Business Analysis of United Pilots

Publication: Report
Citation: Zaiter, Y. et al. 2022: Business Analysis of United Pilots. Deliverable 1.3 of the Horizon 2020 project "Multi-use Offshore Platforms Demonstrators for Boosting Cost-effective and Eco-friendly Production in Sustainable Marine Activities" (UNITED).

The UNITED project report "Business Analysis of UNITED Pilots" provides a detailed business analysis of the various pilot projects. This analysis includes an assessment of the economic viability, SWOT and PESTEL analyses as well as a review of the financial aspects of the projects. The aim of the report is to assess the financial attractiveness and feasibility of multi-use concepts in European marine areas, with a particular focus on the synergies and challenges arising from the combination of different maritime activities.

SWOT analysis of the pilot projects

The report carries out detailed SWOT analyses for each pilot project. For example, the analysis of the Belgian pilot project shows that one of the main strengths is the cost reduction for each activity, enabled by the existing synergies between the different activities such as oyster production and seaweed cultivation. This combination leads to diverse and robust revenue streams. Other strengths of the project include a strong marketing story regarding sustainability and an improvement in ecosystem services, which can create additional revenue streams through increased biodiversity or an increase in tourism activities.

Economic benefits and synergies

The analysis highlights the economic benefits resulting from the combination of different maritime activities. The synergies created by the integration of activities such as offshore wind energy, aquaculture and tourism contribute to a more efficient use of resources and an increase in financial profitability.

Assessment of financial viability

The financial viability of each pilot project is comprehensively assessed to determine whether the projects are sustainable and profitable from an economic perspective. This assessment takes into account various financial aspects such as investment costs, operating costs and potential revenue streams to give a complete picture of the financial health of each project.

Assessment Framework to Determine the Economic Feasibility of Multi-use Platforms

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The UNITED project report "Current Environmental Assessment and Status of the Pilots" provides a comprehensive overview of the current environmental assessments and status of various pilot projects. These projects included a variety of multi-use concepts in the marine environment, including the combination of offshore wind energy with shellfish and kelp cultivation, offshore wind and solar energy, shallow estuarine aquaculture and kelp cultivation, and tourism. The report looks at the environmental aspects of these pilot projects and assesses their environmental impacts, regulatory requirements and existing environmental assessment results and monitoring capacity.

Revision of the Current Environmental Assessment and Status of Pilots

Year 2020

Publication:Report

This UNITED project report deals with the development of an environmental assessment framework to determine the ecological feasibility of multi-use platforms. This assessment framework is based on the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and applies an integrated cumulative effects assessment (iCEA) in the scoping and identification phases of key impacts. The report aims to assess the added environmental value ("benefits") of multi-use in the marine environment.

Assessment Framework to Determine Ecological Feasibility of Multi-Use Platforms

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The report addresses training and capacity building to ensure safe and efficient ocean multi-use operations, with a focus on societal engagement and educational objectives.

Year 2023

Language

English

Authorship

Ariel Araujo

Zaiter, Y.; Van Duinen, R.; Chouchane, H., Van Den Burg, S.; Ziemba, A.; Dekorte, E.

Credits

Belgian Pilot: Nevejan, N.; Declercq, A. (pilot lead); Kerkhove, T. (RBINS); Pilgrim, L. (Colruyt Group); Vandercammem, D.; Pinto da Silva, E. (ParkWind)
Danish Pilot: Sorensen, H; Fernandez J. (Pilot lead)
German pilot: Strothotte, E.; Pforth, J. (pilot lead); Staufen-berger, T. (Kieler Meeresfarm); Triest, J. (4H Jena)
Greek pilot: Ioanna Drigkopoulou (WINGS) and Caterina Callitsis (BluePlanet)
Dutch pilot: Brouwers, E (pilot lead)

Funding

European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

European Commission, Research Executive Agency (REA), International

Year

2022

Dimension

130 pp.

