BlueActionMatch is a community platform connecting people working across the blue economy, including algae, aquaculture, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, ocean multi-use and blue careers. It replaces BlueBioMatch, which focused specifically on the blue bioeconomy.

Why Did BlueBioMatch Change Its Name?

BlueBioMatch launched as a platform for the blue bioeconomy: a meeting point for startups, researchers, policymakers and funders working on algae, aquaculture and blue biotechnology. As the community grew, membership expanded well beyond bioeconomy topics into marine protected area management, sustainable fisheries and ocean multi-use.

The rebrand to BlueActionMatch reflects that wider scope. The platform is now built for anyone taking action in and for oceans, seas and waters, not only those working in bioeconomy-specific sectors.

How BlueActionMatch Works

The platform is organised around Groups: dedicated spaces where people working on similar topics can meet, exchange knowledge and start new collaborations. Active groups already exist around algae, aquaculture, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries and ocean multi-use.

Members use BlueActionMatch to:

• Connect with people working on the same challenges
• Exchange knowledge, tools and project results
• Discover new initiatives and opportunities
• Find potential partners and collaborators
• Take part in discussions, webinars and community activities
• List and discover blue economy events, from webinars to conferences and hackathons

Who Is BlueActionMatch For?

BlueActionMatch is open to researchers, entrepreneurs, students, project partners, policymakers and practitioners working anywhere in the blue economy.

How to Join BlueActionMatch

Registration is free and open to the public. Rather than creating an account and stopping there, new members are encouraged to go directly to the Groups relevant to their work, since that’s where most of the exchange happens.

Register and explore Groups: https://blueactionmatch.hivebrite.com/feed

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What is the Nature Restoration Academy

The Nature Restoration Academy runs from 29 to 30 October 2026 at SUBMARINER’s Berlin office, preceded by an online baseline session that gives all participants a shared starting point. It is hosted by the SUBMARINER Network and funded by EIT Water, with support from the Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation).

The Academy builds directly on an existing course, Integrated Ocean Planning: Marine Protected Areas, Multi-Use and Business Pathways, part of the Blue Bio Techpreneurs programme already followed by 464 learners from more than 80 countries. Where that course lays the theoretical groundwork, the Academy adds practical, in-person restoration training across the land-freshwater-marine continuum.

How the restoration training programme is structured

The Academy runs in three parts:

1. An online baseline session, drawing on the existing Blue Bio Techpreneurs course content, so every participant starts from the same foundation.
2. A two-day event in Berlin, combining partner lectures, restoration case studies and workshops, including the MPA Game, a multi-stakeholder negotiation simulation, and a dedicated session on gender equality in the sector delivered by WIN-BIG.
3. A new online module, created from the recorded Berlin sessions and added to the Blue Bio Techpreneurs course on FutureLearn, so the knowledge shared in the room reaches learners well beyond it.

Topics covered include nature-based solutions for marine and freshwater restoration, European restoration case studies, citizen science and digital monitoring, restoration in offshore wind parks, and the business models and funding mechanisms that keep restoration projects running.

Who can apply

The Academy is open to early-career professionals, students and practitioners working on marine or freshwater restoration. Up to 30 participants will be selected to join.

Participation is free of charge, and a contribution towards travel costs is available for those coming from outside Germany.

How to apply

Submit a short motivation statement by 15 September via jotform. Selected participants will be informed by 1 October.

Apply now

Contribute a lecture or case study

Are you working in marine or freshwater restoration and interested in sharing your expertise? We are looking for lecturers and workshop leads to deliver sessions of around one hour, in person, in Berlin. Sessions can combine a short lecture with an interactive workshop.

All sessions are recorded and later form part of the new restoration module on FutureLearn, so your contribution continues to reach learners long after the event itself.

Get in touch at info@submariner-network.eu to discuss a contribution.

