We’re excited to share that all deliverables from the H2020 UNITED project are now publicly available on the project’s website.
Building on UNITED: The Foundation of Today’s Multi‑Use Ambitions
The H2020 UNITED project demonstrated, for the first time at scale, that marine multi-use can be both technically feasible and environmentally beneficial. By combining offshore wind, aquaculture, tourism and nature protection, the project showed how shared use of marine space can unlock efficiencies while supporting Europe’s sustainability goals. Its real-life pilot sites, enabled through European funding, generated evidence now used by policymakers, industry stakeholders, and new Horizon-funded initiatives.
Crucially, UNITED laid the groundwork for today’s EU multi‑use efforts and directly inspired ULTFARMS, which is taking these concepts further by expanding, adapting, and operationalizing them across new geographies. As ULTFARMS continues this mission, it builds on UNITED’s technical frameworks, impact assessments, and stakeholder insights, turning pioneering research into practical large-scale implementation.
Key UNITED Deliverables we want to highlight
Among the newly published materials, these deliverables are particularly valuable for ongoing multi-use development:
D1.4 – UNITED Framework
Presents a two‑step method for developing and comparing multi‑use solutions and introduces the UNITED Assessment Framework for evaluating technical and environmental impacts.
D1.5 – Catalogue of Multi‑Use Blueprint Solutions
Provides four practical blueprints covering all multi‑use combinations tested in UNITED, offering concise “How‑To” guidance across legal, technical, socio‑economic, and environmental aspects.
D2.1 – Toolbox for Data Analysis, Visualization, and Planning for Decision Makers
Describes UNITED’s data platform and its tools for analysis, visualization, and planning, integrating project‑specific services and elements later used in the blueprint catalogue.
D5.5 – Recommendations for Successful Stakeholder Involvement in Multi‑Use Platforms
Combines insights from pilots, other EU projects, and literature into clear guidelines and an infographic to support effective stakeholder engagement in multi‑use settings.
D7.7 – Synthesis Report for Pilots
Summarizes lessons from all five pilots across all implementation phases, highlighting site‑specific challenges and stressing the need for flexibility, safety, communication, and robust planning.
D9.7 – Commercialization Roadmap
Outlines key recommendations and examples for scaling ocean multi‑use solutions, guiding innovators and policymakers toward broader adoption and market readiness.
These deliverables offer valuable guidance for anyone working in offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, marine planning, or multi‑use innovation.
Looking Ahead
A special thanks goes to Deltares, the coordinator of UNITED and now also coordinating ULTFARMS. Their leadership and technical expertise have been essential in moving multi‑use from visionary concept to operational reality. We are grateful for their continued work and excited for what comes next as ULTFARMS carries the multi‑use mission forward.
ULTFARMS & UNITED Highlighted in DG MARE’s Energy Transition Work
We are proud that ULTFARMS and UNITED are featured in the European Commission’s Staff Working Document “Implementing the Strategic Guidelines on EU Aquaculture: Energy transition in the EU aquaculture sector” as a good practice example of renewable energy solutions powering aquaculture operations.
On 12 November, our coordinator Alex Ziemba (Deltares) presented ULTFARMS at DG MARE’s Training on the Energy Transition, showcasing how our project expands UNITED’s pioneering multi‑use concepts by demonstrating low‑trophic aquaculture integrated into offshore wind farms across six pilot sites. Alex also presented our predecessor UNITED, which the SWD highlights for its strong cross‑sector synergies, offshore wind, aquaculture, tourism, and nature protection, helping pave the way for today’s large‑scale multi‑use initiatives.
