General – Cable Testing
The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, in partnership with the North East Combined Authority, has announced a £2.1 million investment in a new offshore wind cable testing rig at the Catapult’s world-leading facilities in Blyth.
The multi-million pound investment, funded by the North East Combined Authority, will allow ORE Catapult to build a new high voltage (HV) electrical test facility at its Blyth site, and install bespoke equipment to carry out ‘pre-qualification’ testing on HV cable systems.
The testing system will apply extremely high voltages and currents to cables – creating stresses above operational levels in a real-world environment.
The testing space will also allow the cable to be installed in different representative conditions, including buried, ducted, and submerged in salt water, if required, to test its capabilities.
Currently, this type of testing can take up to two years, and there are currently no facilities capable of providing this service within the UK.
This new development will speed up nationwide production, shorten time to market for new technology, and deliver improved cable system reliability.
ORE Catapult will collaborate with organizations in the cable manufacturing sector throughout the UK and globally, with international cable manufacturer JDR Systems being the first to sign up for the facility, which is set to open at the end of 2026.