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Blue Lab’s own framing is a journey from source to sea, from the Main and the Rhine to the North Sea. Its core message: protecting the ocean does not start at the coast. It starts in rivers, including one running through a city that has never seen the sea.

TIDAL ArtS at Blue Lab: three works on the Baltic and North Sea

Three works at Blue Lab came from TIDAL ArtS, the Horizon Europe project SUBMARINER coordinates to connect art, community and marine science across four of Europe’s sea regions.

Echoes of the Deep, by Neonature, is a VR installation. Visitors put on a headset and stand inside two futures for the Baltic Sea: one damaged by ghost nets and pollution, one recovering.

Fish in a Kettle, by the Lab Rats Collective, is an immersive theatre performance set at a party hosted by the ocean itself in the year 2050, exploring coastal futures and climate change through ritual, grief and absurdity.

North Sea Signal Flags, led by artist Isabella Martin, invited festival visitors to design a new maritime signal flag for a body of water worth marking, continuing a series first made with children in Wells-next-the-Sea.

David Whyte, who represents TIDAL ArtS on the Blue Lab steering committee, also used the festival to test a social inclusion framework assessing how diverse an audience events like this actually reach.

Why ocean literacy in Frankfurt matters for the Baltic & North Sea

SUBMARINER coordinates the EU Mission Ocean Lighthouse for the Baltic and North Sea. Our work sits mostly in aquaculture, spatial planning and blue economy policy, fields that rarely bring us to a theatre festival. But eutrophication, one of Baltic Sea’s defining environmental problem, is a river problem before it is a sea problem. Most of the people whose water ends up in the Baltic will never stand beside it.

Blue Lab makes that same point about the Main and the North Sea, through art rather than data. It is also why TIDAL ArtS exists: to bring ocean literacy to people upstream, in rooms that ocean policy conferences do not reach!

Ocean literacy resources from SUBMARINER

Have a look at our ocean literacy repository, and get to know TIDAL ArtS. Blue Lab reached an audience we rarely do: a free festival crowd who came for theatre and left having stood, for a few minutes, inside a future for a sea they had never thought much about.

Blue Lab is an officially recognised Decade Action of the UN Ocean Decade (2021–2030), coordinated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC/UNESCO), and is part of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” Charter. Blue Lab is led by protagon e.V. and Escuna Criativa e.V., a Salvador da Bahia based organisation connecting traditional shipbuilding culture with art, education and social engagement.

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Angela’s appointment reflects her work growing SUBMARINER into a network with over €260 million in project volume, and her existing roles in the EU Mission Ocean & Waters and on the European Ocean Board. She previously served on the EIT Water Steering Committee.

Read more about EIT Water

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Any European start-up or spin-off working in this field can apply. Five finalists will be selected for the Berlin ceremony.

What winners receive

Three of the five finalists will win a one-year EIT Water membership, opening access to funding, business support and partners across Europe. The overall winner advances to the European WAVEMAKER final at the EIT Water Launch Event in Málaga on 15 October 2026, competing against regional winners from across the continent for the European title and a €5,000 prize.

All five finalists receive expert mentoring ahead of the event and a contribution towards travel costs to Berlin.

The ceremony follows the kick-off of SPHERE, an EU Mission Ocean project on marine protection and co-organiser of the event, coordinated by s.Pro Sustainable Projects. It’s a chance to meet more than 15 restoration partners from nine countries across Europe, experts from the MPA-Community Network, and others shaping the future of marine restoration.

How to apply

The application form asks for short details about you and your venture, followed by five open-ended questions, each limited to 1,000 words. Completing the form takes approximately one hour, so we recommend preparing your answers in advance, as the form does not save progress. These are the five questions:

1. What problem do you address, and why does it matter for marine protection and restoration?
2. What is your solution, what makes it innovative, and how does it differ from existing approaches? Focus on how your solution works and what is new about it.
3. What measurable impact will your solution have on water and sustainability, and how will you measure it? Focus on the environmental outcomes your solution delivers, the numbers you expect, and how you will measure them.
4. What impact will it have on water and sustainability, and how will you measure it?
5. How viable and scalable is your business model?
6. Who is on your team, and what progress have you made so far?

