Md
M. de Ruiter
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The Circularity Potential of Offshore Construction Equipment
Measuring Circular Potential and its Impact on Emission Reduction
Renewable energy alone cannot close the gap to the Paris Agreement, because a substantial share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is embodied in the production of goods and materials. Circularity is therefore a central instrument for decarbonising material-intensive, project-based sectors such as the offshore wind construction sector, where large volumes of project-specific construction equipment are manufactured, deployed a limited number of times and scrapped long before reaching their technical end-of-life. This study develops a method to quantify the circularity potential of such equipment and links it to material-related GHG emissions. Through a comparative review of quantitative circularity indicators against requirements derived from practice, the Product Circularity Indicator (PCI) is selected and adapted. The adaptations are as follows: It is applied per material stream, coupled to material-level Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) emission factors, and its original zero floor is relaxed so that the negative scores arising because of underutilisation remain interpretable as a relative index. The method is applied to four equipment types of a global marine contractor. The selected equipment is a monopile gripper, seafastenings, a flange monopile upending tool (FMUT) and monopile plugs. Furthermore, three R-ladder scenarios are modelled, each back-calculated to a 25% emission-reduction milestone. All four equipment return negative baseline PCI scores, confirming a linear material flow and driven primarily by a low utility factor. The monopile gripper and the seafastenings concentrate both the largest absolute emission burden and the deepest circularity deficit. The first scenario, green procurement (recycling) requires 72.2% recycled structural steel and acts as a quick win but cannot compensate for low utilisation. The second scenario, component reuse achieves a comparable carbon target with a smaller circulated fraction. The third scenario, lifetime extension through modularity 1.33 times more service cycles) more service cycles) is the only strategy that raises the utility factor itself and therefore carries the highest GHG- and material extraction reduction ceiling. Semi-structured stakeholder interviews confirm that the binding constraints are organisational and certification-related rather than technical. Academically, the study adapts the PCI to express multi-strategy circular potential at the material-stream level and couples it to LCA emissions. Practically, it delivers a decision-support tool that translates a high-level science-based target into concrete, equipment-specific requirements. The method and the resulting future vision could be transferable to comparable project-based, material-intensive settings.
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Renewable energy alone cannot close the gap to the Paris Agreement, because a substantial share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is embodied in the production of goods and materials. Circularity is therefore a central instrument for decarbonising material-intensive, project-based sectors such as the offshore wind construction sector, where large volumes of project-specific construction equipment are manufactured, deployed a limited number of times and scrapped long before reaching their technical end-of-life. This study develops a method to quantify the circularity potential of such equipment and links it to material-related GHG emissions. Through a comparative review of quantitative circularity indicators against requirements derived from practice, the Product Circularity Indicator (PCI) is selected and adapted. The adaptations are as follows: It is applied per material stream, coupled to material-level Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) emission factors, and its original zero floor is relaxed so that the negative scores arising because of underutilisation remain interpretable as a relative index. The method is applied to four equipment types of a global marine contractor. The selected equipment is a monopile gripper, seafastenings, a flange monopile upending tool (FMUT) and monopile plugs. Furthermore, three R-ladder scenarios are modelled, each back-calculated to a 25% emission-reduction milestone. All four equipment return negative baseline PCI scores, confirming a linear material flow and driven primarily by a low utility factor. The monopile gripper and the seafastenings concentrate both the largest absolute emission burden and the deepest circularity deficit. The first scenario, green procurement (recycling) requires 72.2% recycled structural steel and acts as a quick win but cannot compensate for low utilisation. The second scenario, component reuse achieves a comparable carbon target with a smaller circulated fraction. The third scenario, lifetime extension through modularity 1.33 times more service cycles) more service cycles) is the only strategy that raises the utility factor itself and therefore carries the highest GHG- and material extraction reduction ceiling. Semi-structured stakeholder interviews confirm that the binding constraints are organisational and certification-related rather than technical. Academically, the study adapts the PCI to express multi-strategy circular potential at the material-stream level and couples it to LCA emissions. Practically, it delivers a decision-support tool that translates a high-level science-based target into concrete, equipment-specific requirements. The method and the resulting future vision could be transferable to comparable project-based, material-intensive settings.