A multi-million-pound National Subsea Centre (NSC) officially opened its doors in Aberdeen today as the city seeks to capitalise on the global underwater economy.
The new facility was launched by Energy Secretary Michael Matheson and Scotland Office Minister Lord Offord of Garvel.
With the global underwater economy expected to balloon from £8 billion, as of last year, to £35bn by 2035, the centre is designed to carry out crucial research in areas including subsea engineering, artificial intelligence, data science and integrated energy.
It is the result of a partnership between Robert Gordon University and the Granite City-based Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC), as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
The ministerial duo of Mr Matheson and Lord Offord joined industry and civic leaders to celebrate the launch.
What is the new centre for?
The NSC focuses on three strategic research programmes: transparent ocean, integrated energy and marine operations.
The Dyce facility is already working with NZTC on a number of projects, including SeaSense, which will develop technology that allows remotely-operated vehicles to work in harsh environments with low visibility.
NSC and NZTC are also working together on the latter’s Data for Net Zero project.
It aims to deliver the world’s first smart energy region by using an integrated suite of data science, visualisation and modelling tools.
NSC director John McCall said: “We already have an embedded culture of enthusiasm and curiosity at the centre.
“We use this to drive the development of smart digital and engineering technologies to enable a faster, more cost-effective and sustainable transition to a net-zero energy basin, both locally in the North Sea, and globally in other offshore energy environments.”
Political timing
Mr Matheson helped open the centre just a day after launching the Scottish Government energy strategy, which industry leaders have called a “betrayal”.
Holyrood said its new strategy was aimed at accelerating the country towards net-zero, a goal the NSC will help with.
Mr Matheson said: “In publishing our draft energy strategy and just transition plan this week, we have set out a vision for our energy sector in a net-zero Scotland.
“We have put the Aberdeen region at the heart of this transition, ensuring it is just and fair, and makes the most of the skills and experience that have been built over the past five decades.
“The National Subsea Centre can be a tremendous asset to make this vision a reality.
“It is also another important milestone in the Aberdeen City Region Deal, embodying the collaborative ethos required both to successfully deliver our national strategy for economic transformation and deliver a just transition to net-zero.”
Lord Offord said: “The north-east of Scotland has a wealth of skills and infrastructure and with investment in new technologies it (NSC) will lead the transition to the secure, sustainable net-zero energy industry our country needs.”
NZTC chief executive Colette Cohen said: “This collaboration reinforces Aberdeen’s position as a leader in subsea and will accelerate the research into and deployment of new technologies to tackle subsea engineering challenges, moving Scotland and our sector closer towards its net-zero targets.”