Marine research rethought: Innovative technologies for coastal protection!

Marine research rethought: Innovative technologies for coastal protection!

The German Marine Research Alliance (DAM) has established itself as a central competence center for marine research in Germany. On May 7, 2025, an independent evaluation commission found that the DAM was rated consistently positively. This underlines the DAM's successes in the strategic networking of German marine research and its international visibility. In particular, the Coastal Research Center (FZK) at the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Leibniz University of Hanover play an important role in this alliance.

In addition, the DAM aims to provide practical knowledge for the protection of seas and coasts. One of the flagship projects is research into the effects of using the North Sea, particularly in connection with wind energy, as part of the “sustainMare” mission. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nils Goseberg, who heads the FZK, emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to develop sustainable solutions.

Research priorities and infrastructure

The FZK's research infrastructure includes modern facilities such as the large wave flow channel (GWK+) as well as smaller wave channels and test rigs. The focus is on research areas such as sustainable coastal protection, storm surges, tsunamis and offshore wind energy. These research missions are crucial in the context of the challenges posed by climate change.

Particularly noteworthy is the DAM research mission “mareXtreme”, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Schlurmann from Leibniz University Hannover. This mission deals with the risk management of marine extreme events and aims to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities and promote knowledge and technology transfer.

Offshore wind energy in a European context

The topic of wind energy is becoming increasingly important, especially in connection with the need to expand offshore wind energy in Europe. Last year, Germany recorded an increase in offshore wind energy of around 8 gigawatts (GW), while the total offshore wind output of the nine North Sea states was around 30 GW. The G7 countries are setting ambitious goals to increase offshore wind capacity to 150 GW by 2030, which is equivalent to the energy production of around 150 nuclear power plants.

By setting targets for 2030 and 2050 to quadruple capacities to 120 GW and 300 GW respectively, it is clear that Germany and other European countries face enormous potential and challenges. However, the federal government also faces obstacles, particularly in the expansion of onshore wind energy, which increases the focus on offshore systems.

Innovative technologies for ocean observation

Innovative techniques such as AI-controlled underwater cameras mounted on autonomous underwater vehicles offer new ways to observe marine flora and fauna. These cameras provide a non-invasive alternative to traditional survey methods and enable continuous measurement of environmental conditions such as temperature and salinity. Environmental DNA technology (eDNA) is also used to identify biodiversity. This represents a revolution in species analysis and helps to better identify ecological stressors.

The SeaMe project's holistic, ecosystem-based approach aims to collect data and understand the interactions between organisms and their environment. This methodology is crucial to study the impacts of offshore wind turbines on the marine environment and ensure more sustainable monitoring of the marine environment.