The North Sea is one of the busiest maritime regions in the world. Energy production, shipping, fisheries, ecology, defence operations and the expansion of offshore wind all compete for limited space. As these activities continue to grow, so does the pressure on the sea.

To keep the North Sea safe, sustainable and economically productive, multi-use of space is becoming essential. Rather than allocating one area to one function, the future lies in combining activities intelligently, without compromising safety or environmental integrity.

Multi-use solutions make it possible to share infrastructure, reduce spatial footprint, integrate ecosystems and lower the overall impact on the marine environment. But before they can be deployed at scale, they must be proven safe, effective and compatible under real offshore conditions.

Testing multi-use innovations in the Offshore Test Site Scheveningen

Our Offshore Test Site (OTS) off the coast of Scheveningen provides exactly the environment needed to explore these combinations. It is the only place in the Netherlands where innovators can test their concepts directly at sea, under controlled and monitored conditions.

Examples of multi-use innovations that can be tested on the OTS include:

• Floating solar, which can be combined with offshore wind farms after testing
• Wave energy devices, which can be colocated with biodiversity-enhancing structures and also be integrated in wind farms.
• Seaweed cultivation which can be integrated into wind farms.

Because the OTS is a non-navigable, designated testing area, developers can experiment safely while collecting high-quality data on performance, environmental impact, logistics and system interactions.

Building the future of the North Sea

As the North Sea continues to fill with new demands, multi-use innovation is not just an opportunity, it is a requirement. The Offshore Test Site Scheveningen provides the space, conditions and support needed to turn these ideas into proven solutions.