Project

Multi-use Offshore Platforms Demonstrators for Boosting Cost-effective and Eco-friendly Production in Sustainable Marine Activities (UNITED)

Project ID

Table of contents

Click to show full table of contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
1.2. Objectives of this report
1.3. Methodology: the Business Analysis Framework
1.4. Implementation in pilots
1.5. Integration of Business Analysis Within UNITED
1.6. Structure of the report
BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF THE GERMAN PILOT
2.1. Background
2.2. Defining optimized business cases
2.2.1. Mission and vision statement
2.2.2. Objective of the German pilot
2.2.3. Pilot owners and stakeholders
2.2.4. Technologies and services provided by the German pilot
2.2.5. Combined activities and expected synergies
2.2.6. TRL level of the pilot
2.2.7. Strategic roadmap to reach targeted TRL level
2.3. Identifying risks and barriers
2.3.1. PESTEL Analysis
2.3.2. Business Model Canvas Analysis
2.3.3. SWOT Analysis
2.4. Financial analysis
2.4.1. Data collection and availability
2.4.2. Results
2.5. Evaluation and Control
2.6. Conclusion
BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF THE DUTCH PILOT
3.1. Background
3.2. Defining optimized business cases
3.2.1. Mission and vision statements
3.2.2. Objective of the Dutch pilot
3.2.3. Pilot owners and stakeholders
3.2.4. Technologies and services provided by the Dutch pilot
3.2.5. Combined activities and expected synergies
3.2.6. TRL level of the Dutch pilot
3.2.7. Strategic roadmap to reach targeted TRL level
3.3. Identifying risks and barriers
3.3.1. PESTEL analysis
3.1.2. Business Model Canvas
3.3.3. SWOT analysis
3.4. Financial analysis
3.5. Evaluation and Control
3.6. Conclusion
BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF THE BELGIAN PILOT
4.1. Background
4.2. Defining optimized business cases
4.2.1. Mission and vision statements
4.2.2. Objective of the Belgian pilot
4.2.3. Pilot owners and stakeholders
4.2.4. Technologies and services provided by the Belgian pilot
4.2.5. Combined activities and expected synergies
4.2.6. TRL level of the Belgian pilot
4.2.7. Strategic roadmap to reach targeted TRL level
4.3. Identifying risks and barriers
4.3.1. PESTEL analysis
4.3.2. Business Model Canvas
4.3.3. SWOT analysis
4.4. Financial analysis
4.5. Evaluation and Control
4.6. Conclusion
BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF THE DANISH PILOT
5.1. Background
5.2. Defining optimized business cases
5.2.1. Mission and vision statements
5.2.2. Objective of the Danish pilot
5.2.3. Pilot owners and stakeholders
5.2.4. Technologies and services provided by the Danish pilot
5.2.5. Combined activities and expected synergies
5.2.6. TRL level of the Danish pilot
5.2.7. Strategic roadmap to reach targeted TRL level
5.3. Identifying risks and barriers
5.3.1. PESTEL analysis
5.3.2. Business Model Canvas
5.3.3. SWOT analysis
5.4. Financial analysis
5.5. Evaluation and Control
5.6. Conclusion
BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF THE GREEK PILOT
6.1. Background
6.2. Defining optimized business cases
6.2.1. Mission and vision statements
6.2.2. Objective of the Greek pilot
6.2.3. Pilot owners and stakeholders
6.2.4. Technologies and services provided by the Greek pilot
6.2.5. Combined activities and expected synergies
6.2.6. TRL level of the Greek pilot
6.2.7. Strategic roadmap to reach targeted TRL level
6.3. Identifying risks and barriers
6.3.1. PESTEL analysis
6.3.2. Business Model Canvas
6.3.3. SWOT analysis
6.4. Financial analysis
6.5. Evaluation and Control
6.6. Conclusion
CONCLUSIONS
7.1. Activity combination
7.2. Targeted segments
7.3. Knowledge gaps
7.4. Recommendations and key messages for future work
7.5. Next Steps and Limitations
REFERENCES
ANNEX I – SEMI STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE
9.1. Section 1: Pilot overview
9.2. Section 2: Identifying risks and barriers
9.3. Section 3: Other information
ANNEX II – FINANCIAL TEMPLATE
ANNEX III – T1.3 ONLINE MEETING/WORKSHOP AGENDA
ANNEX IV – QUESTIONNAIRE – COVID-19 IMPACT ON BLUE ECONOMY
ANNEX V – UNITED COVID-19 NOTE
Introduction
Methodology
Overview of the UNITED companies
Synthesis of results
Negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
Positive impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
Coping mechanisms: what worked and what did not work, as well as plans for the future
Role of multiuse to increase resilience?
Recommendations for support measures from their perspective at MS level and EU level
Conclusions
References

Keywords

Coastal + Marine

Economics

Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Greece

Company analysis, SWOT, PESTEL, financial analysis, business model canvas