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ACCIONA leads the design of circular materials for the construction of the floating breakwater, prioritizing sustainability and the use of recycled materials
ACCIONA, through its Construction Technology Center, is actively participating in the SUREWAVE project, an innovative initiative funded by the European Commission as part of the Horizon Europe program.
The main objective of this project is to develop an innovative solution for the floating photovoltaic sector, consisting of a breakwater that protects the solar panels from the waves, thus increasing their operational availability and energy production.
The SUREWAVE project brings together a total of seven partners from six different EU countries, all of whom are committed to developing a reliable structural solution for the installation of photovoltaic systems at sea, promoting sustainable construction and the use of renewable energies.
For its part, ACCIONA is leading the work package focused on the design of circular materials to be used in the construction of the floating breakwater, prioritizing sustainability and the use of recycled materials. In this scenario, the company has developed two types of sustainable concrete for the breakwater crest, a high-performance concrete and a lightweight concrete.
The high-performance concrete, with a compressive strength of 120 MPa, requires 40% less material due to its high strength and incorporates slag and fly ash, reducing the clinker content (the most polluting component in cement production) by 20%
On the other hand, lightweight concrete, with a density of less than 1900 kg/m³, replaces conventional lightweight aggregates with recycled glass aggregates and natural aggregates with recycled construction and demolition waste (CDW). In addition, a cement containing blast-furnace slag is used, which reduces the clinker content in the cement by 35%.
For the core of the breakwater, ACCIONA has designed a cellular concrete with a density of 365 kg/m³, using a minimum amount of cement and recycled glass aggregates.
All these circular materials have been validated by the construction of a prototype that is expected to be installed in the Port of Gijón in the coming months.