Marine ecosystems are complex environments where economic activities can impact biodiversity. Our wet lab facilities offer infrastructure to understand human and other impacts on marine ecosystems including temperature-controlled mesocosm facilities, state-of-the-art incubation rooms for algae and plants.
Facilities
Good research facilities are essential for top research. High-value equipment and research facilities are the source of new science.
In addition to the many research instruments, facilities and laboratories at the University Campus in Ghent, Ghent University invested in the development of a new research campus in Ostend: Ostend Science Park.
Ostend Science Park hosts world-class marine and maritime research, laboratories and test facilities. Many academic staff members of Marine@UGent have their office here at Ostend Science Park. Furthermore, we can link your business with the most suitable communities, consortia and liaison networks within Ghent University to provide tailor-made solutions for your challenges.
Curious to know what research expertise and infrastructure is available at Ostend Science Park:
Multidisciplinary research facilities at Ostend Science Park.
Biotechnology-Biodiscovery lab
From pollution to solution, our multi-functional lab offers a wide range of technologies to boost your blue economy activities. This includes state-of-the-art biotechnological facilities to develop new marine natural products, chemical synthesis of new polymers for industrial applications, micro- and nano-plastic research.
Multispecies Hatchery
Finding suitable starting material is a major challenge in aquaculture. Our lab combines expert knowledge with high technological hatchery facilities to boost your aquaculture activities. We offer innovative hatchery techniques, integrated RAS systems as well as ecosystem-based water management approaches, and so much more.
Saltwater wave flume
Tidal currents and waves have a major impact on coastal towns and blue economic activities. Our facility offers a unique saltwater wave flume that allows studying the interactions between waves and man-made structures, including live marine organisms (e.g. plants, fish) in your setup.
StressChron - facilities for in-depth stress physiological research
The global intensification in aquaculture has led to an increasing threat for fish performance as chronic stress leads to reduced growth, reproduction, immune suppression, and higher mortality. Our facilities offer new technologies to study the effect of stress on individual fish through-out their life cycle using common carp as model.
Research and testing facilities in partnership
Blue Accelerator
The Blue Accelerator test platform, just outside the port of Ostend, offers a broad range of possibilities to develop and test new Blue Energy products and technologies in real life sea conditions. The test platform consists of a broad range of sensors, measurement equipment and telecommunication systems in a living lab setting. The platform allows testing in different marine and maritime research and innovation domains.
Coastal & Ocean Basin - COB
Next door to Ostend Science Park, in the Flanders Maritime Laboratory, all types of scale models of offshore structures, structures for coastal protection, floating wind turbines, wave energy converters, and much more can be tested in the wave basin to study their design and behavior under the influence of waves, currents and wind. The Coastal and Ocean Basin is a collaboration between UGent, KU Leuven and Flanders Hydraulics Research.
European Marine Biological Resource Centre - Belgium
The European Marine Biological Research Centre is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium of international relevance.
By organising access to state-of-the-art facilities at the marine biological stations and institutes across EU and EU-Associate countries, EMBRC provides the necessary and relevant services, facilities and technology platforms to study marine organisms and ecosystems for both academia and industry.
Ghent University is coordinator of EMBRC-Belgium.
Research Infrastructure division of the Flanders Marine Institute
Marine@UGent and the Flanders Marine Institute have an cooperation agrement that is important for the access to the land-based and sea-based research infrastructure of VLIZ .
The Research Infrastructure division coordinates access and provides logistical support to marine researchers by ensuring the management, maintenance and operational support of the research facilities and equipment.
Towing Tank
Next door to Ostend Science Park, at the Flanders Maritime Laboratory, the fully automated carriage of the shallow water towing tank (175m x 20m x 1m) will test ship models up to 8 meters long (both captive and free running). These tests will help to understand the maneuvering behavior of ships in shallow and confined water.
