From Porto to Viana do Castelo, with a stop in Póvoa de Varzim: this was the route taken as INESC TEC hosted three exciting days of the third edition of the EU-SCORES Stakeholder Engagement Event.
Between July 2 and 4, members of the EU-SCORES project consortium (European Scalable Complementary Offshore Renewable Energy Sources), together with institutional and political representatives and other participants, explored the latest developments in multi-use offshore renewable energy technologies.
The EU-SCORES project, funded by the Horizon Europe 2020 programme and led by the DMEC (Dutch Marine Energy Centre), aims to develop technologies that combine offshore renewable energies (wind, solar and wave), promoting the efficient use of maritime space.
As a member of the consortium, INESC TEC hosted the most recent edition of the event organised within the scope of the project. The first day began at the Porto School of Engineering (ISEP). Alongside presentations and two discussion panels with top experts, participants also visited INESC TEC’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory.
But why is it important to discuss multi-use offshore technologies?
“Europe is currently facing a multi-crisis: a biodiversity crisis, a climate crisis, a security crisis – including energy security. All of this is interconnected, and we need solutions to address these issues,” stressed Benjamin Lehner, EU-SCORES Project Coordinator.
Lehner, who is also Executive Board Chair of DMEC, emphasised that the EU-SCORES solution is to “explore multi-use offshore renewable energy parks”. “We are combining different energy sources – wave, wind and solar – on a single platform, enabling faster deployment of these technologies,” he noted.
Among the advantages of this solution, Lehner highlighted “reduced pressure on the environment and on different market actors, since the space required is significantly reduced.” “And in terms of security, it is a more reliable system, because all these technologies complement each other.”
The first panel focused on Local Economy and Societal Impact, addressing the context of Portugal’s maritime economic activities in areas like fisheries, public administration, scientific research, tourism and security.
Moderated by Eduardo Silva, INESC TEC researcher, the discussion brought together Miguel Marques, CEO of Skipper & Wool, João Leite, President of the Associação Pró-Maior Segurança dos Homens do Mar (APMSHM), Sandra Ramos, researcher and leader of the Fish Ecology and Sustainability team at CIIMAR, and Luís Quaresma, Lieutenant in the Portuguese Navy.
“For Portugal – on Europe’s Atlantic frontier -, one of the possible solutions for producing clean energy is the sea. However, this requires everyone’s collaboration,” summarised Eduardo Silva.
Although offshore renewables show “obvious improvements in reducing environmental impact”, Sandra Ramos stressed that “little is still known” about their exact effects on ecosystems. “We need to keep studying; we must have data and adapt environmental impact assessments, to provide concrete information that supports decision-making,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the APMSHM President emphasised the need for cross-sectoral cooperation in maritime industries, calling for closer dialogue with the fishing community. While recognising the relevance of offshore energy, João Leite argued that “fishing has not been given a primary role.” “Fishing sustains thousands of families, [but] the sector has been treated as a third partner – not as a main one.”
The second discussion panel focused on Impact on Local Value Chains, highlighting key marine technologies, pre-commercial testing, and the roles of the ports, construction, wind and wave energy sectors in moving towards a sustainable future.
Before moderating the session, Luís Seca, Member of the Board of INESC TEC, underlined the importance of Portugal’s various initiatives in the blue economy: “It is impossible not to mention the success of WindFloat Atlantic, the first commercial floating wind farm in continental Europe, or the wave energy tests we have been carrying out with CorPower Ocean at the CEO test site in Aguçadoura.”
The subsequent discussion featured contributions from Carlos Pinho, President of Companhia de Energia Oceânica (CEO), Daniel Ribeiro, Asset Manager at Ocean Winds (OW), Eunice Silva, Technical Project Manager at CorPower Ocean, Ricardo Morgado, CEO of WAM Horizon, Filipe Martins, Director of Innovation at APDL (Administração de Portos do Douro, Leixões e Viana do Castelo), and Eduardo Feio, President of Porto de Aveiro.
“Infrastructures play a central role in technological development and innovation,” said Carlos Pinho, who added that in the case of CEO, “there is a convergence environment between companies and academia, supported by licensing adapted to testing phases.”
“This ecosystem accelerates the learning process, where systems and structures can be tested, removed, corrected and retested. Companies are engaged in discovery, with academia in the background, aiming for optimisation of the entire commercial management process,” he explained.
