Glacier Energy, an international provider of products, services and engineered solutions for renewable and conventional energy markets has entered three new partnership agreements to implement groundbreaking technologies into their wind inspection offering.

The three new partnerships, Romotioncam’s no downtime, ground-based cameras, Ilosta (Crack Map)’s digital AI monitoring software, and Acuity Robotics’ ‘Robot Squirrel’ will see Glacier Energy working in collaboration with each partner to provide safer and faster inspection solutions to determine the integrity of client’s wind turbine blades and towers.

These new developments complement the use of drones (UAV’s) in partnership with Air Tech Integrity for blade inspection, which was introduced into Glacier Energy’s offering last October.

Glacier Energy’s inspection services division has a strong 30-year heritage of providing NDT and Inspection services on the fabrication of monopiles, transition pieces and jackets for global offshore wind farms.

More recently, Glacier Energy has built up a strong track record of delivering operations and maintenance projects for in-service wind farms across the UK and Europe.

Business Development Director, Tracie Watson commented on the recent partnership agreements and said: “Since 2021, the team have significantly developed our wind operation and maintenance offering and successfully set up for growth.”

“With the introduction of full rope access capabilities, drones (UAV’s) and now with three new partnerships, we can offer innovative wind solutions that save our clients both time and money.”

John MacDonald, Renewables Manager added “Each partnership brings something different.”

“Romotioncam’s innovative ground-based cameras offer the unique ability to complete blade inspections whilst the wind turbine remains in full operation, allowing our clients to achieve no downtime and efficient optimisation of their wind farm”.

“Ilostas digital AI monitoring software Crack Map produces advanced 3D models based on the information that is collected onsite by Glacier Energy’s technicians and partners, providing comprehensive blade analysis and clear insight into the condition of the blades”.

“Finally, Acuity Robotics ‘Robot Squirrel’ allows for a more safe, fast and efficient way to inspect surface condition and welds.

“We now look forward to working collaboratively with each of our partners and helping extend the life of our clients' wind turbines.”

The offshore wind industry has emerged as a transformative force within the global energy landscape. As the world transitions toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, offshore wind energy has taken centre stage, providing a dynamic solution to meet the growing energy demands while significantly reducing carbon emissions.

After years of driving down the cost of offshore wind, electricity from wind is now the UK’s most competitive source of electricity and in turn accelerates the sectors growth in not only the UK but globally. Government Initiatives such as Scotwind and the UK Offshore Wind Sector Deal are driving the industry forward by outlining strategic roadmaps for the development of the industry, technology and skills.

With numerous projects in operation and many more in the pipeline, the offshore wind industry continues to flourish, drive economic growth and is ultimately supporting the shift towards a cleaner energy future. Glacier Energy is proud to offer market leading Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Inspection Services that are tailored to the specific needs of Wind Foundation Manufacturers in this rapidly evolving sector.

Glacier Energy, a leading international provider of products, services and engineered solutions for renewable and conventional energy markets has strengthened the team with the appointment of two new directors.

Paul Smith, Business Development Director and Michael Pallister, Operations Director have joined Glacier Energy’s Machining Solutions division to contribute towards the continued growth of the company and to establish entry into new markets, including those involved in the energy transition.

Alongside Machining Director, Sandy Smart, Paul and Michael will form the Machining Solutions leadership team to drive this strategy forward.

Both Paul and Michael bring a wealth of experience relating to Glacier Energy’s Machining Solutions division’s products and services.

Paul’s journey in the sector began in the late 1980’s at Roberts Brothers Engineering, a key company in Glacier Energy’s heritage, where he ‘served his time’ as an apprentice mechanical fitter.

His career then led him to hold various positions including Field Supervisor Bolting / Onsite Machining, Project Manager, Operations Manager and Business Development Manager at companies such as Hedley Purvis, Halliburton, EnerMech and most recently, Klinger where he held the position of Sales Director for Products & Services.

