Since October 2023, FIELAX GmbH has been working on the development of a new heat flow probe in a project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the “Maritime Research Program” funding measure. This is to be used primarily to determine thermal conductivity in marine sediments along cable routes for offshore wind farms or interconnectors, i.e. power lines connecting several countries. The thermal conductivities are used, among other things, for the dimensioning of the power cables. FIELAX GmbH has many years of experience in this field, so that existing practical and theoretical company know-how can be used to make this technology fit for the future. This includes in particular the use of modern hardware and software components for data acquisition, which make the technology so robust and powerful that simple, fast and successful offshore use can be guaranteed. An important new feature will be the possibility of underwater communication with the heat flow probe, so that it can be ensured during the measurement that the measurement process is successful.

At present, we are well on the way to achieving the project goal within the envisaged time frame. Initial test measurements under laboratory conditions have been carried out with the desired accuracy and reproducibility.

During a routine maintenance cruise in the North Sea in cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute, successful tests were carried out with a first version of a demonstrator.

We would like to thank the Federal Ministry of Economics, the project management organization Jülich, the Alfred Wegener Institute and the crew of the FS Heincke for their support.