04/05/26

CORROSION offers innovative protection against corrosion and fouling

A warm welcome to our newest member: CORROSION! For over 30 years, this innovative company has been dedicated to cathodic protection, or combating corrosion. They started in the maritime industry and have expanded their scope to the offshore energy sector. One of the first offshore wind farms is equipped with CORROSION systems. They have also recently developed a new technique to keep coolers on board ships free from fouling. Niels Ros, head of the offshore department, provides insight into the key technologies and innovations.

 

Combating corrosion with electricity

Anything made of steel must be protected. Otherwise, it will corrode and eventually perish. Niels explains how this works and how CORROSION counters this process: “Due to the production process, a steel structure contains a great deal of energy. Steel is mined, rolled, heated, and hammered: all of this generates energy. If you subsequently do not protect the steel, that energy slowly dissipates. If the steel remains unprotected, it reacts with oxygen, among other things, causing it to slowly oxidize (rust). Steel can be protected with a paint coating, for example, which ensures that no oxygen reaches the steel. But as soon as there is damage to the coating, the aging process begins. At CORROSION, we protect steel using direct current. This prevents the aging process from occurring.” CORROSION specializes in protecting everything at sea, such as ships and offshore structures. In total, their product is running on nearly 8,000 ships and 3,000 offshore foundations.

 

Collaboration with OEG for installation in harsh conditions

CORROSION is collaborating with AYOP member OEG / Bluestream on innovative solutions for offshore corrosion protection. “At wind farms operating in challenging conditions, such as low salinity and greater water depths, it is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee the correct level of protection over the entire lifespan,” explains Niels. “Effective protection is technically complex, especially for large monopiles. The solution lies in placing the system deeper, within the applicable standards.”

To make this possible, CORROSION and OEG joined forces: “CORROSION is responsible for the design and hardware, OEG for the installation,” explains Niels. “Together, we have developed the ICCP-SAM (Subsea Assembly Method), which allows ICCP anodes to be reliably installed under severe offshore conditions. The method will be applied to projects such as Equinor’s Baltyk 2 and Baltyk 3, as well as a project by Northland Power and Iberdrola.” You can find more information about the ICCP-SAM on the CORROSION website.

 

Preventing fouling on box coolers with light

In addition to corrosion protection, CORROSION also focuses on preventing fouling and is developing new technologies for this purpose. Niels explains: “Ships can use box coolers to cool, for example, engines and gensets. The heat emitted by a cooler causes organisms to attach quickly, reducing heat transfer and lowering the cooler’s efficiency.” Traditionally, this is countered with an ICAF (Impressed Current Anti-Fouling) system, in which copper ions are released to limit fouling. Together with Philips, CORROSION investigated an alternative based on UV-C light. Niels explains how this works: “UV-C light affects the DNA of microorganisms, preventing the initial stages of fouling from developing further. This prevents the process from starting in the first place.”

A major challenge was the application in existing coolers, where the many tubes create shadow zones. To this end, CORROSION developed a new type of cooler together with Philips: “We have developed a plate cooler in which UV-C technology is optimally integrated: the UV-C Cooler. This innovation was awarded a Maritime Innovation Award a few years ago.”

 

An innovative sparring partner

Fellow AYOP members can, of course, turn to CORROSION with all their questions regarding corrosion or marine fouling. But you have also come to the right place at CORROSION if you have an idea in this area or want to test something: “We have an in-house laboratory and seawater tanks to test new techniques,” says Niels. “In this way, we also support the industry with our laboratory. Companies such as DEME, Boskalis, Van Oord, and Equinor, for example, make use of our lab. In addition, we collaborate extensively with technical universities worldwide.”

Niels looks forward to meeting other AYOP members: “We see a lot of growth and development at North Holland companies and we see the hubs emerging. Although we do not have a branch in North Holland ourselves, we would like to be part of it. Membership of AYOP is a great step towards that!”