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AIRCOAT Makes Headway

Update #3: 26/02/2020

The AIRCOAT project has reached the important milestone of 18 months, and continues to advance towards developing a groundbreaking innovation in the field of sustainable shipping, as the EU Green New Deal looks set to include shipping emissions in its carbon-trading scheme.

AIRCOAT Updates

The AIRCOAT Concept: Biofouling

One of the potential benefits of AIRCOAT is that it can reduce the attachment of marine organisms to the ship hull. This phenomenon is called biofouling and it is a significant challenge for the shipping sector. Watch our video below to learn why this problem is important and what solution AIRCOAT offers!

WATCH: AIRCOAT AND BIOFOULING

AIRCOAT in REVOLVE Magazine

REVOLVE recently interviewed AIRCOAT partner DANAOS about the shipping sector and its increasing interest in finding ways to reduce ship emissions. Read the Q&A below!

READ: MARITIME SECTOR AND EMISSION REDUCTION

Project Review Meeting

AIRCOAT partners met with the EU Commission Project Officer on 17 December 2019 to discuss project developments over the past 18 months, and to discuss future project planning. The meeting took place at the REVOLVE offices in the Renewable Energy House in Brussels, where both the Project Officer and the project External Evaluator provided partners with productive feedback on their work.

Members of the AIRCOAT Consortium.

AIRCOAT and the Public

AIRCOAT Exhibit on Show at the House of Science in Bremen

The House of Science in Bremen has launched a four-month public exhibition called “HOCH HINAUS” or ‘Aim High’ with AIRCOAT as an exhibitor. If you are in Bremen or will travel there and want to know more about the Salvinia Effect, air-retaining surfaces, biofouling, and our project in general, this will be the place to visit. Our partners at the Biomimetic-Innovation-Centre of the City University of Applied Sciences in Bremen represent the project. The exhibition is public and free from 14 February to 13 June and forms part of the “EINFACH WISSENSWERT” (or “Simply worth knowing”) series.

Images from the AIRCOAT exhibition, showing the Salvinia plant structures and one of AIRCOAT's prototypes. © ZWO.ACHT: Integrative Gestaltung.

EXHIBIT DETAILS

AIRCOAT at National STEM Career Expo - Malta

From 21-26 January 2020, the ESPLORA Interactive Science Centre in Malta hosted the National STEM Career Expo for young students and the general public. On 22 January, our partner AquaBioTech Group presented the AIRCOAT project. More than one hundred students had the opportunity to learn more about the organisms that grow and attach on boat hulls, particularly those found in the waters around Malta. The floating fern Salvinia was displayed in a tank where kids had the chance to touch the structured leaves and learn about the Salvinia effect and biomimetics. The activities were organized in a fun way using a game-based learning approach to explain how the AIRCOAT project works. Flyers were handed to teachers, and overall the activity was successful, and children were entertained and pleased with the games and the ability to touch the Salvinia plant.

AquaBioTech Group members presenting the project to children during the career expo.

AIRCOAT at Navigate 2020 - Turku, Finland

On 22-23 January 2020, AIRCOAT was present at the Navigate 2020 Expo in Turku, Finland as one of two flagship projects of partner Fraunhofer CML. The exhibition showed a microscopic image of the Salvinia plant, in addition to having AIRCOAT foil prototypes, the "Introducing AIRCOAT" video, and project leaflets. The partners explained the AIRCOAT concept and answered questions from people within the industry, media and other attendees. Everyone saw the advantages, and especially the younger generation was very enthusiastic about the project and its potential benefits.