Firms sign Japan deals

Two West Lothian companies are taking part in a multi-million pound project that will see them working with Japanese firms on innovative technology.

Sensor Works will join Yokogawa in developing a subsea infrastructure with autonomous vehicles, sensors, communications and power systems for offshore renewables and aquaculture. Their project is worth £8.3 million.

WFS will pair up with Shimadzu in a project worth £388,000 to work on underwater broadband.

Combined with investment made by the companies themselves, a total of £20.9 million of industrial research and development will go ahead.

External affairs secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the latest round of awards from a joint fund run by Scottish Enterprise and the Nippon Foundation.

She said:“I am encouraged by the continued collaboration between Scotland and Japan in marine resource development and subsea technologies. The Scottish Government is committed to retaining our position as a global leader in subsea engineering, investing in our innovation infrastructure to grow Scotland’s market share and supporting opportunities in other sectors.”

Mr Unno from the Nippon Foundation said:“The theme of the second round of the joint R&D is blue economy, which includes not only oil and gas but also a wide range of offshore wind and fisheries fields, and we have selected five projects utilising the strengths of Japanese and Scottish technology.

“I hope these projects will develop the new ocean development market.”