TSI KEEPS ITS COMMITMENT WITH INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT BY ITS PARTICIPATION IN NEW FIVE R&D PROJECTS

Both innovation and R&D are fundamental pillars of TSI’s overall strategy, enabling the company to develop, stay at the technological forefront, and position itself internationally as an organization with added value. These actions represent an opportunity to improve TSI’s capabilities and knowledge, impacting the services it offers to its clients and opening up new business opportunities and market niches.

Over the next four years, and thanks to the intense work carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, TSI will participate in five R&D projects. Four of these innovation, research, and development projects will be financed by the European H2020 and EDIDP programs, both promoted by the European Commission. On the other hand, the fifth research and development project in which TSI will participate is funded by CDTI through the MISSIONS program, focusing on the production, storage, and distribution of green hydrogen generated by energy from floating wind and solar platforms.

This is a milestone and an award in itself for an SME like TSI, as, thanks to the experience gained over the past 11 years in European projects, it has been possible to be part of relevant consortia and prepare winning proposals, playing an important role as a partner and leader of work packages. As expected, the project themes align with the strategic research lines established two years ago, detailed in the R&D section of TSI’s website and summarized below:

• Underwater radiated noise and its reduction
• Cavitation detection through vibrations
• Asset monitoring and application of Industry 4.0-related technology
• Maintenance 4.0 based on predictive maintenance
• Application of composite materials to marine structures such as ships and floating renewable platforms

The five projects obtained are SATURN, SEA DEFENCE, FIBRE4YARDS, FIBREGY, and OCEANH2. The first two projects are related to underwater radiated noise, its mitigation, and acoustic signature from two perspectives (civil and military). The next three projects focus on monitoring, predictive maintenance, application of Industry 4.0 technologies, and the use of composite materials in floating structures and ships. The following table summarizes some relevant data from the five projects that may be of interest:

In all these projects, TSI’s participation in terms of budget amounts to a total of €2,746,087.09, distributed according to the scope committed in the proposals.

Project SATURN (Solutions at Underwater Radiated Noise, 48 months, February 2021-January 2025)

Underwater noise pollution affects marine species’ reproduction, communication, and hunting, causing health and survival problems in marine fauna. SATURN (H2020, Grant Number 101006443) aims to achieve a quieter and environmentally friendly maritime sector. Biologists and engineers in a multidisciplinary consortium will work together to develop and evaluate innovative solutions to reduce the harmful effects of underwater noise in the marine ecosystem. TSI’s contribution focuses on determining acoustic signatures through different standards and methodologies. TSI will lead the development of an ISO procedure for shallow waters, study alternative methods for determining ship noise propagation characteristics, and develop a methodology based on onboard measurements to monitor the acoustic signature throughout a ship’s lifespan.

Project SEA DEFENCE (Survivability, Electrification, Automation, Detectability, Enabling Foresight of European Naval Capabilities in Extreme Conditions, 30 months, November 2020-April 2023)

SEA DEFENCE aims to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate defense technologies for the next generation of European naval platforms. TSI, subcontracted by the Spanish shipyard NAVANTIA, is tasked with studying engineering measures to reduce the acoustic detectability of future naval platforms. TSI’s extensive experience in noise and vibrations, both in civil and military contexts, positions it to contribute significantly. TSI will assess mitigation solutions, evaluate their viability, advantages, and market impact, and explore the potential of available tools for predicting signatures.

Project FIBRE4YARDS (FIBRE composite manufacturing technologies FOR the automation and modular construction in shipYARDS, 36 months, January 2021-December 2023)

FIBRE4YARDS aims to boost European leadership in fiber ship construction and maintenance through the implementation of Shipyard 4.0 concepts and advanced composite manufacturing technologies. TSI leads one of the project’s work packages, contributes to others, and participates in developing an IoT-based monitoring system for production control and predictive maintenance. TSI will design a fiber ship adapted to proposed production processes, contribute its vibration expertise for dynamic property measurements, and validate the IoT-based monitoring system on demonstrators.

Project FIBREGY (Development, engineering, production and life-cycle management of improved FIBRE-based material solutions for structure and functional components of large offshore wind enerGY and tidal power platform, 36 months, January 2021-December 2023)

FIBREGY aims to study the feasibility of applying composite materials to the design and construction of structural elements in marine renewable platforms to capitalize on their advantages, including corrosion resistance. TSI, coordinating a work package, will redesign fiber elements of a tidal energy generation device, develop a structural health monitoring system, and participate in the validation of composite materials and structural health monitoring during sea trials.

Project OCEANH2 (GENERACIÓN, ALMACENAMIENTO Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE HIDRÓGENO VERDE OFFSHORE, 36 months, November 2020-October 2023)

OCEANH2 aims to design and optimize a modular, flexible, and intelligent offshore green hydrogen generation, storage, and distribution plant. TSI leads one of the project’s activities, focusing on monitoring offshore platforms and hydrogen electrolyzers. TSI contributes to the development of a wireless monitoring system based on IoT and machine learning for production control and predictive maintenance. Additionally, TSI will perform structural design for floating wind and solar platforms, study and analyze fiber-based composite materials, and validate the monitoring system.

Thanks to these projects and other internal R&D projects, TSI has renewed its status as an INNOVATIVE SME, recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, reflecting TSI’s commitment to innovation and investment in R&D.