“With a length of around 67 kilometers, Flanders’ coast is relatively small,” Ann points out. “This encourages companies and knowledge institutes to work together in a multidisciplinary way. To give an example, Flanders has played a role in the development of offshore wind energy technology from square one. One of the world’s first large-scale offshore wind turbine parks was built here. For a large part, we owe this pioneering role to the rich connections between knowledge and business here.”
“It goes without saying that Blue Cluster members continue to co-innovate in the field of renewable energy,” Ann adds, “but they also focus on domains such as coastal protection, fresh water production, maritime and inland transport connections, durable marine biomass production, ocean pollution and waste solutions, and blue tourism.”
“What’s more, we strongly believe that each domain has the power to create a ripple effect and boost innovative results in other domains. Take marine production. Introducing new business models for aquaculture in offshore wind parks not only helps combine multiple activities in the same location, it also has the potential to cut pollution – mussels, oysters and clams, for example, can act as natural water filters. The resulting products, in turn, could strengthen coastal tourism by adding a sustainable ingredient to the local menu, while providing a sustainable feedstock for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.”