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Welcome to the fifth edition of the Community and Coast newsletter. Here you can find the latest updates and information about ETZ Ltd’s Community & Coast programme, delivering sustainable, long-term, community wealth-building investments as an integral part of our wider energy transition ambitions.  Read it here.

ETZ Ltd is excited to have welcomed Innovair, our first Resident Innovator, into ETZ EnergyWorks - the UK's first Energy Incubator and Scale-Up Hub. The company moved into the building when we opened in February 2026. Since then, Innovair has welcomed more team members, with exciting projects in the pipeline keeping them busy.As a Resident Innovator, Innovair has access to ETZ EnergyWorks network of partners, offering a unique combination of customer mentoring, guidance and business growth support from industry experts to drive innovation, manufacturing technology adoption, and value generation. We caught up with Innovair's Solutions Director, Stuart Lawson, to find out how things are going. What is Innovair in a nutshell?Innovair is an advanced inspection robotics company serving the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors, deploying proprietary robotic technology to inspect high-risk, hard-to-access assets. Our mission is to make energy assets safer and more productive by delivering smarter inspection data and AI-driven insights that help operators to see more, know more and do more, throughout their assets' lifecycle, ultimately extending the life of critical infrastructure.How have the first 3 months at ETZ EnergyWorks gone? The first three months have been really positive. We have won a significant number of new contracts so far this year, added three new team members and invested heavily in new technology including ROVs, drones, inspection systems and our own proprietary robotics to service the increased demand. The space we now have at ETZ EnergyWorks has come at exactly the right time for the business, giving us the room to grow and operate at the level our clients expect.What do you like most about being a tenant at ETZ EnergyWorks? What stands out most is the flexibility of the facility. Being able to take additional desks as our team grows, with access to communal meeting rooms and breakout areas, means the space genuinely works around the business rather than the other way around. The support from ETZ and the other partners has been brilliant, with everyone actively looking for ways to support our growth. There is a real community feel to it already and we hope to collaborate with and support new tenants where it adds value. As a business we also feel far more visible at ETZ EnergyWorks than we did previously, and that visibility matters when you are building a brand in a competitive market.What is Innovair excited about at the moment?There is a lot to be excited about right now. Commercially, we are in a really strong position with a healthy pipeline of awarded work and a continuous stream of new opportunities coming through. We have secured several significant new contract awards in recent months and are running pilot projects that are laying the groundwork for longer term development programmes, including the expansion of our Magni™ NDT crawler system. Internationally, we are also making real progress, with our global footprint growing as demand for our services extends beyond the UK. It feels like a genuine inflection point for the business and we are determined to capitalise on it.What do the next 3-6 months look like for you? The next few months are about delivery. Significant effort has gone into building the relationships and securing these projects and now we are fully focused on executing to the highest standards. In the background we are continuing to invest in our technology and expand the team, with further technical and commercial roles being recruited to support the growth of our client base across both offshore wind and oil and gas, targeting some of the major projects currently in development and operation in UK waters. It is a busy and exciting period and ETZ EnergyWorks is a great place to be driving that growth from. We are excited to follow along Innovair's journey and see what's next for them. Find out more information about what Innovair do here and follow them on LinkedIn here. Visit the ETZ EnergyWorks site here.

In this edition ETZ Ltd reflect on a period of strong progress over the final quarter of 2025/26. From the completion of the £9m flagship innovation hub, ETZ EnergyWorks, to delivering impactful supply chain events and investing in local initiatives, ETZ Ltd continues its work to ensure North East Scotland remains a global leader in energy excellence.Alongside these achievements, ETZ Ltd is nurturing partnerships and remain focussed on unlocking the full potential of the region, supporting a sustainable and inclusive energy future.Click to read the full Quarterly Update for April 2026.

