Multi-Use platform construction phase to pilot demo stages
In crowded seas such as those around the European Union – including, for example, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean – pressures on the environment are building and space is at a premium. One idea that has been put forward to make more efficient use of the seas and minimise the footprint of human activities is offshore platforms that combine multiple uses. n principle, platforms offer efficiencies, such as maximising the amount of energy generated from one platform if different energy generation methods are used, while minimising the amount of space taken up and saving on operational and maintenance costs.
Ayoze Castro, Innovation Manager at PLOCAN talks about it’s role in the development of the Multi-Use Platform and MUSICA project. PLOCAN was created in 2007 as a public consortium between National Government of Spain and regional Government of Canary Islands. It has been included as part of Spanish network of unique technical infrastructure in order to exploit certain competitive advantages of the region. The final goal is to be closer to the companies and the productive market to try to support innovation requirements rather than to produce basic research.
PLOCAN has land-based and naval(sea)-based facilities to support development in marine & maritime sectors. Main facility includes a dedicated marine test site, fixed off shore platform acting as ocean laboratory and coastal open ocean observatory. With this main structures they offer natural services of hosting new prototypes and technologies for conducting validation and demonstration test in real environment. PLOCAN is a governmental body that facilitates and accelerates all the operations and logistics of construction and deployment of prototypes. In particular speeding up the authorizations and permits. PLOCAN offers professional capacities with land-based facilities, specialized training programs and robust network to ensure bilateral communication between land and sea.
About the partner
The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is a Research Infrastructure (RI) labeled by the ICTS (Unique Scientific and Technological Infrastructure) Spanish National Roadmap, co-funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish government and the Canary Islands government and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Operational Programme of the Canary Islands. PLOCAN is a multipurpose technical-scientific service infrastructure that provides support for research, technological development and innovation in the marine and maritime sectors, available to public and private users. PLOCAN offers both onshore and offshore experimental facilities and laboratories, operational throughout the whole year thanks to the Canary Islands excellent climatic conditions. PLOCAN also brings a broad experience in large national and EU marine/maritime projects.
For further information please contact Graham Lynch (Project Dissemination & Communications Officer) at grahamlynch@ucc.ie.
