The global focus on the negative effects of increasing emission of Green House Gases is one of the key issues on the agenda for the International Maritime Organisation. BYEFOULING is one of the 12 projects that were launched by the European Commission under the programme "Ocean of Tomorrow 2013" which emphasizes technologies and innovation.
The project combines a multidisciplinary leading research team from 11 European countries with highly relevant and skilled technological partners to develop a full production line for antifouling coatings in Europe. The main goal of BYEFOULING is to design, develop and upscale antifouling coatings with enhanced performance compared to current available products.
The approach in BYEFOULING is to tackle the different stages of the biofouling process using innovative antifouling agents, covering:
- Surface-structured materials
- Protein adsorption
- Quorum sensing inhibitors
- Natural biocides
- Microorganisms with antifouling properties.
BYEFOULING will deliver the means for industrial, cost-effective and robust manufacturing of antifouling coatings in Europe. The project will provide a unique platform of solutions to the marine fouling problem through close collaboration between experts on fundamental research, applied technology, manufactures, and final users across Europe. A strong focus will be to reduce roughness on hull surface that appear due to the growth of algae and barnacles. This growth is a major cause of increasing the ship’s fuel consumption up to 40% and can consequently increase greenhouse gas emissions, as well as add strain on the structure and hinder manoeuvrability. SINTEF will contribute with development and implementation of new technologies based on biology and nanotechnology into antifouling coatings, involving large characterisation infrastructures for microscopy and mass spectroscopy, and to test drag reduction on large vessels.