INESC TEC and SINTEF join forces in offshore energy structure health monitoring project

In early September, several INESC TEC research infrastructures welcomed researchers from SINTEF – one of Norway’s and the world’s most prominent R&D centres, with more than 70 years of experience and a vast repertoire on sea-related research activities. The main goal? To define a pilot project related to monitoring and maintenance systems for floating offshore energy structures.  

The visit, which took place between 2 and 4 September, included not only tours of INESC TEC’s laboratories, but also trips to the Aguçadoura test site and to the construction works at the Hub Azul de Leixões. The INESC TEC infrastructures visited included the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab, the Nanophotonics, Spectral Imaging, Integrated Optics and Microfabrication, Chemical & Biosensing, Fibre Optic Sensing laboratories, the Communications laboratory (CommsLab), as well as the HumanISE Lab and the X-Energy Lab. These are research work structures associated with the INESCTEC.OCEAN project, from which this collaboration between the two European research institutions was born – and where SINTEF plays a mentoring role.

This initiative gave the SINTEF team the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the capacities and equipment that INESC TEC has available for R&D+I activities for the sea. “We were impressed with the scientific work, the variety of research infrastructures, and the ambitions of the people working here”, highlights Beate Kvamstad-Lervold, from SINTEF’s Department of Transport and Energy.

“By establishing a ‘group of willing’ for the ocean across these research groups, I truly believe INESCTEC.OCEAN can be in the forefront of ocean technology research, and an important partner for SINTEF Ocean [SINTEF’s centre dedicated to sea-related R&D] in the future”, the researcher reinforces.

At Aguçadoura beach, SINTEF researchers visited the electrical substation led by Companhia de Energia Oceânica (CEO), exploring the possibilities of this test platform for marine technology in real environments. At the Port of Leixões Logistics Platform II, the Norwegian research team observed the most recent progress in the construction of the Hub Azul de Leixões ocean basin, coordinated by INESC TEC.

This new infrastructure, with a depth of 10 metres and a 30-metre-deep scientific diving well, will clearly strengthen the testing and validation capabilities of technologies in pre-commercial ocean environments. The definition of this structure also involves the active participation of the INESCTEC.OCEAN team.

“Through this visit, SINTEF was able to have a real perception of our installed capacity and the resources and equipment available to INESCTEC.OCEAN,” says Diana Viegas, INESC TEC researcher and INESCTEC.OCEAN’s project lead.

“After our visit to Norway in May, it was now the turn for our partners and mentors from SINTEF to meet our team and main research facilities. Without a doubt, these three days were crucial for both entities to align expectations and strengthen mutual trust in the collaborative work to be carried out in the present and in the future,” Diana Viegas adds.

The researcher also underlined the importance of SINTEF’s “experience and know-how”: “Those are essential pillars for this partnership, favouring the sustainable growth and leadership role of INESCTEC.OCEAN within the Portuguese Blue Economy”.

“A launch pad for future projects”

However, as mentioned earlier, SINTEF’s agenda was not limited to visiting research infrastructures. Throughout a series of meetings, the teams from both institutions worked together to define a pilot R&D project on monitoring and maintenance systems for offshore energy structures, combining the resources and capacities of INESC TEC and SINTEF.

More specifically, “the goal is to develop a structure health monitoring system for floating wind turbines, particularly with regard to underwater components”, explains Co-Project Manager and INESC TEC researcher Diogo Neves.

“It also aims to promote knowledge transfer and capacity building at INESC TEC, regarding SINTEF’s experience in assessment of this type of structures, both numerically and experimentally, as well as creating synergies between the two institutions,” Diogo Neves emphasises.

Through this symbiotic work with SINTEF, Diogo Neves believes it will also be possible “to evaluate the potential of new INESC TEC structures for ocean testing and the establishment of contacts with the offshore industry”.

From the Norwegian side, there’s also a Portuguese touch: Nuno Fonseca, Chief Scientist at SINTEF Ocean, will also be co-managing the pilot project. The researcher believes this is an opportunity that “will certainly strengthen relations between SINTEF Ocean and INESCTEC.OCEAN, in order to foster collaborations not only in the present, but also in the future” in the maritime field.

“Our expectation is that this will also serve as a launch pad for future projects. From this perspective, it is important to establish relations and mutual knowledge between the two partners. We also intend, within the scope of the project, to develop parallel initiatives related to common research interests and identified industry needs,” concludes Nuno Fonseca.

This is an example of the synergy activities promoted by INESCTEC.OCEAN, a project led by INESC TEC to create a Centre of Excellence in Ocean Research & Engineering – the first entirely dedicated to the sea in Portugal. The consortium has SINTEF as a mentor and Fórum Oceano and APDL – Douro, Leixões and Viana Ports Authority – as partners.

This article was first published on 22 September by INESC TEC.