A £5million facility to support the growth of technology businesses engaged in energy research and innovation was officially opened in Aberdeen yesterday.
Scottish Enterprise (SE) unveiled its new Energy Development Centre (EDC), with Finance Secretary John Swinney on hand to mark the end of a first phase of work at the Granite City site.
The centre has been created with the aim of encouraging new technologies and turning research into marketable products.
It is located in the Aberdeen Science and Energy Park and at the gateway to the proposed Energetica corridor, a 30-mile stretch of north-east coastline earmarked for ambitious plans to create a hub of global energy-related activity all the way from Aberdeen to Peterhead.
The EDC offers 12 self-contained business units ranging in size from 1,550 to nearly 3,500 square feet.
A second phase comprising a further 15 units will be developed by the private sector as part of a new joint-venture being set up to own, manage and develop Aberdeen’s two science parks: the Science and Energy Park and the Science and Technology Park.
Mr Swinney said: “The Energy Development Centre is yet another tool in the box to help attract more energy companies to Aberdeen and the north-east.
“Along with the newly opened Scottish European Green Energy Centre (Segec), we are putting high-quality facilities in place for the north-east to help fuel our goal of a low-carbon economy, with thousands of new green-energy jobs in the coming decades.”
The Segec, also in Aberdeen, was officially opened by First Minister Alex Salmond on Monday.
SE industries and infrastructure director David Littlejohn said the new EDC would help firms in all areas of the energy industry.
He added: “It will provide them with access to state-of-the-art accommodation and facilities to boost research and development in a location that boasts an international reputation for technological excellence and innovation.
“This centre marks another step forward in positioning Aberdeen city and shire, and Scotland, as a global energy hub which looks beyond the North Sea.
“It puts us at the forefront of alternative technologies as well as maintaining Aberdeen’s expertise in offshore oil and gas.”
Norwegian-owned well-service company TecWel UK was the first company to move into the EDC at the beginning of June.