In the second funding round of the Facilities for Applied Research (FTO) scheme, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs has granted EUR 9.6 million for MARIN’s proposal to establish a new Maritime Innovation Lab. Under this proposal, MARIN’s existing Shallow Water Basin and Concept Basin will be combined into a new facility.
In this new facility MARIN can develop maritime innovations and immediately translate them into realistic user experiences in the Seven Oceans Simulator centre or the Zero Emission Lab.
Through its strategy, MARIN aims to accelerate these innovations in close collaboration with the maritime sector. This sector plays a crucial role in addressing societal challenges such as clean and safe transport of people and goods, offshore production of sustainable energy, defence applications, inland shipping, and climate-adaptive floating infrastructure.
Also read: VIDEO: How MARIN tests SolarDuck’s floating solar panels
Broad collaborations
The Maritime Innovation Lab speeds up innovation by creating an environment where the maritime industry — from start-ups and SMEs to large corporations — works intensively with government, TO2 institutes, universities, colleges, and MARIN specialists. Together, the innovation and earning capacity of the Netherlands within Europe is strengthened, while contributing to sustainability and safety at sea.
During the day, MARIN can use fast numerical tools and exploratory tests in its basins to investigate ideas. At night, MARIN conducts automated tests to collect structured data for training numerical models. These models can then be used to bring innovations to life on MARIN’s simulators and further develop them in collaboration with future users.
Image by MARIN.
Also read: VIDEO: How MARIN studies wind propulsion’s impact on operations
