The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub 2025 Call for Innovators opens today

The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub today announced the opening of its 2025 application process, designed to identify and support entrepreneurial and innovative companies that will help unleash the potential of the dynamic emerging offshore wind industry. 

Winners take on a six-month mentoring and business development program residency designed to prepare them for strategic partnerships with major offshore wind developers and to be part of the larger offshore wind value chain. The program aims to enable innovators to overcome barriers to adoption and continue to successfully commercialize their solutions in New York and beyond. 

Applications will be accepted until March 21, 2025. Through a highly competitive selection process, applicants will have to demonstrate the potential and economic impact of their innovation. Shortlisted applicants will advance to a public pitch event in New York before a panel of experts representing academia, industry, and government. 

Launched in January 2023, the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub is led by Equinor in collaboration with Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium (NOWRDC) supported by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the New York City-based Innovation Hub seeks to advance an inclusive supply chain and accelerate New York’s local green economy.

“We look forward to building on the strong foundation of the Innovation Hub and supporting the next round of entrepreneurs and emerging technologies,” says Molly Morris, President, Equinor Renewables Americas. “The solutions identified by the innovators will play a critical role in advancing the offshore energy industry, developing supply chains, and strengthening energy security for future generations of New Yorkers.”

“The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub is a critical pipeline for helping grow New York’s offshore wind sector,” says Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA. “Providing support for visionary clean energy concepts through to the commercialization of groundbreaking innovations, programs like this are a catalyst to developing inventive and sustainable offshore wind technologies that will help power the future of New York.”

Cohort companies who are selected for the Innovation Hub will be individually paired with knowledgeable Equinor mentors and gain industry-specific guidance on technology development from NOWRDC which includes experts from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). NYSERDA also provides funding for the NOWRDC to support the advancement of offshore wind technologies.

“The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub team pulls together a broad and truly useful program of mentorship, educational, and networking resources. Across the spectrum of commercial maturity represented by this Cohort, we saw each of the Cohort companies take exactly what they needed from the huge array of support available,” said Russell Bingham, Head of Product at Pliant Energy Systems. “For us at Pliant, the Hub has been a primary enabler of customer engagement and a source of mentorship as we’ve moved to commercialize our tech in offshore wind and beyond — we’ve made great strides towards fielding robots with customers and developed a newly robust and customer-vetted commercialization plan.”   

“New York City is a leading global hub for the green economy, and the significant advances in the Offshore Wind sector are creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs to scale technologies that address critical challenges in the deployment of renewable energy," says New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Chief Operating Officer Melissa Román Burch. "After the outstanding success of the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub's last two cohorts, NYCEDC is excited for the next round of innovators who will demonstrate their sustainable impact throughout the five boroughs and beyond.”

"The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub’s 2025 Call for Innovators is a vital opportunity to connect cutting-edge technologies with the resources, partnerships, and community needed to scale impactful solutions to support offshore wind energy," says Lyndie Hice-Dunton, Executive Director at National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC). "NOWRDC is committed to driving the innovation necessary to unlock the full potential of this growing ecosystem. We are excited to collaborate with forward-thinking, innovative companies who share our vision of a thriving, sustainable offshore wind industry."

Following the success of the inaugural cohort in 2023, last year's Innovation Hub cohort of six companies was chosen from among 78 accelerator applicants. This year, the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub is seeking technologies within wind power and site characterization, project and port development, installation, commissioning, construction, transmission, operations, maintenance, conflict reduction, and stakeholder engagement. These topics have been selected as critical areas of innovation to advance successful offshore wind projects in the US.

Selected companies then participate in a rigorous accelerator program, in which they receive scale-up support, bespoke business development assistance, industry mentorship, access to expert workshops, tenantship at the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub in Brooklyn, and exclusive network access. 

Last year’s cohort includes Pliant Energy Systems (Brooklyn, US), Sensatek (Daytona Beach, US), Triton Anchor (Boston, US), Boxkite Software (Bristol, UK), Claviate (Aarhus, DK), and Indeximate (Hinckley, UK). The cohort showcased exceptional achievements during the program which include securing new contracts, company establishment in New York, testing and validating novel technology, pilot demonstrations, strengthening product value proposition, and forming critical partnerships.

