Sector | Marine sector Sand, dredging, and wind

Businesses, government bodies, and other scientific institutions involved in the sustainable exploitation of sand, gravel, wind energy will find an answer to the question “what can ILVO do for me?” here. You’ll get a brief overview of relevant expertise, analyses, infrastructure, and the professional approach that characterizes ILVO. You can contact the Marine Living Lab for specific services and questions regarding partnerships.

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What does ILVO do?

ILVO measures and evaluates the individual and the cumulative impact of the various human activities at sea: fishing, aquaculture, dredging and sand extraction, wind farms, etc. This is done on the basis of data on macrobenthos, epibenthos, fish and plankton in different habitats. ILVO always uses the best available technologies according to accredited procedures. The effects of mitigating measures are also scrutinized. At the same time, ILVO has working for decades on exceptionally valuable long-term data series about seabed life in the Belgian part of the North Sea.
The growth of the Blue Economy creates opportunities in the nature-inclusive construction of offshore installations and design of nature-based systems for coastal defense. ILVO offers in-depth expertise on the functioning of marine ecosystems and specific marine species. This expertise can be built into the design, planning, and execution of such projects.
The implementation of large-scale projects in the North Sea and other sea regions is preceded by scientifically-supported pilot projects. ILVO has expertise in the development and experimental design of such pilot projects.
The marine space must be shared by a growing number of users. ILVO detects possible conflicts and investigates possibilities for shared use of space. This knowledge is translated into tools and advice that can be consulted at the local and European level.

How does ILVO work?

Vision: building in harmony with nature and living with climate change

ILVO wants to support entrepreneurs with expertise and scientific assistance in their development of blue ecosystem services. The focus is on nature-inclusive works, such as natural coastal defense, integrated aquaculture systems, and nature-inclusive offshore wind farms. ILVO also emphasizes the importance of climate adaptation and mitigation in (future) marine activities. This requires not only monitoring, but co-creative innovation as well.

Your point of contact: Marine Living Lab

ILVO’s Marine Living Lab strives for accelerated and sustainable innovation in the blue sectors, according to the principle of co-creation. ILVO listens to you, analyzes your question or challenge, and – together with you – searches for a (high-tech) solution and a concrete project, as well as suitable partners and funding. ILVO scientifically follows up on the implementation of the joint project.

Your ILVO guarantee

Scientifically substantiated solutions
Individual and/or co-creative supervision of innovation trajectories
Confidential handling of your question
Clearly interpretable results that can be used in daily practice
Technological support for various business processes

Specialized research infrastructure

Accredited lab for the analysis of fauna living in the seabed (macrobenthos)
Lab for analysis of fish and fauna on the seabed (epibenthos)
Accredited lab for chromatographic analyses
Space and expertise for method development, measuring devices, and experimental trial tanks tailored to specific research projects
Access to research vessels: ILVO cooperates closely with VLIZ and OD Natuur for sampling at sea, with the research vessels Simon Stevin and Belgica, respectively.

Wide network

ILVO is an active member of The Blue Cluster. On an international level, ILVO works closely with ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

All ILVO expertises at your service

ILVO works in an interdisciplinary fashion and has a network of living labs that work closely together. A problem or question is therefore examined from many different angles by ILVO experts from different disciplines. This is guaranteed by ILVO's broad and systematic approach, together with the typical openness of the ILVO culture.