ECOncrete Finalist In VENTUS Offshore Wind Awards

ECOncrete is a finalist in the 2023 Ventus awards’ Supply Chain Advancement category. Oceantic Network’s industry award winners will be announced later this month in Boston.

ECOncrete ecological concrete technology enables nature-positive advancement within the existing supply chain of the Offshore Wind sector. By design, the technology allows local concrete and pre-casting companies to supply offshore wind projects with locally sourced and manufactured scour and cable protection solutions which are eco-engineered to enhance biodiversity (Case Studies and Selected Projects).

Our offshore solutions are an application of over 10 years of R&D in responsible marine construction. The ecological scour and cable protection solutions redefine offshore infrastructure design, combining innovative technology, ecological engineering, and a pivotal supply chain component – local manufacturing with locally sourced materials.

Ecological Integrity, Structural Performance and Localized Production

ECOncrete offshore cable and scour protection solutions integrate the company’s patented and proven ecological concrete technology. It includes a bio-enhancing admixture, surface complexity, and nature-inclusive design optimized for habitat creation and colonization for a wide range of organisms. ECOncrete solutions enable offshore wind developers to create biodiversity enhancement opportunities, and ultimately build nature-positive offshore infrastructure (technology overview and select US projects).

Closeup of ECOncrete tailored cable protection solution to restore biodiversity. Case Study Interconnector Project, Red Electrica, Spain. 10 months after deployment

Increasingly, offshore wind farms require the integration of nature-inclusive design (NID) solutions to mitigate and manage the ecological impact of offshore infrastructures, and to create opportunities to support, enhance, and restore marine biodiversity. In response, offshore developers and contractors are seeking new materials and innovative technologies to design and deploy alternative solutions to current industry standards.

ECOncrete’s approach, to leverage offshore infrastructure to promote and enhance marine biodiversity at scale, represents a shift in design paradigm. Compared to more localized measures such as add-ons that are often not a core part of the offshore infrastructure, this shift is driving innovation with the goal to increase the ecological value of offshore wind farm infrastructures and upscale desired ecological effects.

Locally Sourced Ecological Scour & Cable Protection

ECOncrete eco-engineering solutions for scour and cable protection unlock new opportunities for offshore developers to adapt their design and integrate biodiversity enhancements as an integral part of the construction of offshore infrastructure assets. At the same time, these solutions unlock new supply chain advancement opportunities to support local manufacturing as in Marine Mattresses in use in various projects.

We are thrilled to see our advances and work recognized in this way, and are looking forward to the Boston event!

 

Official Ventus Awards 2023 Website

 

Scour Protection – From Rocks to Ecological Concrete

When a structure, like an offshore wind turbine and tower, is placed offshore, the structure causes local eddies and an increase of the current and wave motions. This fast-flowing water stirs sand and sediment particles, picks them up and transports them away from the structure, creating a hole around the structure. This phenomenon is called scour.

Undersea cables carry electricity from the offshore wind farms back to the mainland where it is needed.  They also carry the vast majority of all intercontinental communication. Subsea cables are vulnerable to many corrosive and erosive forces – both natural and manmade – including particulate scour from currents and sea water egress.

When talking to regulators and decision makers about wind turbine foundations an early query is why not just use ‘natural’ (i.e., quarried) rocks to address this issue rather than concrete?

‘Natural’ rock commonly used for scour protection is not ‘natural’ to the marine environment. The natural rocks’ texture, shape and chemical composition deter marine organisms from adhering and forming habitat niches. Introduction of these materials is usually associated with invasive species and low biodiversity.

Droplock units are manufactured on-site and deployed by any standard vessel.

ECOncrete scour and cable protection solutions provide a unique range of commercial and ecological benefits. ECOncrete’s Droplock Scour Protection is the result of a two-year  R&D project to provide offshore wind projects with ecologically advanced scour protection. Design and engineering commenced in May 2021 and is funded by the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy Foundation with the participation of the US Department of Energy.

ECOncrete’s bio-enhancing concrete technology has been extensively researched and tested in the past 10 years in various environments and over 40 projects. Results on the positive ecological benefits and superior structural performance were published in numerous studies and peer-reviewed papers, both in academia and by third party laboratories.

  • ECOncrete’s Droplocks made from bio-enhancing concrete attract marine organisms and plants – quickly producing a vibrant, net positive, marine ecosystem.
  • ECOncrete Droplocks are manufactured on-site by local workforce. This creates investment into the local economy AND reduces the risks and costs associated with sourcing and transporting traditional rock material. Carbon capture and storage can be applied readily to further reduce the ecological footprint of the solution.
  • Any standard scour protection installation vessel, labor and equipment procedures can be used to deploy the Droplock. The Droplock units integrate ECOncrete’s proven, patented, bio-enhancing admixture, surface complexity and overall design optimized for habitat creation for a wide range of organisms.
  • The Droplock units are designed to interlock, to reduce the foundation’s scour protection footprint on the seafloor compared to rock and to minimize the total material required, while creating ecological habitat opportunities. The reduced footprint and resources benefit the project’s ecological and economic bottom line.

ECOncrete articulated concrete block mattresses.

To examine the ecological and structural performance of the Droplock to natural rock, over 1000 metric tons of bio-enhancing Droplock and rock-material for scour protection were deployed off Long Island, NY, more than 100ft deep in October 2022. The Droplock is currently undergoing ecological monitoring for the next two years, to set new standards in responsible marine construction. Periodic remote operated vehicle (ROV) imaging and observation provides results of biological colonization and structural properties.

Independent regulators and validators, such as the Nature Conservancy (Nature-Based Designs for Augmenting Offshore Wind in the United States); Nature England (Scour and Cable Protection Decommissioning Report); and the Government of the Netherlands (Nature-Inclusive Design for Offshore Wind) recommend ECOncrete’s patented admix and technology, for its nature-based designs and the ability to enhance biodiversity and ecosystems.

Droplock scour protection is designed to outperform rock and create habitat for a diverse ecosystem.