Call for Tender: EU Coastal Monitoring Demonstrators
The ‘EU Coastal Monitoring Demonstrators’ Call for Tender, launched by Mercator Ocean International, aims to reinforce the Copernicus Marine Service’s interactions and collaboration with core users at the national and transnational level in the European Union.
In the newsroom, you will find the latest updates on the BlueInvest initiative: useful videos to expand your knowledge, success stories, insights on our pasts and upcoming events and much more!
BlueInvest was launched in 2019 with the aim to facilitate access to finance and support investment readiness for early stage businesses, SMEs and scale ups in the blue economy. The platform …
Supports investment readiness and access to finance for innovative start-ups, SMEs, and scale-ups in the blue economy.
Provides a market path through technical assistance, visibility, matchmaking and network- and opportunity-building for investors and companies.
Guides investors to specialize their investment strategies into blue economy related areas and to maximize their related investments.
Fosters a community and investment ecosystem to help finance the go-to-market and scale-up and to fuel the transition to more sustainable finance and impact investment.
SUCCESS STORIES
80+ beneficiaries had qualified introductions to investors 50+ beneficiaries secured investment 96.5% satisfaction rate
Read more on the BlueInvest beneficiaries and their success stories here below.
Ocean Ecostructure: promoting biodiversity with BlueInvest
Success stories
Ocean Ecostructure, a Spanish company from Barcelona, is addressing pressing environmental challenges related to the loss of biomass and biodiversity.
Ocean Ecostructure’s smart panels offer a habitat for many species.
Copyright: Ocean Ecostructure
Ocean Ecostructure, a Spanish company from Barcelona, is addressing pressing environmental challenges related to the loss of biomass and biodiversity.
The company createspanels that facilitate marine life growth, creating micro-reefs and enhancing biodiversity in ports, on oil platforms, and other offshore structures.
Their participation in theBlueInvest Readiness Assistance Programmein 2023 has helped them to grow.
Ignasi Ferrer, Co-Founder of Ocean Ecostructure, states:"We are very grateful for the invaluable coaching provided by BlueInvest, which proved instrumental in closing our inaugural round of investments."
Smart panels that promote biodiversity
Ocean Ecostructure's innovation is threefold and comprehensive:
a calcium carbonate-based panel
a robotic data gathering element, and
a commitment to social engagement as the data is publicly accessible.
This ensures not only the creation of artificial marine habitats but also theaccessibility of crucial datato the public for informed conservation efforts.
Ignasi Ferrer, Co-Founder of Ocean Ecostructure: “It is fascinating to see how you only need to give the ocean an opportunity and then it multiplies it.”
Copyright: Ocean Ecostructure
Ocean Ecostructure's innovative technology is inspired bybiomimicry, replicating the surfaces where marine organisms naturally attach and thrive, such as coral reefs and rocky shores. By emulating these natural habitats, the panels encourage the settlement and growth of marine species, promoting biodiversity and biomass creation.
Each live posting unit is uniquely coded and geolocalised, allowing forprecise monitoring. These panels collect a diverse range of data, including CO2 levels, oxygen levels, acidity, levels of chlorophyll, and water temperature.
This data is stored in the cloud and accessible via aplatform called iOceans. This enables customers to monitor the evolution of marine environments over time. Predictive models offer insights into future trends, empowering proactive decision-making.
Moreover, the data is made accessible to the public through Ocean Ecostructure's app, fosteringtransparency and social engagement in marine conservation efforts.
Ocean Ecostructure's smart panels offer the users a wide range of data, accessible through their website and app.
Copyright: Ocean Ecostructure
From ports to the deep sea
Initially targeting ports, marinas, offshore wind, and oil platforms, Ocean Ecostructure's market has expanded rapidly. The company's innovative approach has garnered attention, leading tosignificant market growth projections, estimated at €5 million by 2026.
Ocean Ecostructure plans to scale their operations and product offerings.
Currently, they are deploying 150 units, with 700 in the pipeline with new worldwide clients.
With ongoing R&D efforts, they are developing new products targeting further market diversification and growth. For 2025, they are planning on launching new coastal protection systems and deep seabed solutions.
BlueInvest in action
BlueInvest has been crucial for Ocean Ecostructure's journey. Their participation in the Readiness Assistance Programme in 2023 served as a cornerstone. It provided them invaluable guidance,opening doors to prestigious affiliationswith entities like the Spanish Port Authorities, Norrsken, and Repsol Foundation. These partnerships not only enhanced the company’s profile but also expanded their operational horizons.
With aseed investment round of 1.6 million successfully securedby year-end, the company attributes much of this achievement to the insights garnered from BlueInvest.
