Collaborating to make innovation happen

On the 15th February the Oil & Gas Technology Centre and FWB Park Brown hosted a dinner with 40 equity investors and corporate finance advisors to discuss the Centre’s plans for a Technology Accelerator to help stimulate innovative oil and gas technology research and development.

Investors heard how the changing face of the North Sea industry means there are more smaller operating companies on the UK Continental Shelf than ever before, with this diversity and new thinking essential to unlocking the full potential of UK offshore oil and gas.

But these smaller players have less capacity to invest in leading-edge technology research and development, and there is currently limited support to enable small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to drive innovation and deliver the next generation of solutions.

This means the current SME ‘technology pipeline’ is slow, in large part due to a lack of early-stage investment to help companies get their ideas off the ground and take their solutions to the next level. This is where the Oil & Gas Technology Centre will help.

The Centre’s Technology Accelerator will enable innovation by supporting SMEs in the supply chain to take ideas through the technology lifecycle, connecting investors to SMEs with new ideas, and providing co-funding, mentoring and access to key facilities and expertise.

The programme aims to help these smaller supply chain companies overcome the obstacles they face in commercialising and deploying their solutions, and will provide a physical space to nurture their ideas in a culture of innovation and collaboration.

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre is targeting investment in 100 technology-driven companies over the next decade, through a fast, flexible and transparent process that evaluates solutions and provides the right support and investment to help them take off.

The comprehensive evaluation process will see the best ideas selected for acceleration, with others recommended for incubation. The Centre will work with SMEs to provide access to facilities, skills, partners, as well as test and deployment opportunities.

The Centre will help make connections with investors and with oil and gas operators, developing successful ideas through collaborative workshops and putting in place bespoke funding, intellectual property and development plans for each successful idea.

FWB Park Brown are searching for the Technology Accelerator Director who will build a team and define the key processes to deliver the Technology Acceleration programme. Work to design and build the incubator space is already underway and key partners are being identified with aim of evaluating the first ideas by summer 2017.

Colette Cohen, Chief Executive of the Oil & Gas Technology Centre said:

“I welcomed the opportunity to talk with equity investors at tonight’s dinner and highlight the opportunity that exists to identify and fund the next generation of innovative SME technology companies that will play such a vital role in the future of the North Sea oil and gas sector.

“The changing face of the North Sea industry means there are more smaller operating companies than ever before and these SMEs need support to deliver the leading-edge technology research and development essential to maximising recovery and create value.

“Our Technology Accelerator will identify supply chain SMEs with the best ideas and provide access to facilities, skills, partners, as well as test and deployment opportunities. We will help make connections with investors and with oil and gas operators.”

Stephen Sheal, Director of FWB Park Brown said:

“We are delighted to be supporting the ongoing development of the Centre. The dinner brought together a cross section of the top Oil and Gas technology investment decision makers in the UK and was a great platform to discuss how the investment community and the Centre can collaborate to ensure our industry delivers world class innovation that will result in a sustainable UKCS and a successful, smart supply chain with huge export potential and activity.”

The investor dinner follows the official launch of the £180 million Oil & Gas Technology Centre on 10 February. The Centre aims help to unlock the full potential of the UK North Sea, anchor the high-value supply chain in the North-East of Scotland and make the region a great place to live, work and invest for decades to come.