Gemeente Den Haag
Initiator Campus@Sea
Just off the coast of The Hague is the smartest area of the North Sea. The unusual environmental factors of water, wind and current make this ‘Field Lab in the North Sea’ unique in the world. This is the perfect location for experiments, tests and demonstrations at sea.
The test site provides space for live tests and thus supplements the extensive test facilities of Marin and Deltares. Technology developers can use the test site to provide a ‘proof of concept’ to future clients and licensing bodies.
Data at sea
Telecom company
Innovations for sailing
The Field Lab in the North Sea is made possible by a contribution from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund.
Within the 10 x 10 nautical miles is the Offshore Test Site (OTS). Here new innovations can undergo lengthy testing at sea.
Twelve kilometres (6.5 N mi) off the coast of Scheveningen, a licence was granted to North Sea Farmers to use 6 km2 of the North Sea as a test site. North Sea Farmers, part of the Campus@Sea community, offer six 1 km2 plots in the Offshore Test Site. These plots are available for a monthly payment for start-ups and scale-ups wanting to test their innovations in demanding offshore circumstances.
The Offshore Test Site can only be accessed by the users of the different plots. And fishing is not permitted either. This creates a safe environment where new innovations can undergo lengthy testing. You will find more information about the Offshore Field Lab on the North Sea Farmers website.
SafeTrx is a watch that uses a revolutionary technology that makes it possible to find surfers in distress. The watch is continuously connected with search & rescue organisations. In the Netherlands, that’s the KNRM. In an emergency, a surfer can accurately share their location using the watch. The emergency services are alerted and can respond immediately.
Searching for a surfer can sometimes take hours. With this watch, that time is considerably reduced. The watch was developed with support from the Field Lab in the North Sea and is now in production.
“The Field Lab in the North Sea offers start-ups and SMEs the possibility to test their innovative products and demonstrate with end users in real practical conditions on the water.”
Development of technology to convert sustainable wave power into electricity. With support from Field Lab in the North Sea, the first tests were conducted in the North Sea.
Using autonomous inspection ships, the search&rescue of drowning victims can be speeded up, and surveillance carried out in coastal areas and near beaches.
On one of the Offshore Test Site plots, there are floating solar panels. During lengthy testing, the yields of the panels are recorded, and the possibilities for installing floating solar panels in wind farms are studied.
Seaweed has many valuable nutritional applications for people, animals and plants. However, it is also a basis for materials, bioplastics and energy. For the Netherlands, the future of large-scale seaweed farming lies in wind farms. On the Offshore Test Site, seaweed farming is tested in one of the plots.