Multi-use affordable standardised floating Space@Sea (Space at Sea)

Space@Sea was a three-year project funded by EU Horizon 2020, aimed at providing sustainable and affordable workspace at sea by developing a standardised and cost-efficient modular island with low ecological impact, consisting of multiple smaller floaters connected together to form one large island.

Tangible results: The project developed a standardised multi-use modular floating island with a low ecological impact that contributes to offshore activities and the expansion of coastal areas in an efficient and sustainable way. It demonstrated the economic feasibility of floating islands and provided a comparison between the modular floating hub (T&L@Sea, developed in the project) and respective container terminals situated onshore.

Application/relevance: The project demonstrated four applications in the Offshore Basin of the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN): (i) an energy maintenance hub that showed to be an economically attractive alternative to present day approaches to maintenance for deep water; (ii) a living and rural extension that – although not so economically attractive – has social benefits that make it an attractive solution; (iii) single-use islands for aquaculture proved not economically feasible, instead aquaculture should be done on floating islands on small scale to support the people living on the island; and (iv): transport and logistics: for shallow waters the solution is more expensive than land reclamation, deeper water however makes floating a more attractive solution. Although Space@Sea limited the demonstration of the application to these four, many other applications are possible.