The world's first testing facility for tidal turbine blades has opened at Rosyth.

The £4.6 million FastBlade facility at the dockyard will stress test blades made from materials which must withstand harsh sea conditions for 20 years.

It was officially opened on Friday and Neil Young, engineering director for Babcock, said: “Today marks a real milestone for all of us involved in the FastBlade partnership.

"We’ve taken a vision of technological innovation and together we’ve built a ground-breaking engineering construct that can carry out large-scale accelerated testing of structural composites in a more sustainable way."

Scotland Office minister Malcolm Offord, who officially opened the facility, said: "The UK Government is delighted to support this rapid test facility with £1.8m from EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), as part of UK Research and Innovation.

"Crucially, it will speed up the rollout of equipment that will capitalise on sustainable tidal power and underline Scotland's place as a world leader in offshore renewables technology.

"This test site, born from innovative research at the University of Edinburgh and engineering firm Babcock, will not only aid the UK's net-zero ambitions, it will support thousands of skilled energy sector jobs as we transition to a more sustainable future."

A 75-tonne reaction frame, capable of exerting powerful forces on turbine blades more than 50 feet long, and a system of powerful hydraulic cylinders will, in less than three months, simulate the stresses placed on the structures during two decades at sea.

By giving developers better data on how tidal turbine blades deteriorate over time, the research team hopes to help optimise the design of more durable, efficient structures.

Professor Conchur O Bradaigh, head of the school of engineering at the University of Edinburgh, said: "FastBlade will be the world's first dedicated fatigue test facility for tidal turbine blades, and will help this emerging industry provide clean, reliable renewable energy at a reasonable cost to consumers.

"The facility will also help maintain the globally leading position of Scottish tidal turbine developers in the race to find sources of clean and secure power, as well as confirming the societal impact of the University of Edinburgh's research and development efforts in marine renewable energy."

Mr Young added: “Collaborations like this are fundamental to help us and the wider engineering industry create more research opportunities and secure longer-term investment into digital and data skills – an area that is significantly growing in demand for Babcock and our customers.

"We believe the research arm of this facility will generate real interest from students looking to learn more about sustainable technology and I’m really looking forward to working with the teams to support that skills agenda and see where this takes us into the future.”