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The four-year Seafront project, launched in 2014, has trialled new processes and methods designed to increase scientific understanding of[ds_preview] how biofouling occurs and how this problem can best be addressed. This initial work should help in the development of a new generation of anti-biofouling technologies, which should be able to effectively minimise biofouling on marine infrastructure and tools without damaging the ecosystem. »Although it is still a little early to report on concrete results, we have already received interest from a number of companies looking for innovative antifouling solutions for their boats, stationary applications, fishing nets and cables«, says Seafront project coordinator Arie Brouwer from the Stichting Dutch Polymer Institute in the Netherlands.

The build-up of biofouling on marine vessels for example can pose a significant problem, reducing efficiency, damaging hull structures and propulsion systems. The Seafront project aims to develop coatings that achieve a 50% improvement in biofouling deterrence and/or biofouling release, measured using newly developed test methodologies, says Brouwer.