Similarly, Michael has a wealth of experience gained throughout his career with positions held as Joint Integrity Engineer at Hedley Purvis, Technical Manager at WSG, Global Integrity Manager at EnerMech and Services Director at Klinger.

With both Paul and Michael's decades of experience in the sector, these appointments mark an exciting time and a pivotal point in Glacier Energy’s journey.

Commenting on their recent appointments, Paul said “This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of the exciting times ahead with Glacier Energy.”

“To join such a successful business that offers specialist services niche to the market made it an easy decision to come on board. I am looking forward to the journey ahead and working with such a knowledgeable team.”

Michael added “I’m excited to be joining the business at a time where Glacier Energy are looking to expand their services and diversify in to new emerging markets.”

“The team at Glacier Energy have a fantastic track record of providing excellent solutions for their clients and I look forward to working with them in achieving our future goals.”

Scott Martin, Group CEO said “I am delighted to welcome Paul and Michael to the team. Their proven track record of working together makes them the perfect fit to support the company’s continued growth. I look forward to working with them over the coming period in what is an exciting time for Glacier Energy”

Glacier Energy’s Machining Solutions division has an established global track record delivering major onsite machining projects across the energy sector, for both topside and subsea applications as well as industrial sectors.

With these new appointments, Glacier Energy aims to leverage the expertise and leadership of both Paul and Michael to enhance its offerings and provide even greater value to its customers.

Glacier Energy, a leading international provider of specialist products, services and engineered solutions for renewable and conventional energy markets has secured funding through the Scottish Governments Hydrogen Innovation Scheme to build hydrogen storage and distribution pressure vessel prototypes.

The awarded project, developed in collaboration with Robert Gordon University explores the feasibility of manufacturing a low-cost affordable hydrogen storage vessel using combined metal core and composite wrapping processes for testing that are both compact and easy to use in the consumer market.

A total of 5 prototype pressure vessels will be manufactured with each varying in size in order to establish structural response and operating limits. It will be evaluating the optimum design for large scale compressed gas hydrogen storage and distribution vessels, at a lower cost than is currently available in the market. Glacier Energy is developing this technology in order to provide alternative hydrogen storage and distribution solutions.

The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, a fund of £7 million was awarded to 32 different projects across Scotland that are focused on driving innovation in the production, storage and distribution of renewable hydrogen. The formal announcement of the successful applicants was announced by Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf at the All Energy conference in Glasgow.

This funding award is the second successful funding application awarded for this project and follows the Scottish Funding Council Advanced Innovation Voucher Scheme award in August 2022 for the initial feasibility study which was successful and has paved the way for this next stage of the project.

Glacier Energy is successfully using their strong history and heritage to develop innovative solutions for the hydrogen industry. With 85+ years of industry experience designing and manufacturing pressure vessels using traditional materials, combined with Robert Gordon’s University knowledge in high strength composite materials, it is the perfect partnership to drive the success of this innovative project.

Glacier Energy’s Business Development Director, Tracie Watson commented on the award and said: “We are delighted to have been awarded funding from the Scottish Government and to allow us to move on to the next stage of this exciting project.

Finding a cost-efficient and safe way to store and transport hydrogen is key to unlocking the hydrogen economy. Our hybrid, lightweight and safe composite pressure vessel supports the Scottish Governments ambition of 5GW of installed hydrogen production capacity by 2030.

To be one of the successful applicants in this competitive funding call along with 31 other impressive projects is a fantastic achievement for the team and reinforces the requirement for scalable hydrogen storage and distribution solutions.”

Both Glacier Energy and Robert Gordon University now look forward to the next stage of this project.

Glacier Energy provides in-service wind farm operations and maintenance services to support onshore and offshore wind farms. We help businesses extend the lifespan of equipment and maximise the availability and production capability of wind turbines.

