WMU has successfully participated in a number of research calls within the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme. Within the MARIE CURIE programme, the four-year research project MARE-WINT has passed the evaluation process and will be funded by the EU. The project started on 1 October 2012, and will be carried out by the MaRiSa (Maritime Risk and Safety) research group, led by WMU Associate Professor, Dr Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs.
MARE-WINT -New MAterials and REliability in offshore WINd Turbines technology- is an Initial Training Network project under the Marie Curie Actions. The MARE-WINT network is led by the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences and consists of twelve European private and public universities, training, education and research institutions from nine countries (Poland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands) and further 14 associated partners (large as well as small and medium-sized enterprises) active across the field of off-shore developments. The overall value of this project is €3.9 million and is completely EU-funded; WMU will receive €275,000.
MARE-WINT will contribute to increasing energy output and making wind energy fully competitive by reducing operation and maintenance costs. This will be realized by providing training in the context of doctoral programs for 14 researchers in the multi-disciplinary area of future generations of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT) engineering focusing on those issues that have a major impact on such installations. WMU’s focus will be an assessment of the risk of collisions between passing ships and offshore wind farm installations.
