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.
the only company based in Malta that focuses on the sustainable use of marine resources and
valorization of marine waste biomass to produce value-added products using applied biotechnologies.
Blue EcoTech Ltd.
Dr. Alexia Massa-Gallucci is a marine biologist with a PhD in fisheries science. Her main areas of interest are marine conservation and environmental sustainability.
She is currently working as an independent marine and fisheries consultant.
In 2021, she founded Blue EcoTech Ltd., an innovative social Greentech start-up company. The mission of Blue EcoTech is to provide innovative solutions to valorise marine waste sources using applied biotechnologies to develop added value products.
Blue EcoTech is committed to the protection of natural marine resources, carrying out restoration of impacted and degraded marine habitats.
Blue EcoTech Ltd. participated in stage 1 (2021) and stage 2 (2022) of the MED ClimAccelerator programme and the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (2023). The funds received through these programmes are being used to support Blue EcoTech Product Development Initiatives.
Since 2019, she has been the Malta representative on the Management Committee of the COST Action CA18238 Ocean4Biotech that brings together experts in the field of marine biotechnology, to provide a platform for sharing experience, knowledge and technologies.
See: https://www.ocean4biotech.eu/
She previously managed several EU projects while working for an environmental consultancy company where she created and directed the Fisheries Research and Development Department.
The nanomaterials industry faces several challenges and problems, which can hinder its development and widespread adoption. One of the main challenges for conventional plastic-based nanomaterials is the impact on the environment. A valid alternative to those, that has emerged in recent years, is nanocellulose. Nanocellulose is a biopolymer of plant origin, a highly versatile material with applications in various industries such as food packaging, papermaking, textiles, and biomedical engineering. The global nanocellulose market is projected to experience significant growth, with an expected CAGR of 19.9% to 20.1% from 2023 to 2030. However, the production costs of nanocellulose are one of the major challenges for its commercialization, as it is still higher than some of the conventional materials that it aims to replace.
Blue EcoTech Ltd. aims to develop more efficient and cost-effective methodologies to produce
nanocellulose compared with current production systems that use wood pulp and cotton using a
renewable resource like seagrass beach wrack.
Seagrass beach wrack is a marine organic biomass formed by plant dead parts washed ashore. This material is considered a nuisance that can deter tourists from enjoying the coastline amenities and, for this reason, removed from local municipalities every year before the start of the tourist season and dumped as waste.
Blue EcoTech Ltd. focus is to develop a value chain that leverages the production of nanocellulose
from seagrass beach wrack by integrating it with existing biorefinery processes. Co-products like
cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, which are derived from the same organic marine waste, can be used in other industries. This integration enhances the overall efficiency and utilization of the raw material, maximizing its value.
The new innovative methodologies and products, will also provide an alternative solution to waste
management while supporting the development of a recycling industry and circular economy that is of crucial importance especially for a small island state like Malta.