NEXUS will develop and demonstrate novel, beyond state of the art, specialised vessel and logistics for safe and sustainable servicing of offshore wind farms. NEXUS includes: simulation, model testing, consideration of the most suitable construction and production principles for small series or one off vessels of this type. Key aspects of NEXUS include environmental impact assessment, cost estimation as well as both the marketability (technology push), and the cost effectiveness of the offshore operations concerned (demand pull). The project will develop the concepts and validate on a demonstrator at a technology readiness level (TRL) 5 with the overall aim to reduce the marine logistics cost of offshore wind turbine maintenance by 20% compared to current practices. In addition NEXUS will enable the increase the professional skills of workers and the capability of European industry and in particular SMEs within the marine and maritime sectors to develop and commercialise specialised vessels and related technology, and will support European growth and employment through development of a blue economy.

The aim is to develop and install a pre-commercial wave energy converter (WEC) of 1MW power, the WAVESTAR C6-1000 device, with main targets the device industrialization and the demonstration of wind and wave energy applications. The utility company Parkwind, which develops, builds and operates wind farms in the North Sea, is committed to the achievement of WAVESTAR’s next development stage. Parkwind provides the installation site with grid connection for the first full-scale WAVESTAR WEC, located within a Belgian offshore wind farm. The UPWAVE project consortium has been developed through the establishment of strong synergies and partnerships, by bringing together key European industrial players and European universities represented by wave energy experts whose overall objectives focus on: 1) Reduction of the device’s cost by introducing new design, components and materials. Cost optimization is achieved through new methods on deployment, installation, operation and maintenance. 2) Improvement of the energy efficiency by developing a more advanced Power Take Off based on a second generation digital hydraulic system and innovative control strategy. 3) Integration of wave energy converters in wind farms by considering the interaction between wave and wind devices in terms of operation, cost reduction and maximization of environmental benefits. Public research programs, industrial cooperation and technology transfer from the offshore industry (offshore wind, oil and gas) ensure the development of manufacturing processes, automation and optimisation of the WAVESTAR C6-1000 WEC. New certificates and standards will be made available for the wave energy industry. After the completion of the UPWAVE project, the cost of wave energy will be significantly reduced to a level in line with the cost of offshore wind energy (around 15 c€/kWh). The WAVESTAR C6-1000 demonstrator device will lead to a commercial WEC and a hybrid renewable energy device (wind and wave).

Efficient and effective use of offshore renewables is pivotal in the transition of the EU to become a net-zero economy in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. EU-SCORES will unlock the large-scale potential of the roll-out of offshore renewable energy in multi-source parks across different European sea basins through two highly comprehensive and impactful demonstrations: (1) An offshore solar PV system in Belgium co-located with a bottom fixed windfarm and; (2) A wave energy array in Portugal co-located with a floating wind farm. The multi-source demonstrations in EU-SCORES will showcase the benefits of a continuous power output harnessing the complementarity between wind, sun and waves as it leads to a more resilient and stable power system, higher capacity factors and a lower total cost per MWh. These aspects will also improve the business case for the production of green hydrogen within these parks. The full-scale demonstrations will prove how the increased power output and capacity installed per km2 will reduce the amount of marine space needed, thereby leaving more space for aquaculture, fisheries, shipping routes and environmentally protected zones. Additional benefits attained by co-using critical electrical infrastructures and exploring advanced operation and maintenance methodologies supported by innovative autonomous systems will further lower the costs per MWh. The involvement of major project developers and utility companies (EDP, EGP, SBE, RWE, EnBW, Eneco, OceanWinds, and Parkwind) will ensure an accelerated path towards commercialisation of these innovative parks. Altogether, through a highly competent, skilled and motivated consortium EU-SCORES will pave the way for bankable multi-source parks including wind, wave and floating solar systems across different European sea basins by 2025, thereby supporting the stability and resilience of the European energy system, while considering sustainability, local stakeholders and existing ecosystems.

ULTFARMS aims to move beyond the current application of Low-Trophic Aquaculture (LTA) systems with novel engineering, technical, ecological and biological processes to optimise production in harsh offshore conditions, low-salinities, and their integration within Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs). ULTFARMS will be covering the whole value chain expertise for LTA production in OWFs. Co-development and co-management by research and industry realises novel designs and operations unique to offshore in six Low-Trophic Aquaculture Pilots (LTAPs) in as many OWF locations across the North and Baltic Seas. These six pilots are implemented in: Belgium-Belwind (Seaweed-Mussels-Oysters), the Netherlands-Borssele (Mussels), Germany-FINO2 (Seaweed) & FINO3 (Seaweed-Mussels-Oysters), and Denmark-Anholt (Seaweed-Mussels) & Samsø (Seaweed-Mussels). X This approach involves stakeholders from across the value chains of OWF and LTA to ensure environmentally sound, low-carbon, and safe LTA products from design to commercialisation. New cultivation structures, grow-out systems, and both nature restoration and eco-friendly design measures are advanced through the proposed work. Drawing on existing open databases and operational forecasting systems, such as CMEMS and SeaDATANET, within integrated monitoring and management platforms, such as the HiSea service platform, the planning and operation of LTAs can be effectively supported via an enhanced technical service. ULTFARMS will offer services to aquaculture producers for monitoring and minimizing diseases and alien species, managing inputs, optimizing sustainable production and demand management including risk analysis. Furthermore, through the inclusion of 5 Associate Regions (ARs) throughout the lifetime of the project, lessons learnt and innovations developed will be shared through comprehensive communication and dissemination activities and underpinned by the ARs active inclusions in work undertaken with partners throughout the project.

The UNITED (multi-Use platforms and co-locatioN pilots boosting cost-effecTive, and Eco-friendly and sustainable production in marine environments) project provides evidence by means of pilot demonstrators that the development of multi-use platforms or co-location of different activities in a marine and ocean space is a viable approach (economically, socially and environmentally) for European maritime industry and local ecosystems. The main activities centre around 5 pillars defined through the BG-05 call (i.e. Technology, Economy, Legal/Governance/Policy, Society, and Environment). The technological pillar comprises the need for synchronization of multiple operation and maintenance systems, local market stakeholders impact, support in management and planning decisions for new developments, as well as improvements in current design, safety and infrastructure set-ups for multi-use extensions. The economic pillar will investigate insurance issues, profitability/threshold to finance/investment pay off of multi-use developments while also paying consideration to risk/health impact on business, zoning and offshore, and economic sustainability. The Legal/Policy/Governance pillar focuses on the lack of dialogue between public institutions which issue permits; the lack of health and safety regulation and standards for multi-use, zoning and offshore as well as the absence of a framework for legal responsibility in multi-use. The societal pillar includes societal debates and concerns, societal perception of multi-use social preference of multi-use versus single use, societal ownership and acceptance issues, trust issues between sectors, required improvements in professional skills and competences. The environmental pillar includes determining the impacts of the various structure designs and the overall environmental feasibility of the pilot site developments and implementation regimes.