Highlighting the CorPower Ocean example, Eunice Silva stressed the importance of partnerships with diverse economic actors: “To move to the commercial phase of wave energy converters, we need partnerships – with port authorities, the energy grid, and offtakers, i.e., the entities that agree to buy the generated energy.”
However, one major challenge lies in obtaining consent for the maritime space where projects are developed. Given the many stakeholders involved, Silva underlined the need for “faster licensing and project development” to build investor and buyer confidence.
“Joint planning is essential”, reinforced Filipe Martins, noting that given the “lengthy decision-making processes in ports”, early engagement with authorities is vital to speed up needs assessments, decisions and project execution.
From Porto to Viana: Portugal’s offshore wind energy investment
On the second day, the delegation travelled to Viana do Castelo, where participants visited CorPower Ocean’s Portuguese facilities – one of the EU-SCORES consortium members. In the morning, visitors learned more about the company’s activities, equipment and innovative technologies, particularly in harnessing wave energy.
Back at ISEP in the afternoon, the programme continued with presentations and discussions in a public policy forum. The opening talk, by Sarah Kluge, Project Manager at DMEC, focused on the potential of offshore renewables in Europe. This was followed by the first half of a broad panel on National Perspectives on the Development of Marine Renewables and Offshore Wind Energy.
Moderated by Inês Machado, researcher and Director for Marine Environment and Licensing at WavEC, and Sander des Tombe, Marine Energy Ambassador at DMEC, the panel included contributions from: Ana Alexandra Andrade, researcher at DGEG (Directorate-General for Energy and Geology), Sjoerd van Dijk, Financial Manager at RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), Elva Bannon, Head of Research and Engineering at Wave Energy Scotland, and Matthijs Soede, Policy Officer at DG-RTD (European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation).
Giving the Scottish example, Bannon noted challenges in introducing wave energy into offshore wind farms “already allocated to other entities”. The relative scepticism of companies – with wave energy still “to prove itself” and associated financial and technological risks – led her to highlight the importance of “robust data collection at sea” to demonstrate the efficiency of integrating such technology into floating offshore wind farms.
Faced with these challenges, Andrade suggested governments could “play a role” in driving such initiatives – for instance, by regulating maritime tariffs to make investment more attractive or providing adaptable financial support throughout project lifecycles.
Soede also pointed out the need to address the “complexity” of investment in multi-use offshore renewable parks. He advocated knowledge transfer, “sharing successful experiences, tests and validated technology integration”.
“We already have significant knowledge of floating wind farms and there is growing interest in going beyond this technology. A solid foundation of trust exists, but we need to be more transparent about both successes and failures.”
The second half of the debate brought in more offshore renewable energy experts: Tom Woolley, Marine Spatial Planning Consultant at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications of Ireland; Jesse Verhalle, Naval Attaché at the Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment of Belgium; André Couto, Head of the Environmental Monitoring Division at DGRM (Portuguese Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services); and Federico Navarro Cabrera, Maritime Safety Inspector at Spain’s Directorate-General of Merchant Shipping.
How to reconcile marine biodiversity concerns with offshore renewable energy targets? “Knowledge – that’s the simple answer”, said Couto. He emphasised that major knowledge gaps about the sea have been closing in recent years: “markets, organisations and governments now have the information needed for adaptive maritime management and planning. It must be a continuous improvement process, leading to better outcomes for all.”
Verhalle agreed, though he cautioned that even with “30 years of offshore wind experience”, more data is needed. “It is difficult to predict when we will have sufficient knowledge to fully understand it.” He also warned against reducing the issue to a mathematical equation – “x% for offshore renewables and y% for biodiversity protection” – stressing the need to consider local maritime planning analyses.
A journey on Aguçadoura’s challenging waves
On the third and final day, participants finally ventured offshore: in Póvoa de Varzim, INESC TEC’s research vessel Mar Profundo opened the doors to visitors, showcasing the Institute’s consolidated investment in R&D&I for the ocean.
After touring the research vessel, the group donned life jackets and sailed to the Aguçadoura test site. Returning to the marina, they made a short excursion to the Companhia de Energia Oceânica’s substation, where they witnessed drone flight tests by INESC TEC’s Marine Robotics team.
In an interview with DMEC, researcher Bernardo Silva, area manager for renewable energies at INESC TEC, also talked about the concept of hybrid offshore renewable energy parks and the role of the Institute in the EU-SCORES project. You may check out the full interview in the following video:
The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and IPP-ISEP.
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