Energy transition is probably the single biggest market opportunity for Scottish manufacturing over the next 20 years, and Scotland’s High Value Manufacturing (HVM) sector has a huge role to play in it.
But to take full advantage of these opportunities manufacturing will need to diversify and scale up significantly.
Experts at Scottish Enterprise have identified five key areas in offshore wind where they believe Scotland can play a key role – secondary steel, anchor and mooring systems, cable protection systems (CPS), cables and accessories and corrosion protection systems.
And they have created a series of Manufacturing Supply Chain Factsheets, packed full of information that will give companies a real insight into the offshore wind market opportunity, helping them work out how and where their business fits into it.
The organisation has already identified a shortlist of just under 3,000 manufacturing businesses which are not currently in the energy transition market but could be, thanks to the manufacturing capability they have.
Jerome Finlayson, Head of High Value Manufacturing at Scottish Enterprise explains: “A manufacturing business that specialises in welding, or fabrication and assembly could supply an offshore wind market or hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicle charging stations, for example. In a way, the market isn’t the key focus, it’s the manufacturing capability the business has – or that they could develop. Scotland is quite unique in that it’s big enough to provide scale but small enough to provide connectivity, so what we are looking to do is speak to companies about all the market opportunities that are relevant to their manufacturing capability.”
There are challenges, of course, but Scottish Enterprise can help with these. “We are actively looking to engage with businesses to help signpost them to the right areas of the support network that we have across Scotland – and we’re working with partners like Scottish Engineering, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise too,” says Finlayson. “It’s about helping them get ready in time for the strategic diversification into these markets that’s required.”
Scottish Enterprise anticipates that supply chain and supplier capability will require development and support to meet the significant needs of manufacturing energy transition and is ready to help businesses on this journey.
The Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) within Scottish Enterprise is specifically tailoring services to work with manufacturing businesses on diversifying and scaling up their manufacturing operation.
Visit the Scottish Enterprise website to find out more today.
