Innovative concepts for the future of technology and design award winner.
Futuristic designs of Orbital Marine Power's striking tidal stream turbine technology, which were developed through a strategic design partnership with Designworks, the innovation studio for the BMW Group and global creative consultancy, have been selected for recognition in the prestigious iF Design Awards announced today.
Run by one of the oldest truly independent design institutions in the world, the iF Design Awards are a global symbol of design excellence, aimed at identifying, supporting and promoting good design, in particular well-designed industrial products.
The Awards, which received almost 10,000 submissions from 60 countries in 2020, identified the collaborative work of Orbital and Designworks as a winning design within the Professional Concept category.
Orbital and Designworks announced their design partnership last year when they released concept images of Orbital's floating energy generation technology, with the utility scale Orbital OA model and a smaller Riverkinetic model included in the line-up. The vision for the OA model sees turbines becoming less like traditional vessels, and more akin to autonomous power generation fleets in the future.
As a recognised technology leader in its sector, Orbital recently launched its first commercial O2 tidal turbine which is starting grid connected operation in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. The O2 is the most powerful tidal stream turbine in the world, resembles a spaceship in appearance, at 74m in length is approximately the size of a Boeing 747, and with a generation capacity of 2MW the single unit can supply around 2,000 UK homes with clean, predictable energy.
World renowned design innovation company BMW Group Designworks has studios in Munich, Los Angeles and Shanghai. For 25 years its strategic design has stimulated the BMW Group as well as a select group of partner companies, helping to keep them at the forefront of their industries.
Andrew Scott, CEO Orbital:
"As a pioneering energy company setting out to help turn the tide on climate change, creating a future vision, and excitement around that, is hugely important to us, which was why we engaged Designworks in a collaborative partnership. To have the outputs from that exercise recognised in the iF Design forum is a genuine honour."
Laura Robin, Studio Director, Designworks, LA Studio:
"Sharing the honour of this iF Design Award 2021 with Orbital Marine Power is a great achievement. This global recognition acknowledges design's importance in envisioning our best future. And what better design opportunity than to partner with a company that tangibly demonstrates new forms of clean energy producing meaningful change for people and planet."
Media contacts at Orbital Marine Power:
Sarah Watt, Marketing & Media Manager: s.watt@orbitalmarine.com
Orbital is a technology leader in marine energy power generation with the ambition to help turn the tide on climate change by harvesting a new, untapped source of renewable power. Orbital has won multiple innovation awards for its technology platform, having delivered the world's most powerful sea-going tidal power generation turbine. Its Orbital O2 turbine and future technology variants are underpinned by an expanding intellectual property portfolio.
Orbital is a privately held company with offices in Orkney and Edinburgh, UK.
About BMW Group Designworks.
Designworks, a BMW Group Company is both the innovation studio for the BMW Group and a global creative consultancy. The teams in the studios in Los Angeles, Munich and Shanghai work at the intersection of design, technology and innovation to unlock brand potentials and foster business growth for companies worldwide. Designworks leverages the power of BMW Group's culture of innovation and cutting-edge design to advance the goals of its external clients, including John Deere, Brunswick, Siemens, Corsair, Ionity, and Shell, whilst bringing outside perspectives and impulses to the BMW Group.
Media Contact: Birgit Pucklitzsch, Marketing and Communications Manager:
Birgit.Pucklitzsch@bmwgroupdesignworks.com
About iF Design Awards.
iF International Forum Design GmbH organizes one of the world's most celebrated and valued design competitions: the iF DESIGN AWARD, recognised as a symbol of design excellence around the world.
iF Design Awards hold the reputation as one of the oldest truly independent design institutions in the world with the following six guiding principles:
- To identify, support and promote good design.
- To raise awareness of design among the public and the role it plays in our lives.
- To help companies integrate design into their long-term strategies.
- To safeguard the role of professional designer and boost awareness for this job profile.
- To effect social change through design.
- To support talented young people and create a public platform for young designers.
