The consortium plans to use a new design using concrete gravity bases to anchor wind turbines, rather than deep monopiles in the the sea bed.

This concrete base market could be worth up to £50bn, if the UK Government fulfils its ambition to build extensive offshore wind farms.

The consortium chose the design because offshore installation of mono pile foundations has proved technically challenging. In some cases grouting around the single deep pile foundation is showing signs of stress cracking.

The consortium is now searching for port facilities to mass produce 6,000t flask-shaped concrete gravity bases on shore.

These structure will be around 70m tall and 40m in diameter and sit on the sea bed.

Type of design solution being explored

Colin Duff, director in charge of the offshore push said: “If everybody develops the sites they say they’re going to – and that depends on what happens to other forms of energy – the offshore market could be worth £200bn by 2020.

“The concrete element of that is £50bn.”

He added: “Winning contracts will come down to having an affordable, deliverable solution.

“The most efficient way of achieving this is by setting up a manufacturing facility to mass produce the gravity base foundations.”