The North Sea is evolving into the energy landscape of the future. Offshore wind farms, floating solar, new forms of energy storage, and emerging technologies such as wave and tidal energy make the sea essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
At Campus@Sea, we work on this goal every day, not just by talking about the energy transition, but by ensuring that new offshore solutions can actually be developed, tested, and scaled.
SDG 7 focuses on providing access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. The North Sea already contributes significantly: an increasing share of the Netherlands’ renewable electricity comes from offshore wind, and the ambitions for the coming decades are substantial.
At the same time, new opportunities are emerging through complementary sources such as offshore solar and wave energy.
But this rapid growth brings challenges:
How do we ensure system stability when wind and solar fluctuate?
How do we connect new technologies to the grid efficiently?
And how do we combine energy production with nature, food, and shipping in an already busy sea?
Based in the Port of Scheveningen, Campus@Sea offers unique environments to experiment with offshore energy: the Maritime Testing Ground directly outside the harbour and the Offshore Test Site 10 nautical miles off the coast. These are locations where companies, researchers, and government partners can test innovations under true North Sea conditions.
Here, floating solar systems are tested, as well as new forms of wave energy. But it doesn’t stop at technology. Many innovations tested at Campus@Sea focus on multi-use of the North Sea, such as combining energy generation with nature-inclusive structures, or pilots where food production (e.g., seaweed cultivation) is integrated with current or future energy infrastructure.
This means that work related to SDG 7 also contributes to other goals, such as climate action and ecosystem restoration.
Real-world testing environments are essential to reduce costs, lower risks, and build investor and policy confidence. Testing early in real conditions reveals what works, what needs improvement, and how new technology can best be integrated into the offshore energy system.
No single party can deliver SDG 7 on the North Sea alone. That is why Campus@Sea operates as a community and field lab, bringing together maritime companies, start-ups, scale-ups, research institutes, and government partners. In joint projects, technological innovations are linked to challenges around regulation, safety, nature, and spatial planning. This ensures that solutions are not only technically sound but also practically feasible, and ready to scale.
Clean, affordable energy is essential for a livable future. The North Sea plays a crucial role in this transition, and Campus@Sea helps to make that role a reality. By providing space for testing, learning, and collaboration, we contribute to an offshore energy system that is sustainable, reliable, and future-proof.
Want to learn more about our energy-related projects and test locations?
Visit our website for an overview of ongoing initiatives and collaborations.
Campus@Sea
Hellingweg 9c
2583 DZ DEN HAAG
info@campusatsea.nl