</ul>
The initial market for these solutions is the UK and as such, the HSE will likely need to have assessed the approach (or something similar to the final solution) before commercial deployment and must be shown some confidence in its potential future certification. G+ will be supportive of successful solutions and may offer help to the company to navigate standards and safety in the UK industry.

Functional Requirements

A grease removal solution for bolt fitting should:
<ul>
<li>Be capable of supporting a technician to remove grease that is similar to greases detailed <a href="https://www.shell.com/business-customers/lubricants-for-business/sector-expertise/power-industry/wind-power/greases.html">here</a>.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Be battery powered or able to be powered from a standard 13 amp mains socket (available in the nacelle of the turbine)</li>
</ul>

Technical Requirements

The solution should:
Be operated safely and reliably in offshore conditions of:
<ul>
<li>Up to 12m/s wind speeds</li>
<li>1-2m wave heights</li>
<li>Ambient temperatures of -10&deg;C to +40&deg;C</li>
</ul>
Maintain safe clearances from the turbine structure or components.&nbsp;

Operating Conditions

An offshore operation using a CTV could cost in the region of &pound;5-10k per 12 hour day shift, inclusive of 2-3 technician teams. Transit time is included in this shift time and will vary with every site, dependent on its distance from shore.
An offshore operation using an SOV could cost in the region of &pound;20-30k per 24 hour day shift, inclusive of 5-6 technician teams that are on 2 week on/off offshore rotation.
Grease removal currently is inefficient and takes 1-2 hours or more of effective technician time offshore. Any saving of this would be an improvement to operational efficiency and a reduction in health and safety risks.

Cost Requirement

Selected solution provider(s) will have the opportunity to present their solution to industry. It is also possible that further activities may be undertaken by members of the G+, including product trials, although this is not guaranteed.
The solution has potential to be deployed across offshore wind farm sites in operation, globally.
The benefits package for a successful applicant may also include:
<ul>
<li>Support from Innovate UK Business Connect</li>
<li>Technical support</li>
<li>Invitation to attend or present at Innovate UK Business Connect events</li>
<li>A potential business collaboration</li>
<li>Investor introductions (if investment is required)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Support if any Innovate UK or similar competitions are relevant.

Rewards & Market Opportunity

<ul>
<li>Launch of the Competition: 17/03/2025</li>
<li>Deadline for applications: 12/05/2025</li>
<li>Selection and notification of finalists: June 2025</li>
</ul>
Solutions should be:
<ul>
<li>Fully deployable for prototype testing within 12 months of competition win.</li>
<li>Full commercial deployment within 18 months (there are operational sites that a solution could start work on immediately if the solution is already commercially available).</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Timescales

Entrants to this competition must be:
<ul>
<li>Established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs, or individual entrepreneurs</li>
<li>UK based or have the intention to set up a UK base</li>
</ul>
Applications will be assessed on:
<ul>
<li>Relevance to the defined challenge</li>
<li>Benefit of implementation</li>
<li>Feasibility/economic viability</li>
<li>Innovative nature</li>
<li>Ability to launch in line with expected timescales</li>
<li>Credibility of applicant company</li>
<li>Coherence of the proposed business model</li>
<li>Development potential</li>
<li>Maturity of the solution</li>
<li>Suitability for the intended geographic market</li>
</ul>

Eligibility & Assessment Criteria

Existing background IP associated with a potential solution will remain with Solution Provider(s). Where any new IP generation is envisaged, it will be subject to the mutual IP agreement of the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger.&nbsp;
Any commercial deployment of a transferred solution or newly developed solution, through licensing, joint venture, partnership, or direct investment, will be subject to the commercial agreement between the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger.&nbsp;
Where necessary, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may be signed to uphold confidentiality in the engagement between the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger. This would be expected to be after company selection. All entries are treated as confidential and only shared with Innovate UK and the challenge holder, however if the innovator is concerned about sharing IP, it is suggested that details of IP are not disclosed. Instead, focus on the outcomes of the technology proposed.&nbsp;
Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect do not take any share of IP ownership or enter commercial ventures through the iX programme.

