Projects

Natural solutions are playing an increasingly important role in sustainable coastal management, but a sound scientifically based financing framework is still lacking. Coastbusters FINESSE wants to change this.

The partners in the Coastbusters project LANICE strive for sustainable systems to manage the Belgian coast. Within this scope, they investigate to what extent the sand mason worm can play a role in stabilising sediment and increasing biodiversity at the Belgian coast.

The partners in the Reefcovery project are developing various methods for the restoration of oyster reefs in the North Sea. These oyster reefs can then be used to arrive at a nature-inclusive design for infrastructure at sea and along the coast.

The partners in the CORE project are developing various models and methods to optimise the yield of new and existing wind farms. Specific relevant challenges at the Belgian and European level are taken into account.

The aim of the three-year WETCOAST project is to gain more insight into carbon storage in salt marshes and mangroves. In this way, the partners are taking an important step towards natural solutions that can be financed with carbon credits.

All living organisms leave DNA traces in the environment. These traces can be used to map the presence of biological species. Nevertheless, there are some obstacles to applying this method in a complex marine environment such as the Belgian part of the North Sea.

The partners in the BERNARDO project examine the potential of marine carbon for a sustainable blue economy. Within this scope, they draw up a comprehensive carbon budget for the Belgian North Sea for the very first time.

Offshore wind turbines are subject to varying loads from wind and waves. This results in fatigue of the structures and a finite lifespan. The partners in FIRMEST develop forecasting tools so as to better estimate the lifespan of existing and future wind turbines.

To limit global warming, active research is being conducted into ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Blue Alkalinity project examines the possibility of storing CO2 from the air in the sea by increasing the alkalinity of the seawater.

Wind and waves cause structural vibrations in offshore structures. The dampener system that deals with this brings about forced active power oscillations, which can lead to grid instability. The partners in the FOOS project investigate this phenomenon.