New technology that enables robots to work stably in turbulent seas could make it cheaper, faster and safer to maintain offshore wind farms and tidal turbines, researchers say.

University of Edinburgh Professor Henry Jeffrey has been awarded the 2024 Vi Maris award during the OEE2024 Ocean Energy Europe Conference & Exhibition in Aviemore, Scotland.

Less than three weeks ago, the UK shut its last coal power station, marking the symbolic end of its coal-reliant industrial era. The gradual phase-out of coal in the UK’s energy sector over the last three decades has helped lower the share of greenhouse gases emitted through electricity generation, which dropped from 34% in 1990 to around 14% today. As pointed out by Mark Winskel in his interview for Energy@Edinburgh, the UK can be proud of this achievement. Indeed, UK power plants’ percentage contribution to total emissions is roughly half that of the EU’s electricity sector, and around five times lower than the global average.

Invented by Professor Markus Mueller of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and developed by CGEN’s managing director, research fellow Dr Joseph Burchell, alongside mechanical and m