CONTEXT
OBJECTIVES
RESULTS
PARTNERS

Context and needs analysis

The growth of the shellfish sector in EU is nearly stagnant due to the increasing global competition and the saturation of the areas protected from swell where intensive mollusc farming is viable. OpenMode is launched to go beyond the resilient platforms tested in previous works, proposing floating connectable modules for intensive farming in open waters.
Its main objective is to prove their capacity to bridge the sector gaps farming on four full-scale demonstrators in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Sea Basins.

The main gap is the absence of an intensive mollusc farming system for open waters, which is limiting the growth of the sector.

  • In the Atlantic basin, the main problem is the intensity of the swell in open waters.
  • In the Mediterranean basin, the lack of phytoplankton in the protected areas and the intense predatory.
  • In North sea and Baltic sea, the absence of an intensive system that enables to scale-up the compensation policies.

The challenge is double: First, to demonstrate the efficiency and functionality of the proposed modules farming under different swell conditions, and second, prove that the technology of these affordable and resilient platforms can be very profitable for other blue growth applications.

Objectives

To meet the challenges, the project is divided in the following quantitative Specific Objectives, with one or several appropriate indicators where the Baseline Value (current situation) and the Target Values (Key Performance Indicator) desired at the end of the project (M24) are shown as follows.

Work Packages: results and deliverables

Schema of work packages of the OpenMode Project

Work package 1 – Management and coordination

  1. Monitoring and measurement of activities and results.
  2. General management and coordination.
  3. Financial, resources and human capital management.
  4. Quality, risk analysis and contingency plan.
WP1 Results
Milestone 1 (MS1)
Month 1
Kick-off meeting
Deliverable 1.1
Month 3
Quality assurance, risk analysis and contingency plan
(Confidential)
Deliverable 1.2
Month 6
Progress Report 1
(Confidential)

WP2 – Design optimization

  1. Design optimization.
  2. Modelling of the interaction platform-swell.
  3. Design and test of connection systems.
WP2 Results
Milestone 2 (MS2)
Month 4
First load-cycle full-scale test
Deliverable 2.1
Month 6
Design and calculation report
(Confidential)
Deliverable 2.2
Month 6
Connection of marine structures with shape-memory alloy plates
Utility Model (in Spanish)
Deliverable 2.3
Month 7
Connection systems between UHC floating modules
(Confidential)

WP3 – Continuous remote monitoring

  1. Integration on Building Information Modelling (BIM).
  2. Control of marine, weather and water conditions.
  3. Monitoring of structure, ropes and mooring.
  4. Remote data transmission and user interface.
WP3 Results
Milestone 3 (MS3)
Month 13
First data transmission on the website
Deliverable 3.1
Month 9
Remote Monitoring of farming system and environment
(Confidential)
Deliverable 3.2
Month 12 (updated in M18)
User-friendly data panel

WP4 – Manufacture and installation

  1. Production of the precast elements.
  2. Transport, assembling and floating to final locations.
WP4 Results
Milestone 4 (MS4)
Month 9
Pieces of first module in a 40’ container
Milestone 5 (MS5)
Month 10
First module floating
First module floating
Deliverable 4.1
Month 11
First module moored in its testing location (Vasc Country)
(Confidential)
Deliverable 4.2
Month 12
Learning processes precasting UHC modules
(Confidential)

WP5 – Operation and user experiences

  1. Maritime and operational safety.
  2. E-LCA, Social-LCA and LCCA.
  3. Analysis of user experiences and innovation management.
  4. Assembly of floating modules in different configurations.
  5. Optimization of operational activities through Big Data analytics.
WP5 Results
Milestone 6 (MS6)
Month 18
12x48 m raft assembled
Assembling operations of connectable modules. Tester 1 (Spain). Atlantic
Deliverable 5.1
Month 9
Maritime and operational safety guide
Deliverable 5.2
Month 24
LCA analysis of UHC modules
Deliverable 5.3
Month 18
Clients experiences using UHC modules
(Confidential)
Deliverable 5.4
Month 20
Demonstration of assembling configurations between modules
(Confidential)
Deliverable 5.5
Month 24
Optimization of operational activities based Big Data
(Confidential)

WP6 – Communication, dissemination and exploitation

  1. Communication activities.
  2. Dissemination activities.
  3. IPR, Market and strategic analysis of the high-potential BG sectors.
  4. Exploitation and Commercialization plan.
WP6 Results
Milestone 7 (MS7)
Month 18
First event for key-stakeholders
Milestone 8 (MS8)
Month 18
First training on a demonstrator
Online training OpenMode
Milestone 9 (MS9)
Month 17
First order confirmed
Deliverable 6.1
Month 2
Communication and Dissemination Plan
(Confidential)
Deliverable 6.2
Month 3
Project Website
Deliverable 6.3
Month 12
UHC rafts User guide
Deliverable 6.4
Month 5
Market research and strategic analysis of related BG sectors
(Confidential)
Deliverable 6.5
Month 12 (updated in M18)
Exploitation and Commercialization Plan
(Confidential)

Partners

OpenMode is launched by two companies:

Logotype RDC website

Research & Development Concretes S.L. (RDC)

RDC is a technology-based engineering company founded in 2015 to design and launch to the market structures with advanced concretes, mainly Ultra-High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concretes (UHPFRC, UHC in advance). The strength of this advanced material is 5 times higher than wood or concrete (OC), and its permeability hundreds of times lower, which imply that it has an excellent durability and lifespan even under Aggressive Exposure Environments (EAE), as the sea (sulfates and the acid of the deposition of birds). UHC performance enables to design structures that use up to a 70% less of resources than with OC. UHC approach has not significantly penetrated in the market because its high cost (35 times more than OC) and because the lack of design guides and full-scale experiences with this material. RDC founders had the chance in 2013 to build of a 44-m footbridge in Alicante, the first UHC structure in Spain. This was the starting point of a race along the learning curve thanks to full-scale experiences, reducing the cost per m2 a 60% in the last 3 years. RDC website

PREFFOR Logo web

PREFFOR

Now, RDC is renowned in the design of UHC structures, most of which are produced in the precast concrete company PREFFOR, opened by RDC founders. The competitive strengths of this team are obvious noting that there are already 50 UHC structures in Spain designed by RDC (bridges, ultra-light houses, floating platforms…). The Unique Selling Points are generally its lightness, its resilience and the absence of maintenance costs. The registered brand for these advanced concrete products is Formex®. PREFFOR website