Efficient and scalable storage technology will be key to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy sources. While recent developments have significantly increased the capacity of many modern wind, tidal and solar energy farms, there’s still no changing the fact that most green technologies are inherently intermittent and seasonal.

As the International Energy Agency point out in Net Zero By 2050: A Roadmap For The Global Energy Sector, pre-existing energy infrastructure will not accommodate the inherent variability of these new energy sources.

But finding a viable alternative is challenging. Notwithstanding the costs of mining and carbon generated by their manufacture, even the very best lithium ion batteries are inadequate – and engineering more creative solutions to the energy storage problem requires support from domain experts in a number of fields.

Fully committed to making the renewable energy transition a reality, we’re working with several partners to pioneer technologies that are designed to improve the efficiency of various energy storage projects.

In fact, we’re currently working with national and international partners to build the heat transfer equipment that will make it possible to build commercially viable thermal or compressed air batteries. These are pioneering technologies at the forefront of the green energy transition.

At The Forefront Of The Green Energy Revolution

With over 120 years of industry experience, Glacier Energy has the specialist knowledge required to manufacture custom heat transfer equipment using exotic metals like inconel or titanium. As one of the most inventive engineering teams in the industry, we’re the perfect partner for any green energy storage project.

Irrespective of whether you’re at the very beginning of the design process, need to develop a working prototype for laboratory testing or want to refine a developed green energy storage solution with a view to making it more efficient or viable, we would encourage you to get in touch with our engineering team.

We’re always interested in supporting our clients to pioneer new renewable solutions. We enjoy developing and building long-term relationships with companies that share our commitment to achieving the UK government’s net zero targets and want to further progress the UK’s green energy infrastructure.

This extends to university research teams, joint ventures and consortiums, green energy companies or oil and gas majors looking to transition towards renewable energy generation.

Glacier Energy, experts in the design and manufacture of large, high pressure and high temperature pressure vessels has been awarded funding in partnership with Robert Gordon University (RGU) from Interface through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), to work in collaboration on a new hydrogen project.

The project will conduct a feasibility study on affordable and portable hydrogen storage pressure vessels. The overall aim is to develop low cost, lightweight hydrogen storage and distribution pressure vessels that can be utilised in many industries and on a global scale. This project idea follows Glacier Energy’s track record in pressure vessel design and manufacture and understanding of the future significant requirement to store and distribute hydrogen.

Glacier Energy and RGU will work in collaboration on this project, using a blend of metal and composite material to provide a lightweight, cost-effective, safe and scalable hydrogen storage Pressure Vessel.

Tracie Watson, Business Development Director at Glacier Energy commented “We are delighted to secure funding in combination with Robert Gordon University to develop the next generation of hydrogen storage and distribution vessels. As a UK manufacturer, it is important to support the UK Hydrogen Strategy to achieve 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.”

Andy Scott, Heat Transfer Director added: “This is a great win for the team and is a major step forward along with our ongoing carbon capture scopes to support our strategic diversification into the renewable market. We are applying our extensive expertise and years of know-how from Oil and Gas projects to support renewable energy scopes as we move towards a zero-carbon future.”

Glacier Energy has extensive expertise in metallic components which will be complemented by Professor James Njuguna and his team, of Robert Gordon University’s knowledge in composite materials, product design and polymer composite materials (interface, reinforcement and toughness).

Part of the project will be undertaken at the National Subsea Centre (NSC), created in partnership between Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the Net Zero Technology Centre. Professor James Njuguna will be supported by NSC Integrated Energy Research Assistant, Jemma Reynolds and Research Fellow, Dr Auwalu Mohammed.

Professor James Njuguna of RGU and Integrated Energy Lead at NSC says: “Hydrogen is a critical part of future energy supply and security. The backbone of hydrogen economy success is its storage systems.  This collaboration offers a great opportunity in warranting this success by exploiting lightweight composite materials to improve the quality and availability of the compressed gas vessels in the value chain.”