Kinewell, an offshore wind farm design optimisation software startup, has raised £750,000 in funding from Mercia Ventures. The investment is the first deal by the new North East Accelerate Fund and will unlock a further six-figure sum in grant funding, bringing the total raised to over £1m. It will enable Kinewell to accelerate technology development and commercialisation and create ten new jobs as it almost doubles in size within the next six months.
Founded by engineer Andrew Jenkins while studying for a PhD at Newcastle University, Kinewell develops software designed to optimise offshore wind farm infrastructure. The first product, launched in 2015, focuses on optimising the design of cable layouts.
Its technology combines AI, supercomputing power and advanced algorithms to assess millions of different layout and materials options. By identifying optimal cable configurations in minutes, the software typically reduces cabling system costs by 20% while cutting months off development timelines.
Kinewell has since expanded its offering to include software that designs turbine layouts and transmission systems. The latest products analyse interactions between cabling, turbine and transmission infrastructure and claim to reduce offshore wind farm costs by 6%.
The Wallsend-based business currently employs 12 staff and counts Equinor, SSE Renewables, Parkwind and Eurus Energy among its clients. Accelerate funding marks its first external investment, while Kinewell is also working on three grant-funded innovation and development projects.
According to Research and Markets, the global offshore wind market was valued at around $56 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach almost $299 billion by 2034. A recent wind auction by the UK government secured a record 8.4 GW of capacity and unlocked £22bn of investment.
Offshore wind is an ideal way to decarbonise our energy supply and improve energy security. Our goal is to bring down costs and reduce the time it takes to develop new wind farms, which in turn will make wind energy more attractive and help unlock further investment into the industry. Kinewell’s solutions have already helped some of the world’s largest renewable energy producers significantly reduce lead times and save hundreds of millions of pounds.
Kinewell has achieved remarkable success despite limited investment to date. With offshore wind entering a new growth phase, it is well positioned to capitalise on this. This investment will help unleash its potential and secure its position as the leading software of its type for the industry.
