Four firms have won a share of £2.5 million to develop technologies that cut the cost of offshore wind energy.

Ricardo UK Ltd was awarded £634,980 to develop and demonstrate its drivetrain technologies that are expected to increase the reliability and lifetime of drivetrains for large offshore wind systems.

Drivetrains allow energy captured from the wind to be converted to usable power that can be fed to the electric generator.

Nottingham-based TetraFloat won £134,000 to improve a new floating platform design while Blade Dynamics will be given £842,630 to design, build and test an innovative wind turbine hub which will reduce the loads on the entire turbine, tower and foundation.

SSE Renewables was granted £1 million for its National Offshore Wind Turbine Test Facility project.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “Investment in innovation now will improve the affordability of the technologies we deploy in the future, reduce bills for households and businesses and strengthen energy security by offering a range of technology options for the UK to deploy.

“Successful innovation could save the UK up to £160 billion in energy supply costs to 2050 and contribute up to £89 billion to the UK economy over the same period.”

He added the renewable energy sector supports 35,000 green jobs, with the private sector announcing £31 billion of investment in renewable electricity generation over the last three years.

Investment for the four projects were given under the Offshore Wind Component Technologies scheme.