Projects

Over the past decades, Belgium has built a strong reputation in the development of offshore wind energy. Now the country also wants to play a leading role in the development of offshore solar energy. The partners in the SWiM project rise up to the challenge.

Natural solutions are increasingly used to protect our coasts from the ferocity of the sea. However, a lot of sand needs to be extracted for such solutions, which affects the marine ecosystem. SUSANA aims to map both ecosystems and the effects they experience.

In the T-shore project, thirteen partners from five countries are working together to establish a European network of training centres in offshore wind energy. The aim is to provide high-quality training courses for the sector in an innovative way.

Wind turbines in Belgium provide green energy for an average of 25 years. Despite our pioneering role in the installation, use and maintenance of wind farms, we lack the experience to dismantle wind turbines sustainably and professionally. The Ready4Decom project aims to change that.

Researchers are attempting to combine multiple forms of energy generation and multiple activities at one and the same location at sea. The Test@Sea project therefore focuses on expanding the available testing infrastructure further out at sea.

In the wake of a wind turbine, turbulence is created and the wind loses a lot of its power. This is called the wake effect. Cloud4wake aims to better explore the wake effects in wind farms, so that adverse effects can be addressed and the wind farms’ business case can be improved.

The general public is often insufficiently aware of and involved in the sustainable transition of the Flemish coastal area. That’s why the BLUE BALANCE project is aimed at creating public support and facilitating a comprehensive dialogue between stakeholders.

Seismic surveys have revealed clay tectonic deformations in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The Clay Tectonics project investigates to which extent these deformations should and can be taken into account in the construction of offshore wind farms off our coast.

In Europe, scaling up commercial aquaculture is hampered by high production costs and the pressure on local resources. In this project, an indoor cultivation concept for shrimp is developed that does not require water changes and produces virtually no waste. The new concept is based on improved clear water technology.

The impact of the European 'Green Deal' is gradually becoming tangible at sea as well. In the BANOS project, stakeholders in the Baltic Sea and North Sea regions are taking concrete positive measures to restore our ocean and waters.

Billions of cubic metres are dredged every year to keep ports and rivers accessible. This material is usually considered a worthless waste product, but it can potentially play a role in the restoration of our eroded tidal zones and help improve our local ecosystem services. Bankbusters explores these aspects in detail.

The EVERBLUE project aims to investigate in detail the effects of wind on modern container ships moored in realistic, busy port environments. To this end, wind tunnel tests, CFD simulations and dynamic mooring analyses will be used.