As part of the Avansurf project, the CTC Technology Centre has been working on developing innovative anti-corrosion coatings to be applied to offshore wind installations. The Avansurf initiative aims to solve the technical challenges associated with marine environmental conditions and increase the lifetime of wind turbine structures.

The only technology centre in Cantabria has collaborated to develop anti-corrosive paints based on Graphenite materials. Incorporating these materials in the coatings used in the structures of offshore wind turbines means an exponential increase in protection against corrosion derived from the marine environment and biofouling.

The technology centre has also participated in developing colour pigments with superhydrophobic characteristics, intended to be integrated into anti-corrosion paints. The aim is to optimise the resistance of the coatings as much as possible, avoiding damage caused by seawater and its salinity.

Within the framework of the project, the Marine Corrosion Test Site ‘El Bocal’, the offshore marine laboratory managed by the CTC, has been the site selected by the Avansurf consortium to validate the different coating and sensing solutions developed.

The characteristics of this laboratory make it an ideal place to conduct tests and check the functionality of the innovations in an environment remarkably similar to the one they will face once applied to offshore wind installations. In this sense, the solutions developed by the different partners have been tested for 6 months in ‘El Bocal’, and their effectiveness has been demonstrated.

Avansurf, a project that ended in 2021, had a budget of 5 million euros and was part of the CIEN programme of the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

The consortium comprised Pinturas Hempel, the project coordinator, ArcelorMittal, Colores Cerámicos de Tortosa , Industrial de Acabados , Tadarsa Eólica, Sistem Car, Laboratorios Alpha San Ignacio Pharma . As technological partners, besides the CTC Technology Centre, the project also counted on the collaboration of the State Agency of the Spanish National Research Council and Tekniker.