Scottish Enterprise, The Nippon Foundation Ink Subsea MoU

Scottish Enterprise and The Nippon Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Offshore Europe on Tuesday, which will see both organisations work together to invest in research and development projects around subsea technology challenges.

The projects will address challenges identified by Japanese industry in consultation with Scotland, who will then collaborate with Scottish companies, who will use their knowledge and expertise of the marine environment to develop solutions, Scottish Enterprise explained.

Scottish Enterprise director of energy Maggie McGinlay, who signed the MOU on behalf of Scottish Enterprise, said:

“We’ve built up our expertise in subsea engineering in the harsh environment of the North Sea, and many of the technologies developed here in Scotland have revolutionized the worldwide oil and gas industry. As a result, Scotland already accounts for 14 per cent if the global subsea market, with approximately 370 companies generating an estimated annual turnover of £7.5 billion.

“This experience and reputation means we are ideally positioned to work with The Nippon Foundation and to support it’s ambitions for the sector in Japan. We’re particularly delighted to be able to demonstrate this collaboration here at Offshore Europe and look forward to highlighting this opportunity to companies across the subsea sector this week.”

Chairman of The Nippon Foundation Yohei Sasakawa said:

“Offshore development is a huge frontier and this is where Scottish Enterprise and The Nippon Foundation will pioneer together. The two parties will provide equal funding of a total of 20 million US dollars to support joint projects that push boundaries and challenge conventions.”

Following the signing of the agreement, a number of Scottish companies will attend a seminar at Offshore Europe, on the opportunities of the subsea technologies sector in Japan. At the seminar –  which is being held by the Embassy of Japan in the UK, with support from The Nippon Foundation, JETRO London, and Scottish Enterprise – representatives from both countries will provide information and share their experiences in offshore development.