Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Sun-Bio (SUSTAINABLE AND NATURE INCLUSIVE OFFSHORE ENERGY WITH THE PARALLEL BIODIVERSITY FLOURISHING, PROTECTION AND MONITORING)
Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2025-11-30
In line with the European Green Deal, the EU Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, and the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, SUN-BIO addresses the need to reconcile offshore renewable energy deployment with biodiversity protection and effective ecological monitoring. The project develops and demonstrates an integrated offshore hybrid renewable energy system that combines energy generation with nature-inclusive design and intelligent monitoring. Its objective is to transform offshore energy infrastructures into multifunctional platforms that generate renewable energy, attenuate wave impacts, and support marine biodiversity through advanced sensing and data capabilities. SUN-BIO achieves this by integrating hybrid energy technologies with nature-inclusive structures, an underwater biodiversity observatory, and data management and decision-support tools enabling continuous ecosystem assessment and informed management.
During the reporting period, SUNBIO carried out coordinated technical and scientific activities covering the specification, design, validation, and ecological integration of the Offshore Hybrid Renewable Energy System (OHRES) and the underwater biodiversity hub. Project-level quality, risk, and data governance frameworks were established to ensure high technical standards, FAIR data practices, and ethical compliance. Detailed specifications were defined for energy and ecological components, including materials, mooring and anchoring systems, hybrid energy technologies, energy storage, and subsea power and data transmission, together with quality control and automated condition-monitoring concepts. Key scientific results include the definition of target habitats, species, and ecological indicators, and the development of a comprehensive monitoring strategy for the OBSEA site aligned with EU frameworks. The integrated OHRES demonstrator design was completed, combining wave, photovoltaic, and thermoelectric generation with nature-inclusive structures supporting habitat restoration and continuous monitoring. Experimental validation was achieved through physical modelling of a 1:4 scaled system, alongside the development of prototype sensor suites and biodiversity-enhancing anchoring and restoration elements.
SUNBIO has delivered integrated technical and scientific results demonstrating the feasibility of multifunctional offshore renewable energy infrastructures combining clean energy generation, ecological restoration, and continuous marine monitoring. Its core outcome is the design and experimental validation of the Offshore Hybrid Renewable Energy System (OHRES), integrating wave energy, marine photovoltaics, and thermoelectric generation into an autonomous platform capable of powering observatories and nature-inclusive monitoring hubs. The project also established a validated framework for nature-inclusive offshore design, including biocompatible structures, artificial reefs, and restoration solutions for seagrass habitats, together with a comprehensive ecological monitoring strategy based on fixed and mobile platforms, multi-parameter sensors, and indicator-based assessments aligned with EU and international frameworks. Collectively, these results demonstrate how offshore energy installations can evolve from single-purpose infrastructures into biodiversity-supporting assets. SUNBIO’s impacts include reduced environmental footprint of offshore renewable energy, enhanced habitat restoration and biodiversity, and improved ecosystem resilience, alongside technological advances in hybrid offshore energy systems, autonomous power supply, and integrated environmental monitoring. Strategically, the project supports EU climate neutrality objectives, the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, and the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, with strong potential for replication. Further uptake will require extended pilot-scale demonstration and long-term testing, continued optimisation of hybrid energy integration, storage, and adaptive monitoring, access to investment and blended finance, and supportive regulatory, standardisation, and innovation frameworks enabling scale-up and long-term impact.