IP & Potential Commercial Route

A selected panel of assessors will review and score your application. The panel of assessors will meet and agree a consensus score. Successful solutions will be selected by the Challenge holder. Success will be based upon total consensus scores, a portfolio approach and capacity within the challenge holders to carry out the projects.

Terms & Conditions

The application form for this challenge will require applicants to provide company information and answer 3 questions - Idea Summary, Technology Readiness and Intellectual Property &ndash; each with a limit of 300 words.
Optionally, supporting documents can be attached to the application. We recommend that supporting documents are limited to those which are directly relevant to the application. Please note that applications with no supporting document will not receive any penalty in assessment. Supporting documents which the Assessment Panel deems to be superfluous may be disregarded. Examples of useful additional documents include product images or short specification sheets, slide decks detailing the solution and/or company background, or solution case studies.
We recommend that you complete the application form in Google Chrome as other browsers may have compatibility issues. The application form does not need to be completed in one session and can be saved for future edits. Please ensure that you toggle &ldquo;Stage Complete&rdquo; for each section before submission. Note that you will no longer be able to edit your application once you have clicked &ldquo;Submit Idea&rdquo; at the bottom of the Summary page.

Application & Technical Guidance

<ul class="x_MailOutline">
<li class="x_MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">What water content if any is in the discharge?</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal">There isn&rsquo;t any water. It&rsquo;s a type of oil form the grease that is discharged.&nbsp;</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">What volume of grease is discharged over what amount of time?</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal">It is difficult to quantify the volume of grease that is discharged it depends on the turbine and how it was serviced the previous year. The trays can be full or can be empty when we arrive, it varies.&nbsp;</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">Is it possible to describe the access route more getting to the grease tray? What is the max size of device we can get up there?</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal">With some grease trays the technician is on a small stepladder and others, the technician can remove them to bring them down to ground level for cleaning. The ones under the main bearing, a technician is working just in-front of themself and reaching out.&nbsp;</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">Is there any chance of getting a low pressure water supply up in the nacelle?</li>
<li class="x_MsoNormal">It is probably not possible to have a low pressure water supply because that would require retrofits and then planning, which is likley cost prohibitive. At the moment, technicians do bring water drums up for when they are jet washing the radiators. That&rsquo;s the only similar solution that would work.</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Do we know density and pH of the sludge/grease?</li>
<li>We cannot confirm the PH at this stage as it is not on the COSHH sheets for the grease.</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">What is the maximum payload of the grease tray?</li>
<li>The grease trays can hold varying amounts so the payload we can only estimate but at most this is likely 10-15kg at their fullest on certain trays\containers.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">What is the final waste disposal of the sludge/grease (drum, bag&hellip;)?</li>
<li>The final waste point would be to have it in a bag and then it is disposed of onshore in to a grease only bin.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">What are the operating area dimensions for the technician to clean the grease?</li>
<li>The grease trays can all be removed form their mounting positions, they can be cleaned on the floor level so there's a decent amount of space, within reason. For the size of the tool in comparisons, technicians use vacuum cleaners for cleaning oil so that's about the size of a 20L Hoover. This scale would be good for the tool in mind.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Is there access to air lines / compressors?</li>
<li>There is no access to compressed air</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">How far away is the nearest power socket?</li>
<li>The nearest socket is in the yaw - 110v socket. But if needed a technician could bring extensions from other areas.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">We have visited the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.shell.com/business-customers/lubricants-for-business/sector-expertise/power-industry/wind-power/greases.html">Shell page</a> on lubricants provided: are all the listed greases in use (and we have to develop a universal solution)? or are only specific grades to be considered?&nbsp;</li>
<li>Greases used are Shell rodina grease BZZ, FAG arcanolLOAD400, CASTROL OPTIPIT and Kluberplex 41-132 3KG Membrane. These are the ones detailed in the COSHH.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Efficient Grease Removal for Safer Offshore Wind Operations

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Efficient Grease Removal for Safer Offshore Wind Operations