Come ready to show measurable outcomes and a clear path to market. Be quick, applications close 20 August 2026.

Would you like to join the audience, meet Europe’s marine restoration community and hear five ventures pitch live? Register your interest at info@submariner-network.eu.

FAQ

• When is the pitch event? 16 September 2026, Berlin at Mitosis LAB .
• Application deadline? 20 August 2026. Finalists are notified by 31 August.
• Who can apply? European start-ups and spin-offs working on marine protection and restoration.
• What do finalists get? A mentor, travel support, and a shot at a year of EIT Water membership.
• What does the winner get? A place in the Málaga final (15 October 2026) to compete with regional winners from across the continent for the European title and a EUR 5,000 prize.

Questions? Contact info@submariner-network.eu.

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The two open calls — the Transition Agenda Open Call and the Community-Led Actions Open Call — were designed to fund organisations working to advance sustainable transitions in coastal and marine communities across the region.

Submission Results at a Glance

• Total proposals submitted: 222
• Transition Agenda Open Call: 61 proposals
• Community-Led Actions Open Call: 161 proposals
• Countries covered: All 11 eligible countries in the Baltic and North Sea region

Proposals were submitted from across the full range of eligible countries. In the Transition Agenda call, Norway, Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands were most frequently represented. In the Community-Led Actions call, the Netherlands, Poland, and Germany led in submission volume, with strong participation from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

The applicant pool was diverse. In both calls, locally-based commercial companies submitted the highest number of proposals, followed by research-performing organisations, NGOs, enterprises focused on skills development or inclusive blue economy activities, regional and local authorities, educational establishments, and foundations.

Mission Ocean and Waters Objectives Addressed

All submitted proposals aligned with one or more EU Mission Ocean and Waters objectives. Across both calls, the three most commonly cited goals were:

1. Protecting and restoring marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity — the most frequently cited objective in both calls
2. Preventing and eliminating pollution of the ocean, seas, and waters
3. Making the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular

The breadth of themes reflects the scope of interest in the region and the relevance of the BlueActionBANOS funding framework to a wide range of actors and approaches.

What Happens Next

Evaluation is now underway, carried out by external and internal evaluators selected by a dedicated Selection Committee appointed by the BlueActionBANOS consortium. Applicants will be informed of outcomes in Autumn 2026, and selected projects will be announced publicly.

For more information, visit blueactionbanos.eu or contact Project Coordinator Sarah Tamulski at st@submariner-network.eu.

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The blue bioeconomy — spanning marine biotechnology, seaweed cultivation, bivalve farming, ocean-based ingredients, and more — is a growing sector with genuine demand for skilled professionals and innovative entrepreneurs. But awareness of career routes, training resources, and funding opportunities remains low, particularly for early-career professionals and start-ups across the EU.

Many people want to work in the blue bioeconomy but can’t find a clear way in. That is the skills gap Blue Bio Techpreneurs was built to address.

What Is Blue Bio Techpreneurs?

Blue Bio Techpreneurs (BBT) is an EU-funded project designed to create more accessible pathways into blue bioeconomy careers and entrepreneurship. Working together with BLUEBIO ALLIANCE, Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique, University of Southern Denmark, and University of Gdańsk, the project has delivered:

• 6 online courses reaching more than 3,000 learners across Europe
• 3 international hackathons tackling real blue biotech industry challenges
• 7 webinars on blue economy careers and innovation pathways
• A growing BlueBioMatch community connecting emerging talent with industry opportunity

Behind each number are researchers exploring new career directions, entrepreneurs finding their first industry connections, and students discovering that the blue bioeconomy is a place they can actually build a future.

What Is the MakeEUBlue Award?

