Current geopolitical events have only increased the major challenges regarding scaling up renewable offshore energy to achieve climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. A characteristic of the North Sea, as in other locations in Europe (and further afield), is the high occupancy rate by a multitude of users, making optimal use of the sea essential. So-called multi-source (multiple forms of energy generation at the same location, e.g. by integrating floating solar panel installations in wind energy farms) and multi-use use (e.g. aquaculture combined with energy generation) are developments with which initial experience is already being gained. With the Blue Accelerator test and demonstration platform, POM West Flanders has focused on these developments in collaboration with (consortium) partners, thereby developing important operational knowledge in the operation of such a test and demonstration platform at sea. Various test and demonstration campaigns for multiple users (SMEs, large companies, knowledge institutions, project consortia from home and abroad) have taken place, are ongoing or are in the pipeline.
Now that Blue Accelerator is operating at full capacity, users are asking for options to facilitate testing and demonstrations that can support higher levels of scalability and market readiness. For Blue Accelerator, this means on the one hand that further pre-standardization and pre-standardization of the test processes and methods are necessary, and on the other hand that an expansion of the test infrastructure further out at sea is necessary through floating and submersible structures. Test@Sea therefore aims to meet a number of demonstrable needs in three core domains in a cost-effective and high-quality manner.
Offshore market (energy conversion, material developments and drone applications) and to further refine these needs.
Test@Sea, a project consortium consisting of POM West Flanders, VLIZ, Sirris, VUB, Ghent University and De Blauwe Cluster , creates the opportunity for the offshore energy sector to continue innovating to strengthen the sector. A central element in this project, through targeted investments, is to provide an answer to the growing and increasingly advanced demand for fit-for-purpose test and demonstration infrastructure at sea. To this end, a higher level of quality in services is achieved in the field of guidance and support in, among other things, engineering and construction, project management and legal matters. The associated expansion of test infrastructure will be realized in an investment component, including an upgrade of the existing Blue Accelerator to continue to meet growing demand.