Floating Solutions

Building, innovating, farming, living, recreation... it's all possible on water.

Rotterdam offers unparalleled room for innovation and entrepreneurship. In Rotterdam, residents, entrepreneurs and students are provided with the intellectual and physical capacity to develop, innovate, grow and conquer the world. Rotterdammers themselves lead the way and seize every opportunity to actively contribute to building the sustainable city of tomorrow. Building on the water is an important part of this. It is the future. There is limited space to build in the city, but there is still room on the water. Here is a selection of the floating solutions that are appearing all over Rotterdam.

"The park is highly visible and will contribute to our energy transition. It is our aim to organize the drinking water supply in such a way that the energy balance will be neutral."

Annette Ottolini, director of Evides about the floating solar park

Highlights

Evides solar park on the water near Brienenoord

Europe’s largest sun-tracking floating solar power park Evides Waterbedrijf opened Europe’s largest sun-tracking and floating solar park on the reservoir of production location Kralingen this summer. It’s a new, innovative step towards making the production of Evides’ drinking water energy neutral. Because the installation can follow the sun with special sensors, it can effectively use as much solar power as possible. The sensors measure the strength of the sun and the wind force, and they ensure an optimal result in sustainable energy. The size of the solar park is unique in Europe. At Kralingen, Evides works with Floating Solar, which supplied and manages the solar park. Evides buys the green electricity that is produced. The 4,787 panels have an annual yield of more than 2 million kWh of sustainable energy. That is equivalent to the average energy use of 650 households per year. Click for more info.

Picture of the floating lofts at Nassauhaven.

Sustainable floating homes 'Havenlofts' The Nassauhaven has changed from an unused harbour basin into a quarter with floating homes and eco-friendly shores. The first twelve floating homes (Havenlofts) in Rotterdam arrived here recently. Because the city of Rotterdam is growing, many new homes will be needed in the coming years. There is space for this on the water! To gain experience with building on water, the municipality started looking for a developer of sustainable floating homes. The Havenlofts in the Nassauhaven are the result of this. Rotterdam hopes to accommodate even more floating houses in the future. Click for more info.

World Conference on Floating Solutions: Paving the Waves Paving the Waves, the second edition of the World Conference on Floating Solutions, will take place at the Floating Pavilion in Rotterdam this year from 6 to 8 October. Experts from all over the world will come together to share knowledge on floating developments and solutions, such as floating construction and housing. It’s the first international conference on this theme to be organised in Europe. It will be a combination of online (live streaming and webinars) and offline (the physical conference). Arnoud Molenaar, the Chief Resilience Officer of the City of Rotterdam, is one of the keynote speakers. Blue21, Waterstudio, The Society of Floating Solutions Singapore, Space@Sea and BlueRevolution Foundation are co-organising the event, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ and ‘Life Below Water’. The final results of the 3-year EU Horizon2020-funded research project, Space@Sea, will be presented as well. Click for more info.

"Where better than the global port of Rotterdam to nurture such an innovative project? Rotterdam is a living lab for many experimental developments that are implemented worldwide, and as far as we are concerned the city of Rotterdam is the logical site for the Floating Farm."

Peter van Wingerden, CEO of Beladon and initiator of the Floating Farm