Posters
Come meet the poster presenters to ask them questions and discuss their work
We would like to invite you to come and see the posters at our upcoming conference. The posters will showcase a diverse range of research topics, and will give delegates an opportunity to engage with the authors and learn more about their work. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or simply curious about the latest developments in your field, we believe that the posters will offer something of interest to everyone. So please join us at the conference and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and engage with your peers in industry and the academic community.
PO344: Fostering novel nature-inclusive concepts for offshore wind through Innovation Challenges
Juan Pardo, Researcher, NIVA
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in nature-inclusive concepts (mitigation measures and nature-inclusive designs) for bottom-fixed offshore wind infrastructure, and similar efforts are now beginning for floating wind farms. Measures include concepts associated with underwater noise, disturbance, and displacement, as well as solutions designed to optimise scour protection and cable protection layers, add-on structures, and stand-alone units. However, there is still a considerable gap in sustainable design strategies for both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind infrastructure in European waters, and worldwide. In particular, floating offshore wind farms pose interesting challenges due to the fundamental differences with bottom-fixed turbines and the later development of this technology: they are expected to have different impacts on local marine ecosystems compared to bottom-fixed (e.g. wildlife entanglement, continuous chain dragging of the seabed, anchor’s impacts), but might also offer new opportunities for nature enhancement and ecosystem restoration when placed in degraded habitats. These aspects are particularly relevant given the ambitious goals towards net-positive biodiversity, which will require context-dependent options. Therefore, it is critical to explore new concepts across different environments (i.e., adapted to each local/regional context) and ensure that novel nature-inclusive concepts are both ecologically relevant (i.e., they do not harm the environment but enhance the functioning of degraded sea bottoms) and feasible (i.e., economically and technologically feasible). A series of Innovation Challenges targeting nature-inclusive concepts for offshore wind infrastructure have been organized in 2025 in the frame of the European project NiD4OCEAN. Two types of Challenges have been organised: an Open Innovation Challenge targeting SMEs and start-ups, and University Challenges targeting interdisciplinary groups of students. Here, we report on the most promising concepts stemming from these events, as well as the identified challenges encountered when exploring the ecological targets and transferability of existing solutions for bottom-fixed technologies into floating.
No recording available for this poster.