About BlueInvest
BlueInvest is an EU initiative that aims to boost innovation and investment in sustainable technologies for the blue economy. It offers assistance to access financing for early-stage businesses, SMEs and scale-ups. BlueInvest is enabled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
BlueInvest Readiness Assistance is an exclusive coaching programme. It targets high potential EU startups and SMEs with innovative and sustainable products and solutions for the blue economy. Businesses and projects selected for investment readiness assistance will receive coaching packages tailored to their readiness levels and business objectives. The programme is impact-driven, with a clear focus on providing business support to help startups and SMEs build capacities for growth and attract investment.
More mature SMEs can also apply to the BlueInvest fundraising assistance, that aims to support equity round closures through coaching.
The European Commission launched theShip Financing Portal, designed to improve access to financing for the shipping sector and the wider maritime industry.
The platform, launched by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, provides businesses and organisations with a repository of available financial tools needed to drive fleet renewal and retrofitting, enhance efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.
The Portal in a nutshell:
Consolidated resource:the portal centralises access to a variety of pan-European financing products, simplifying the search for suitable financing opportunities for stakeholders across the maritime sector.
Current information:it provides up-to-date details on available grants, loans, and other financing products administered by the EU, Member States, and private financial institutions. This ensures that users are informed about the latest financing opportunities.
Sector-specific solutions:the portal lists financing products relevant for the shipping sector, facilitating the development and deployment of technologies and services to promote shipping decarbonisation. This aligns with the EU's commitment to steer the maritime sector towards a green transition.
The launch of the portal is a further step in supporting the greening of the maritime industry. The portal addresses the lack of available information on financing opportunities.
The European Commission invites all maritime stakeholders, including small and medium-sized businesses, financial institutions, and other organisations to explore the Ship Financing Portal and take advantage of the diverse financing opportunities available. This initiative underscores the EU's dedication to fostering a sustainable and competitive maritime sector.
EUSPA has published a new Fundamental Elements funding scheme grant to support the integration of Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) in maritime positioning and/or navigation solutions.
The Galileo HAS-enabled Maritime receiver Call for Proposals aims at designing, developing, testing and demonstrating aGNSSpositioning/navigation solution, integrating Galileo HAS receiver, suitable to be embedded within the vessel navigation equipment.
Deadline for submission to the call: Friday, September 20, 2024 - 23:59 CEST.
You can read more about this opportunity at theEUSPA pages.
Oceanovation Festival - 21-22 June 2023
Innovation and technology are the cornerstones of a blue economy, and Europe is leading the way. A thriving Blue economy promises to bring innumerable benefits through the financing of projects and investments with a focus on marine innovation and circular economy solutions. This is why Blue Invest is a supporting partner of OCEANOVATION Festival taking place in The Hague on 21-22 June.
The Festival will bring together 350+ innovative founders, investors, corporates, and forward-thinking minds in the ocean space to identify, implement and scale the technologies we need to grow the blue economy in a sustainable way. As part of the Blue Invest network, you will be able to attend 2 days of workshops and engaging conversation with a 40% discount on the ticket. Take part in the different civities offered during the event such as a Founders program, dedicated Investor Program, Pitch on The Beach, Industry Workshops, and unlimited networking opportunities.
BlueInvest is partnering up with Ocean Autonomy Cluster for the seminar “Protecting and Monitoring the Ocean - the Nordics” taking place on 03 May in Clarion Brattøra and online.
Experts, innovators, and industry leaders will gather to discuss the current state and prospects of the blue economy in the Nordic region.
The session "Solutions looking for a problem - Entrepreneurs" is available for online participation. Registerhere.
The other parts of the event are by invitation only. Any questions can be addressed toOcean Autonomy Cluster.
Innovation Fund third small-scale call for projects
Thethird Innovation Fund small-scale call for projectswas launched on 30 March 2023 with a budget of EUR 100 million for projects with a total capital cost between EUR 2.5 million and below EUR 7.5 million, it will be open for projects submissions until19 September 2023, 17:00 Brussels time.
On 20 April, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the European Commission's DG Climate Action are organising anInfo Dayto present the call.
BlueInvest and the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism are collaborating to provide market pathways for sustainable and innovative technologies at different stages of formation.
The Black Sea Assistance Mechanism offers participating countries practical support to help meet the blue economy goals of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea.
The focus is on facilitating awareness and capacity of local and regional stakeholders by providing the Black Sea community with expertise on the blue economy, a network across borders on both shores to help project leaders find the right partners, as well as support with project idea development and share funding opportunities.
BlueInvest and the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism are collaborating to provide market pathways for sustainable and innovative technologies at different stages of formation.
The Black Sea Assistance Mechanism offers participating countries practical support to help meet the blue economy goals of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea.
The focus is on facilitating awareness and capacity of local and regional stakeholders by providing the Black Sea community with expertise on the blue economy, a network across borders on both shores to help project leaders find the right partners, as well as support with project idea development and share funding opportunities.
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