The blade and the testing programme forms part of XL-Blade, an EU-funded project aiming to reduce the cost of offshore wind by developing large offshore wind turbine blades.
The blade was unveiled by LM Wind Power, a subsidiary of GE Renewable Energy, in June 2016.
It was designed in partnership with Adwen, the now-defunct Gamesa-Areva offshore wind joint venture that has been subsumed by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, for its 8MW turbine.
Pictures are courtesy of LM Wind Power and ORE Catapult