zensor receives EU award
On 12 and 13 September, the first Blue Economy Business and Science Forum took place in Hamburg, Germany. This initiative by the European Commission aims at improving cooperation between the public and private sectors so that research results can find their way to the market more quickly.
The Forum also hosted the first edition of the Blue Economy Business Awards, which reward scientific and industrial achievements connected to the seas and oceans. The Awards were set up to showcase success stories, from the EU and beyond, that demonstrate how new applications from marine research can produce jobs and growth in the marine economy. An overview of all awards, including a short interview with the award winners, can be found following this link.
In the catagory "Rising Blue Star of the Year", the Flemish SME Zensor was awarded, founded by Yves Van Ingelgem (also at VUB, SURF department, which is involved in a number of SIM programs and projects).
Zensor is a young company established in 2013. It introduces an innovative concept for maintenance planning and integrity watching into the Blue Economy. The company offers full, remote, sensor-based monitoring solutions for the energy-producing infrastructure applied in the Blue Economy. It focusses on all aspects of material degradation, such as fatigue, corrosion etc. and provides end customers, such as project developers and asset owners, with a one-stop-shop solution for the long-term follow-up of the health of their structures. This pro-active monitoring approach allows owners and operators to detect damages or malfunctioning at an early stage and to have, at all time, a quantitative knowledge of the real age / state of health of their assets. Condition-based maintenance, as opposed to regular, planned maintenance, reduces risks and therefore lowers financing and insurance fees. Moreover it gives a proper view of the real age of structures and is a powerful tool for lifetime extension.
More information can be found here (EC newsroom) and here (offshorewind.biz).