ETZ Ltd’s flagship energy supply chain initiative has delivered over 250 green jobs and unlocked millions of pounds in private sector investment, according to a new evaluation.And the positive economic impact of the not-for-profit’s Supply Chain Pathway and Challenge Fund Programme shows no signs of stopping, with forecasts placing total green job creation at almost 800 in the coming years. Analysis conducted by leading Scottish consultancy Optimat has shone a light on the progress made to date by the Challenge Fund, led by ETZ Ltd and supported by the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund.Since it was launched in 2022, the initiative has generated 267 green jobs, with more than 50 companies receiving support to transition into the low carbon energy sector.During that time it has also unlocked £17 million in private sector investment, just over double the £7.5m of public money awarded by government to deliver the grant funding element of the four-year programme in 2022.According to Optimat’s 10-year forecast, the Challenge Fund will generate further economic value, including over 500 full time equivalent positions, taking the total green jobs count to just under 800, and deliver more than £300m in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the Scottish economy. Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, Gillian Martin said:“The ETZ Supply Chain Pathway and Challenge Fund is a critical means of supporting energy supply chain companies, especially SMEs, ensuring they have the tools to succeed in an increasingly competitive global market.“I am delighted at the strong job creation and economic impact emerging from the evaluation. This report is a welcome assessment of the impact of the Just Transition Fund, and a strong case study of the benefits of public and private partnership more broadly. “Our ongoing support for the Challenge Fund will allow us to deliver more jobs and help our companies diversify and compete, ensuring the full potential of this investment is realised.” These economic impact findings from Optimat come as the latest round of successful awards are finalised and distributed to the 2025–26 Challenge Fund cohort.In order to build on the programme’s successes to date, an additional £3m has also been pledged by Scottish Government, through the Just Transition Fund, to support high-growth potential companies across North East Scotland's energy sector.The enhanced Challenge Fund provides grants of between £50,000 and £500,000 to help accelerate innovation and speed up market entry, while supporting business growth and protecting and creating jobs across emerging and established low-carbon sectors.Examples of eligible projects would include the development of new innovation technology solutions or industrial facilities, investment in manufacturing capability and automation, equipment installation, and upgrades to existing infrastructure - including digital systems.The fund is primarily aimed at SMEs currently servicing the energy supply chain market in Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray that have ambitions to diversify into new or existing commercial opportunities within the low-carbon energy sector. Maggie McGinlay, Chief Executive of ETZ Ltd, said: “This evaluation is evidence not just of the success of ETZ’s Supply Chain Pathway and Challenge Fund Programme, but more crucially of the level of ambition and entrepreneurship that exists within businesses in the energy sector who are looking to transition into low carbon opportunities. “The figures underscore just how powerful public money can be in unlocking long-term private sector investment; it is industry collaboration like this that will be so vital to delivering a just transition. “By supporting innovation and strengthening supply chain capability, we are not only accelerating business growth in the North East energy sector but also generating meaningful economic returns across Scotland.”  Steven Simpson, Managing Director, Safelift, said: “The support from the ETZ Challenge Fund has been crucial for us. It wasn’t just about the capital to build a new first-class fabrication facility; it was also the catalyst that accelerated our offering into the renewables marketplace.“Because of this investment we’ve been able to move at a far greater pace, already landing our largest project to date for a major European offshore wind farm, a massive boost for our team. We’ve improved our procedures, upgraded our workspace, and most importantly, we’re bringing in new talent and apprentices to build a future.“This funding has essentially helped further anchor us in the North East of Scotland. It gives us the confidence to shout about our global ambitions while staying hugely committed to our local supply chain and the community that supports us.”

Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Energy Transition Zone (ETZ Ltd) have entered a strategic partnership valued at up to £20 million to help accelerate Scotland’s energy transition The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlines the intention for up to £20 million of capital investment by SE into ETZ Ltd projects in Aberdeen and the North East, alongside ETZ Ltd and other partners.   It is aimed at unlocking total investment of up to £65 million in manufacturing, innovation and test and demonstration space by 2032. The MoU strengthens the organisations’ existing relationship by formalising a long-term commitment to jointly invest in and co-design transformative energy transition projects and infrastructure in the region.    The first project to achieve funding under the MoU is SE’s £2.8 million investment into ETZ EnergyWorks, ETZ Ltd’s flagship low carbon energy incubator and scale-up hub.  Other areas of collaboration include attracting global investment, creating high-value jobs, enhancing net zero infrastructure, enabling new technology development and bolstering Scotland’s renewable energy supply chain.  Companies based at ETZ Ltd locations will also benefit from direct access to SE specialists in industries such as offshore wind, hydrogen, sustainable alternative fuels and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).   Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said: “We’re committed to ever closer working with ETZ Ltd and others to accelerate Scotland’s energy transition. This strengthened partnership paves the way for greater public-private collaboration, ensuring we maximise the benefits this key opportunity presents for Scotland’s economy and its communities, particularly in the North East.  “Through our missions approach Scottish Enterprise supports ambitious energy transition companies to scale and grow by enabling their international expansion, strengthening our supply chain capabilities and driving greater investment into important infrastructure such as ports and harbours.”  The North East is strategically important for a successful just transition due to its highly skilled workforce, internationally renowned businesses and existing supply chains. SE and ETZ Ltd have a crucial role to play in maintaining the region’s global reputation for energy production and exports as the sector makes the shift towards renewables.   Maggie McGinlay, CEO, ETZ Ltd, said: “From day one, ETZ Ltd has been built on partnerships and collaboration with those committed to securing North East Scotland’s future as a global leader in energy excellence. Our work to date with Scottish Enterprise has sowed the seeds for transformational change for Aberdeen and the wider region and this agreement will only strengthen this further.   “Through targeted, strategic investment in key projects, we will help to unlock tens of millions of private capital to deliver the manufacturing, innovation and test and demonstration facilities needed to deliver the just transition that Scotland’s workforce deserves.” 

Welcome to the fourth edition of the Community and Coast newsletter. Here you can find the latest updates and information about ETZ Ltd’s Community & Coast programme, delivering sustainable, long-term, community wealth-building investments as an integral part of our wider energy transition ambitions. Read it here.