Deltares welcomes Portuguese President and Dutch King
Deltares was honoured to welcome the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and His Majesty King Willem-Alexander. The President and the King visited our Delft campus as part of the Portuguese state visit to the Netherlands. Accompanied by a delegation of Portuguese Members of Parliament and businesses, they received a demonstration of our unique experimental facilities and learned more about the sustainable innovations Deltares works on to ensure oceans remain healthy.
A strong bilateral relationship
Portugal and the Netherlands have a historic and deep bilateral relationship, with strong economic ties including on the blue economy. We also work together closely on issues such as climate change and renewable energy. Both the Netherlands and Portugal face marine and coastal-related challenges, and recognise the importance of sustainably harnessing the potential of the oceans, and ensuring they remain healthy.
Deltares also has long-standing relationships with Portuguese research institutes such as the University of Porto and LNEC. Together with our Portuguese partners, we also work on a range of EU Horizon Projects.
Sustainable solutions
The strong ties between the two countries were evident during the visit to our campus, where the delegation experienced our unique experimental facilities, including the Deltares Delta Flume. The visit also showcased Deltares’ expertise and the sustainable solutions we work on, including:
- Preventing marine litter pollution through smart technologies, such as the Bubble Barrier, which is part of the Maelstrom project.
- Better understanding and managing our oceans, by creating a platform for a European digital twin of the ocean in the EDITO project.
- Promoting multi-use of our oceans, including by combining offshore wind with environmental protection as part of the NID4OCEAN project.
- Supporting coastal cities in adaption planning to reduce and mitigate flood risks, including through our FloodAdapt tool.
International cooperation
Europe is facing significant water challenges like water scarcity, water pollution, flooding, and aging infrastructure. Governments and institutions across the region introduced ambitious legislation to tackle climate change and encourage innovation, putting Europe in a unique and key position to drive green growth.
The visit showed the strong commitment by both Portugal and the Netherlands in ensuring sustainable use of our oceans and in fostering innovation. Partnerships between the public, the private sector, industry, and research institutes are crucial in achieving this.
