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!
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.
Leveraging expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and marine biology, BiOceanOr, a French start-up, is using AI technologies to help manage water quality and promote sustainable practices. They have developed AquaREAL, a unique service predicting water quality. Their mission is to deliver bio-guided services thatoptimise fish welfare and growth, while supportingsustainable aquaculturepractices.
“I am delighted by the invaluable support from BlueInvest for our fundraising efforts, which has substantially enhanced our brand visibility.”said Samuel Dupont, CEO and co-founder.
Thanks to BlueInvest support, the start-upsuccessfully raised its first round of fundingin June 2023, amounting to €2,5 million.
The journey towards aquaculture innovation
Starting from its roots in oyster farming, BiOceanOr’s has expanded their sales range todiverse aquaculture products, including salmon, seabass, bream, tilapia, shrimp and algae. However, as they secured contracts with major French water companies like VEOLIA, concerns arose regarding the environmental impact of their operations.
Driven to minimise their ecological footprint and mitigate potential repercussions for both downstream and fellow aquaculture enterprises, BiOceanOr set their sights on developing a tool that would ensuresafe, environmental-friendly and efficient operations at farm level.
To address the data gap, BiOceanOr embarked on creating a digital solution to advance aquaculture. Going beyond simple monitoring, their innovation aimed to offer real-time insights and AI-powered analytics. This empowers aquaculture producers to foresee environmental shifts and proactivelymanage risks.
Real-time data from an underwater weather station
BiOceanOr’s AquaREAL water quality assistant providesreal-time datafor farmers and customers. The tool predicts crucial water quality parameters such as dissolved oxygen levels and assesses their impact on production and the marine environment.
Their innovation can work withdifferent types of sensors and monitoring devices. It benefits aquaculture by enhancing downstream applications, boosting fish growth, and ensuring fish welfare. Furthermore, it aids water utilities in managing wastewater discharge and optimising pumping operations in the watershed.
BiOceanOr’s solution AquaReal gives real-time data about the water quality parameters.
BlueInvest has played an important role in BiOceanOr's journey. The programme provided them with valuable guidance and connected them with partners across Europe. Through pitching and coaching sessions, they were able togain insights from experienced members of the BlueInvest community. In particular, the programme's support and visibility have been crucial for BiOceanOr in attracting new investors, clients, and partners.
Samuel Dupont, CEO and co-founder, acknowledges the value of BlueInvest support in fostering financial partnerships. The investment raised during its first round of funding (€2,5 million) willfuel the expansion of the company's activities in the salmon farming industry, particularly focusing on water quality prediction to mitigate risks and delivering actionable insights for production optimisation.
Furthermore, BiOceanOr has recently announced itscollaboration with ScaleAQ Software, a major player in the tech-aquaculture industry. Together, they aim to improve fish farming by offering fish farmers unrivalled digital services through reference integration platforms.
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.
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.
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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