Overview
NEXUS will develop and demonstrate novel, beyond state of the art, specialised vessel and logistics for safe and sustainable servicing of offshore wind farms.
NEXUS includes: simulation, model testing, consideration of the most suitable construction and production principles for small series or one off vessels of this type. Key aspects of NEXUS include environmental impact assessment, cost estimation as well as both the marketability (technology push), and the cost effectiveness of the offshore operations concerned (demand pull).
The project will develop the concepts and validate on a demonstrator at a technology readiness level (TRL) 5 with the overall aim to reduce the marine logistics cost of offshore wind turbine maintenance by 20% compared to current practices. In addition NEXUS will enable the increase the professional skills of workers and the capability of European industry and in particular SMEs within the marine and maritime sectors to develop and commercialise specialised vessels and related technology, and will support European growth and employment through development of a blue economy.
Funding
Results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NEXUS (Towards Game-changer Service Operation Vessels for Offshore Windfarms)
Context
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) accounts for 20-30% of life cycle cost for a typical offshore wind farm, and this is forecast to increase as sites move further out to sea. This requires longer more difficult travel, increasing the associated O&M costs. NEXUS will...
Context
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) accounts for 20-30% of life cycle cost for a typical offshore wind farm, and this is forecast to increase as sites move further out to sea. This requires longer more difficult travel, increasing the associated O&M costs. NEXUS will systematically analyse the farms, providing better understanding and tools to improve efficiency and thus offset this trend.
As the carrying of technicians, equipment and spare parts is mostly done using service vessels, the efficiency of these vessels and their operation is the target for improvement by NEXUS. The demand for SOVs will continue to grow as the windfarms move further offshore and increase in size and number, and estimates are that the SOV fleet will have to quadruple to meet demand over the next decade.
To create significant cost savings, NEXUS is pursuing new vessel and O&M innovations and is also carrying out a business analysis of the current O&M services across the supply chain. NEXUS is also analysing a list of innovations to determine potential game changers, including removing barriers caused by current safety regulations.
Objectives
The NEXUS objectives are to:
- Reduce lifecycle O&M expenditure by 20% and lower CO2 emission by 30% associated with windfarm operation.
- Enable robust decision-making resulting in reduced costs and effective management of business risk for the service vessel.
- Capture the robust design requirements for a new windfarm service vessel for operation in the North Sea.
- Develop a new vessel concept for servicing offshore windfarms to robust design requirements captured during the feasibility study.
- Develop specialised safety regulations for windfarm service vessels to improve cost effectiveness and operational flexibility, which are potentially undermined by the current, generic safety rules.
- Compile an evidenced business case for a new windfarm service vessel, of which development will be exemplified in the project.