What is the BlueInvest Project Pipeline?
See our showcase of innovative projects and entrepreneurs who are shaping the Blue Economy.
Projects consist of innovative, scalable and sustainable business ventures from traditional and emerging sectors of the maritime economy.
The graphs below provide an overview of the country distribution, sector, and TRL of projects currently listed in the BlueInvest Project Pipeline.
Selection Criteria:
Your company is EU-based or from an eligible sea basin region (Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Mauritania, United Kingdom, or Norway)
Your project TRL is 4 or higher
Your project sector is in one of the 10 blue economy sectors identified for this initiative
Your solution has a clear sustainable impact on the blue economy
Your project is looking for investment
Project Country
Country in which the project is being developed and / or implemented.
Project Sector
Main blue economy sector the project relates to.
Project TRL
Current technology readiness level of the project.
MARAL TECHNOLOGIES
MARIJA STUPALO, CEO
Born in Split in 1978. After finishing high school, she enrolled at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bologna (Italy), from which she graduated as M.Sc in English and B.sc in German. She continued her postgraduate studies at the Diplomatic Academy in Zagreb (Croatia), where she successfully graduated from a 2-year Economic Diplomacy Study. Alongside different educational programmes and modules at UCLA in Los Angeles and at Fudan University in Shanghai, in 2010 she graduated from the Executive MBA programme at the SDA Bocconi Business School in Milan.
She started her career as Investment Project Manager at Croatian Government's Trade and Investment Promotion Agency where she managed foreign investment projects. During that period she also participated at the establishment and acted as honorary member of the Board of the Croatian Business Angels Network. She continued her career at her family’s company SALONA VAR as Business Development Manager. Since 2016 she took over management of the company as CEO and Member of the Board.
Since March 2022 she is co-owner and CEO of MARAL TECHNOLOGIES.
Her main skills are project management, business development and executive management.
MIRKO STUPALO, CTO
Born in Split in 1982. After finishing high school, he enrolled at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split, from which he graduated as mechanical engineer. He continued his studies at the International Institute of Welding where he was awarded the title of International Welding Engineer (IWE).
He spent his entire career in SALONA VAR, where he has been working on most complex industrial projects since 2010. He is considered one of the biggest experts in Croatia in industrial remanufacturing and special materials application.
His main skills are mechanical engineering, industrial remanufacturing, special welding technologies and special materials application.
VLATKA STUPALO,
Born in Split in 1981. After finishing high school, she enrolled at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb where she graduated, earned her PhD in Marine Engineering and started her scientific career.
She is currently docent and Head of Laboratory for Planning and Modelling in Water Traffic. She is a chartered transport engineer for maritime and inland navigation. She has 14 years of experience as researcher in national and international projects in the fields of maritime and IWT transport, maritime and river ports, and integration of water transport subsystems.
Her main skills are research, data analysis, marine engineering and project management.
a. Durability: while most of competition’s products last 3-4 months (because of challenging marine environment) our products has been tested for more than 2 years in operational environment and I still working perfectly.
b. Superior sliding properties: as the spreader rotates more evenly and without sticking (a common problem of other roto spreaders) it distributes the food more evenly, hence optimizing feed utilization (one of the major expenses in aquaculture farming!), reducing waste, as well as insuring that all fish have access to food.
c. Smart data gathering: whilst competitive products do not offer any data gathering whatsoever, our product is equipped with powerful sensors gathering data on sea-water salinity, temperature, oxygen saturation, air temperature, air humidity and insolation, sea and water pollution. This information gives farmers valuable real-time information on sea-water and air conditions, thus helping them in other decision-making process and allowing for smarter and greener farming.
d. Cost effectiveness: for a small premium price, the customer gets a product minimum with 10 time longer durability that helps him obtain significant savings on fish food and fish management.
Our solution's unique and sustainable value proposition lies in its combination of superior durability, optimized feed distribution, smart data gathering capabilities, and cost-effectiveness. By addressing the challenges faced by aquaculture farmers and providing long-lasting performance along with valuable real-time information, our roto spreader offers a more efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically viable solution for aquaculture operations.