| Project Detail |
The EU has the largest global maritime space with its sea basins and oceans. Their variety and complementarity offer a vast potential to develop offshore renewable energy, which can be harnessed in a sustainable way, complementing other activities, including defence. However, there are certain barriers to using renewable energy sources, as large areas are reserved for the civil and military sectors at a national level. The defence sector is reluctant to release the maritime areas reserved for military purposes due to concerns on possible impacts on the operational effectiveness of the armed forces. Consequently, when allocating maritime space for offshore energy exploitation, the responsible national authorities should establish a dialogue with the defence community to develop an understanding of their requirements and plans to foster coexistence. To address these concerns and deliver sustainable solutions, EDA, together with the European Commission, will develop the project “SYMBIOSIS-Offshore Renewable Energy for Defence”, aiming at enabling mutually beneficial coexistence between different entities that depend on each other. Run by the Project Management Team and supported by an Advisory Board, the SYMBIOSIS project will establish two communities of users, a defence and a civilian one. Bringing together these communities will enable deepening their insights into the barriers for deploying offshore renewables in maritime defence space and creating synergies for addressing them. Hence, the SYMBIOSIS project will map the maritime defence areas, assess their suitability for deploying offshore renewable projects and analyse the hurdles and risks constraining their development and exploitation. Through research, simulation-modelling, and evaluation-testing in the European maritime spaces, the project will develop different regulatory, technological, and operational solutions and alternatives to address concerns and needs. |
