TKI Wind op Zee Innovation Call - Offshore Safety

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TKI Wind op Zee

21 February 2023

Are you tackling the innovation challenges within Offshore Safety such as personnel safety, reduction of personnel deployment in dangerous activities at sea, safety of transport, infrastructure or cybersecurity? As an SME, do you perhaps have an innovative idea that contributes to offshore safety, and could you use financial support? Then this TKI Wind op Zee Innovation Call is for you.

The TKI Wind op Zee is organizing an innovation call focused on the topic: Offshore Safety

The amount of renewable energy from the North Sea is growing exponentially. Just think of the fourfold increase in the number of wind turbines in the next 7 years.
That growth requires attention to safety. Safe working at sea, safe traffic at sea, safe data traffic and protection of essential infrastructure. TKI Wind op Zee invites innovators to contribute their ideas. We have €300,000 available for three innovative projects and are organizing cooperation with renowned knowledge institutes to help your idea come to fruition.

Our Mission Driven Innovation Program for Electricity at Sea (MMIP 1) includes the objective that wind farms must be safe and robust. Both for the personnel working for and on the installations, and for the installations themselves. Think of physical safety of the installation and cybersecurity.

The TKI Wind op Zee wants to support organizations in researching offshore safety and developing innovations for it. We do this by subsidizing part of the winning innovation projects.

The topics for which subsidies can be applied for are:

Physical safety
- Personnel
  - Innovations that increase the safety of employees
  - Innovations that reduce the presence of people in dangerous situations
- Systems
  - Increasing safety of platforms and wind turbines.
    - For example, collisions of ships against turbines
  - Increasing the safety of infrastructure
    - For example, prevention of breaks in electricity or gas lines (deliberate or accidental)
  - Increasing the safety of transport
    - For example crossing of people/ goods from ship to turbine
Cybersecurity offshore energy systems
- Securing systems against external attacks

Please note, if you have other or additional ideas around this research topic that you think are relevant to this call, please contact pps-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl.

The following dates apply to this open call:

Call opens: February 21, 2023

Call closes: 30 April 2023

Project timeline: from May 31, 2023 to October 10, 2024 (1.4 year turnaround time)

What do we offer?

Total available grant budget of €300,000.
Max grant €100,000 per project
Maximum contribution to eligible costs:
Max. 80%for basic research and non-economic activities.
Max. 50% for industrial research.
Max. 25% for experimental research.

Do you need support in finding the right partner for your project? Contact us at PPS-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl.

What kind of projects are we looking for?

The research topic fits within the TKI Wind op Zee program (MMIP 1), contributes to the Dutch knowledge economy, to the Dutch knowledge position and the proposed project is of sufficient quality;
The coordinator/principal applicant of the project is based in the Netherlands
The SME in the project is based in the Netherlands
The SME company receives at least 50% of the grant awarded

The consortium consists of at least one SME company and at least one knowledge institution. If you are a company with a relevant research topic, but have not yet found the right knowledge institution to collaborate with, please refer to the overview of knowledge institutions below. Are you unable to find one? Please send an e-mail to PPS-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl. We will be happy to help you find a suitable partner;
The consortium ensures effective collaboration, meaning that a research idea is formulated collaboratively and its realization involves joint costs and in-kind contributions from all consortium partners;
Participants jointly define the scope and implementation of the project and share risks and outcomes;
The project involves fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development, or a combination thereof;
Feasibility studies are not covered by this PPP scheme;
The project proposals must be distinct from technologies already on the market;
The project must meet the conditions for the PPP allowance scheme;

Interested? Find how to apply here:

Step 1: Send an e-mail to PPS-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl explaining in one short paragraph who you are and what your project plan is. The TKI Wind op Zee may contact you for further clarification; include your contact information.
Step 2: We will send you the templates for completing the application. A complete application consists of:
- A project proposal
- A project budget
- A (draft) cooperation agreement which must be signed by all parties at the start of the project (no later than May 31, 2023)
Step 3: Submit all documents no later than May 1, 2023, 17:00 to PPS-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl.
Step 4: Our external review committee will evaluate your proposal. Proposals will be ranked and winners will be selected. We will contact you with a decision by May 31, 2023.

