Underwater Noise Abatement: AdBm Trial Success

The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), part of the IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin (UT),  details the recent successful offshore demonstration of AdBm Technologies’ underwater noise abatement system.

AdBm, a portfolio company of ATI’s Clean Energy Incubator, worked with its Dutch partner, Ballast Nedam, to deploy its system at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm in the German North Sea. The test successfully demonstrated an underwater noise reduction of almost 40 dB, a level of performance that is critical for the installation of offshore wind farms, especially those located in challenging environments like the North Sea.

AdBm has developed a lower cost, effective and reliable underwater noise abatement system which enables businesses to meet underwater noise regulations, especially in offshore wind, energy and marine construction projects. The AdBm technology is much more effective acoustically and considerably faster to install that other alternatives, while also safer and more economical.

“The worldwide market for underwater noise control is estimated at $1 billion and nowhere is the need more urgent than the North Sea area where current offshore wind opportunities are greatest, but the environment is the most challenging,” said Dr. Mark Wochner, PhD, CEO, AdBm Technologies.

“We are very excited about the results of this demonstration, which is essential for us to get a foothold into Europe. We have great science behind our technology, and this is the first time our system has been proven in a rough environment like the North Sea. European environmental regulations regarding underwater noise abatement are getting stricter all the time, and in Germany underwater noise levels must stay below 160 dB SEL or else risk being shut down. The product worked as expected and our future customers can see firsthand how we will ensure compliance for their offshore construction projects.”

AdBm, along with its partner Ballast Nedam which produces cost-efficient foundation solutions for the offshore wind industry, conducted the offshore demonstration. Utilizing an anchor handling tug, AdBm tested the system during pile driving operations for two separate monopiles at different distances.

Data from over 1,000 hammer strikes was collected from a reference hydrophone array and compared to an identical hydrophone array protected by the AdBm noise abatement system. The results validated AdBm’s underwater noise reduction predictions of 40 dB.

“The successful test gives confidence that it is possible to develop cost-effective noise mitigation systems. We look forward to mutually developing and testing the AdBm system and using it on our future projects,” said Edwin van de Brug, Commercial Manager, Ballast Nedam Offshore.”

Privately-held and founded in 2013 as a university-based startup at the University of Texas, AdBm has developed a new method to attenuate underwater noise. Commercial jobsite testing of AdBm’s solution has proved a more effective and more economic noise abatement solution, which is required for many offshore projects in the marine construction and energy industries.

The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is the startup incubator of the IC2 Institute of The University of Texas at Austin. ATI works with seed and pre-seed-stage companies, helping prepare these businesses for commercial success, with a particular focus on helping startups compete in the capital markets.

http://adbmtech.com/