Realistic, data-driven COrrosion MOnitoring and Management at SEA applied to offshore wind foundations
Context
Corrosion of offshore steel structures creates major uncertainty for wind farm operators. It leads to significant material overuse, costly inspection routines, and conservative lifetime predictions. Underwater environments make visual inspections difficult, and current corrosion estimates rely heavily on theoretical assumptions with large safety margins.
According to NACE, corrosion accounts for 3.8 percent of global GDP annually, and as much as 19.9 percent of total costs in the maritime sector. More accurate monitoring would allow smaller corrosion allowances and longer asset lifetimes, directly reducing material use and costs.
Objectives and approach
The COMOSEA project aims to develop a practical, data-driven method for monitoring corrosion in offshore wind farms using existing SCADA data from the ICCP (Impressed Current Cathodic Protection) systems. This data is already collected fleet-wide, making it a cost-effective solution for corrosion monitoring.
The project focuses on:
- Estimating general corrosion levels by analyzing wall thickness loss
- Improving fatigue-life calculations by refining corrosion input in structural models
- Identifying anomalies across multiple foundations by detecting abnormal ICCP current consumption patterns
- Linking corrosion behavior to monopile design and environmental factors like pH and dissolved oxygen
A controlled ICCP test campaign is being conducted at the Harbour of Ostend. The experiment includes:
- Monitoring degradation during ICCP inactivity periods
- Assessing current demand from large and small coupons, including buried samples if feasible
- Running the test for at least 1.5 years to ensure meaningful long-term insights
This will be complemented by the analysis of real offshore corrosion datasets collected from multiple monopiles. The outcome will be a practical guideline for asset owners on how to use cathodic protection data for lifetime assessment.
Expected impact
- More accurate corrosion estimates based on real operational data
- Optimised corrosion allowances, leading to reduced steel usage
- Improved end-of-life predictions and decision-making for offshore wind assets
- Enhanced cost-efficiency of corrosion monitoring across large fleets
Funding
COMOSEA is funded under the Energy Transition Fund (ETF).
Project type: ETF
Partners
In collaboration with