We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Deadline

Monday, May 1, 2023, 17:00

Knowledge Institutions

To sumbit a research proposal, collaboration with a knowledge institute is mandatory. Maybe one of the knowledge institutes below below can be a potential partner for your proposal. The contacts are informed and would like to meet to evaluate if there can be a potential match for collaboration.

DELTARES
Independent institute for applied research of offshore (project) challenges and delivering test facilities.
Contact information:
Ahmed Elkadi
Research Program Manager: Energy Transition
@email

MARIN
Research test facility with free test time to SMEs who want to explore a new maritime concept.
Contact information:
Yvonne Koldenhof
Senior Project Manager
Y.Koldenhof@marin.nl

TNO MARITIME
Provider of knowledge and technology.
Contact information:
Richard Pijpers
Business developer maritime structures
@email

TNO WIND ENERGY
Contact information:
Jan Willem Wagenaar
Program Manager Wind Energy
@email

TNO Trusted ICT
Contact information:
Dimitri Hehanussa
Business Development Manager
@email

TU DELFT
University and research partner with high-end facilities. Working on fostering the energy transition and always open to colaborate.
Contact information:
Tim raaijmakers
Programme Manager TU Delft Wind Energy Institute
t.c.raaijmakers@tudelft.nl

Deadline

Monday May 1, 2023, 17.00.

FAQ open call

These answers are provided for guidance only. The official PPP rules are leading.

Why is this call only for offshore safety related projects?

The Innovation Program is in line with the Mission Driven Innovation Program (MMIP 1) for sustainable offshore electricity and was chosen because of the topicality of the topic

Who can apply for this open call?

This grant can be awarded to the consortium of a research project consisting of at least one SME (private) and one knowledge institution (public). Larger companies can also be part of the consortium.

Does the consortium have to be a natural person?

No, the consortium can be a collaboration between different companies that have no legal ties.

Can foreign companies get a (part of the) grant?

No. Foreign companies can be part of the consortium, but cannot receive a grant. This is only possible if they have substantively relevant economic activities in the Netherlands.

Is there a limit to the number of projects that can be submitted by the same organization?

For this open call, there is no limit to the number of proposals per company/ consortium. Multiple (substantially different) proposals can be submitted by the same organization. In this way, multiple projects can receive funding.

How many project proposals can receive funding?

The total grant budget is €300,000. This amount will be divided among the three winning project proposals. The maximum grant per project is €100,000.

The maximum grant is a percentage of the eligible costs and varies per type of research:

Maximum 80% of the PPP program grant to be used for basic research or non-economic activities.
Up to 50% of the PPP program grant to be spent on industrial research.
Up to 25% of the PPP program grant to be spent on experimental research.

The definitions of each category can be found here.

To contribute as a partner, the individual contribution must be substantial. What does this mean?

The grant can only be awarded if there is a collaborative project between two or more partners. We therefore expect a substantial contribution from all partners. In this project, each partner must share in the risk of the project. As a guideline, a project partner should contribute at least 20% of the cost.

Is there a maximum number of pages for the application?

No, there is no maximum number of pages. Some sections of the application templates give an indication of the minimum word count. Keep in mind that the more specific and clear a project proposal is, the better the proposal can be evaluated. More text is not always better.

Need help finding a project partner?

Is your intended project partner not listed above, or do you need further assistance? Then contact us at pps-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl and we will help you in your search.

When is the last possible date to submit an application?

The project coordinator has until May 1, 2023, 17:00 to submit a complete application for this open call. We will not accept applications after this date. A complete application consists of a detailed project plan, a project budget and a (draft) cooperation agreement.

The templates for these can be obtained by sending an email to pps-toeslag@tki-windopzee.nl.

NB We allow a (not signed) draft version of the cooperation agreement or a letter of intent to cooperate. A final cooperation agreement should be delivered at the start of the project.

How will the TKI Wind op Zee select the winning project proposals?

In mid-May 2023 the project proposals will be assessed by an external independent advisory committee. This committee will assess project proposals on the following criteria:

Contribution to improving offshore safety.
Contribution to the Dutch economy
Degree of innovation and strengthening of the Dutch knowledge position.
Project quality, degree of efficiency and effective use of resources.

Detailed criteria can be found in the templates that will be provided once you submit a project proposal to us. At the end of May, the TKI Wind op Zee will announce the winners. This decision is final and no appeal is possible.

Confidentiality

All project proposals will be treated confidentially by the TKI Wind op Zee and its advisory committee.