“The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub’s accelerator program provides innovators with hands-on support and unprecedented access to leaders from industry, government, academia, and research,” says Jack Fritzinger, Interim Director of the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub with Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon NYU Tandon School of Engineering. “Our past two cohorts have seen great success, and we’re excited to expand the program with this new cohort of visionary founders.”

“Indeximate has hugely benefited from being included in the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub's 2024 cohort — it has been a great privilege for us to play a part,” said Dr Chirs Minto, Director at Indeximate. “The program has benefited us in so many ways — a deeper understanding of the US market and what it will take to play in it, the support of the Climate Exchange Network and Colombia Tech to develop our Value Proposition and road test working in the market as well of course as the deep insight offered by Equinor into assessing and exploiting our offering. The introductions to US Venture Capital have positioned ourselves superbly for our next stage of expansion.”

“The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub exemplifies NYU Tandon's commitment to confronting climate change through engineering solutions,” says Linda Ng Boyle, Vice Dean for Research, NYU Tandon School of Engineering. “By bridging entrepreneurs and industry leaders with Tandon's academic research expertise, particularly through our Sustainable Engineering Initiative, we're contributing to the development of a robust offshore wind ecosystem in New York. The success of our previous cohorts demonstrates how these types of partnerships can support the deployment of technologies vital for renewable energy and a more sustainable future.”

About the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub

Catalyzing startups to unleash the potential of offshore wind in New York. We leverage our New York City hub to grow the US offshore wind industry by harnessing the entrepreneurial powers of both global industry-leading startups and the local community. Our innovative programming and strong networks connecting innovators, local partners, investors, and industry will foster demonstration opportunities, safety awareness, knowledge transfer, innovation, and job creation. Through collaborative partnerships, we accelerate the local development of new technologies for the national offshore wind industry, to facilitate cost-efficiency gains. Our commitment to diversity and equity will advance inclusive supply chain and business development and accelerate the green economy in New York. To learn more, visit www.offshorewindnyc.com.

About Empire Wind

Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between approximately 75 and 135 feet. The lease was acquired in 2017. The project’s two phases, Empire Wind 1 and 2, have a potential capacity of more than 2 GW (810 + 1,260 MW), enough to power over 1 million New York homes. www.empirewind.com.   

About Equinor

Equinor is a broad international energy company and for more than 36 years has delivered safe and reliable energy to help power American society. We are one of the largest offshore wind developers in the world, with more than 20 years of global experience. In addition to Empire Wind, lease areas include the Central Atlantic and California. www.equinor.com/NY

About the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC)

The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, established in 2018, is a not-for-profit public-private partnership focused on advancing offshore wind technology in the United States through high-impact research projects and cost-effective and responsible development to maximize economic benefits. Funding for the Consortium comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), as well as contributions from the Commonwealths of Virginia and Massachusetts and the States of Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, and California. For more information, please visit nationaloffshorewind.org.

About New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)

New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity, build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About the Urban Future Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering

​The Urban Future Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is a nonprofit innovation hub for best-in-class climatetech startups with a focus on clean energy and sustainable urban infrastructure solutions. ​It is home to ACRE, New York’s longest-running climatetech incubator, Clean Start, an advanced certificate from NYU for people seeking a transition into the climatetech sector, the Carbon to Value Initiative and Offshore Wind Innovation Hub, which bring innovative technologies and solutions to industry leaders, and the Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme, which supports market entry in the U.S. for U.K.-based climatetech startups that can effectively scale and support the clean growth goals of New York State. As an integral part of Tandon’s Sustainable Engineering Initiative and NYU Tandon Future Labs network, the UFL is home to programs focused on policy, education, and market solutions for the green economy.  For more information, visit ufl.nyc or LinkedIn and Instagram. 

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering is home to a community of renowned faculty, undergraduate and graduate students united in a mission to understand and create technology that powers cities, enables worldwide communication, fights climate change, and builds healthier, safer, and more equitable real and digital worlds. The school’s culture centers on encouraging rigorous, interdisciplinary collaboration and research; fostering inclusivity, entrepreneurial thinking, and diverse perspectives; and creating innovative and accessible pathways for lifelong learning in STEM.  NYU Tandon dates back to 1854, the founding year of both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. Located in the heart of Brooklyn, NYU Tandon is a vital part of New York University and its unparalleled global network. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.