The COB is operational since March 2023, and establishes itself as a strong emerging player in the
field of physical model testing. The COB is already a member of the new European ESFRI Distributed
Research Infrastructure “MARINERG-i", to tackle the EU Green Deal ambitions for 2030 and beyond.
The COB is also member of the Belgian OWI-Lab infrastructure network, supporting the Belgian
offshore wind industry worldwide.
The proposed wind generation system will extend the COB capabilities, as wave and current
generation systems are already in place, hence offering a complete unique solution for physical
model testing under all three environmental loading conditions (wind, waves, currents).
This strategic infrastructure extension of the COB with a wind generation system will empower its
position and will add significant value to facility end-users from academia, government and industry.
The wind generation system will enable end-users to carry out innovative physical model testing of
offshore renewable energy applications (wave energy converters, (floating) offshore wind turbines,
floating photovoltaics), vessels, offshore floating platforms, and (nature-based) coastal defence
solutions.
This proposal has been prepared by the Flemish academic partners (Ghent University, KU Leuven,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Flanders Hydraulics (Flemish Government), jointly with the von
Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, a worldwide authority in wind (tunnel) generation technology.