The floating island concept, revealed earlier this year , will now be further studied and developed through a Horizon 2020-funded project Space@Sea that started on 1 November and will run for three years.
Under the project, a consortium consisting of seventeen European partners will study the most suitable shape of the floaters to minimise the motions. As a starting point, triangles will be used which also allow for a modular design maximising the flexibility to add and remove deck space and applications if necessary. Offshore specialists will contribute to design a shared mooring solution in combination with a remote monitoring and sensing system to reduce installation and maintenance costs.
Of the total project cost of EUR 7.6 million, the Horizon 2020 programme will support it with approx. EUR 6.8 million, according to the programme’s website.
Project coordinator Maarten Flikkema from MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands) said: “The three year project can be regarded as a success if the modular design of the multi-use platform has successfully been validated in a relevant environment at model scale.”
This summer, MARIN carried out research using computer simulations and model tests in its Offshore Basin (40 x 40 m) in which wind, waves and currents can be simulated at scale.
The concept for a floating mega island could provide, inter alia, future-proof living and working space at sea for developing, generating, storing, and maintaining renewable energy, including offshore wind.
Within the Space@Sea project, four applications will be studied: farming, transport and logistics hub, energy hub and living. To show the potential of multi-use modular floating islands, Space@Sea will conclude with the evaluation of three business cases with combinations of applications for various locations throughout Europe.
Three specific islands will be validated and demonstrated as part of Space@Sea: an energy hub in the North Sea, aquaculture in the Mediterranean and a floating logistics hub in the Black Sea.