The MakeEUBlue Awards, presented annually at European Maritime Day, recognise outstanding contributions to ocean literacy, blue economy innovation, and sustainable use of marine resources across Europe. The Organisation category honours institutions making a measurable difference in how Europe thinks, learns, and works with the ocean.

Why Closing the Blue Bioeconomy Skills Gap Matters

Skills gaps don’t close on their own. They close when institutions invest in making knowledge accessible, when researchers and businesses find ways to talk to each other, and when early-career professionals can see a realistic path forward.

That is what BBT set out to do, and what this award recognises. For SUBMARINER, it also validates a broader approach: that transnational collaboration across the Baltic Sea Region, done well, can produce results that no single institution could achieve alone.

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“Durch gute Ostsee-Zusammenarbeit gewinnen alle” — “Through good Baltic cooperation, everyone wins.” Minis­ter­prä­siden­tin Ma­nue­la Schwe­sig

One topic gained particular weight across the discussions: water. As industries across the Baltic transform — through the expansion of clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and other water-dependent sectors — reliable access to industrial water is becoming a key factor in where businesses choose to grow.

The Baltic Sea, with its natural characteristics and expanding green energy capacity, offers real potential here. How the region develops and shares that potential across borders will matter increasingly for its competitiveness as a whole.

At the event, through our booth and the day’s session, SUBMARINER also had the opportunity to present our forthcoming role as Co-Location Centre for the Central and Baltic region within EIT Water. For Baltic business and investment stakeholders, EIT Water brings innovation funding and industry networks that sit directly alongside what SUBMARINER has been building across the region for years.

Through our network, BlueBioMatch, our blue economy matchmaking platform, and through the wider Mission Ocean ecosystem, we continue to build the connections that turn regional potential into something concrete. We look forward to the conversations ahead.

Interested in learning more about our work in innovation and business support?

Get to know our solutions

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The research examined 32 distinct forms of marine use and assessed their compatibility with one another. The most in-depth analysis focused on four combinations considered most promising for the German EEZ: low-trophic aquaculture (mussels, algae, and oysters), passive fishing with basket and trap gear, biogenic reef restoration, and various forms of mobile research.

A key finding is that several of these secondary uses are already permissible under existing German law, without requiring legislative changes.

Nature restoration through biogenic reefs and low-trophic aquaculture, in particular, were found to be technically and legally compatible with operational offshore wind farms, and even offer potential ecological co-benefits such as nutrient removal and habitat creation.

The study recommends designating a limited number of multi-use demonstration areas as a practical next step — sites where secondary uses can be tested at scale, data can be shared across sectors, and approval processes can be refined. It also calls for expanding preliminary site investigations to include parameters relevant to secondary uses from the outset, reducing downstream costs and delays.

The five work packages are available at the BSH website under Expert Studies and Reports.

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Kybele’s Garden is a biotechnology startup developing high-value solutions for the agrifood sector, including probiotic and prebiotic formulations, functional fertiliser blends, and algal-derived extracts such as phycocyanin.

When joining the Accelerator, the company was navigating a period of transition — new investment, a facility relocation, and certification systems to build from scratch. The programme helped the team develop a roadmap for technology transfer to contract manufacturers, identify critical control points in their production workflow, and align R&D with business goals. Next steps focus on advancing funding applications and scaling in a disciplined, structured way.

L’EAUTELIER

L’EAUTELIER creates ocean-derived interiors, amenities and experiences for hotels, most notably through the Seaweed Suite — described as the world’s first algae-based licensable hotel room concept.

Founder Morgan RÆ joined the programme with a detailed business plan but no clear way to communicate what the company did or how it made money. Through mentorship, the concept was sharpened around a licensable suite with an e-commerce layer, allowing hotel guests to purchase the ocean-derived products they experience in the room. By the end of the programme, L’EAUTELIER had a three-year cash flow projection, updated pitch materials, and template contracts for hotel partners. The Seaweed Suite makes its public debut on 28 May in Wageningen, NL, at the 10th Anniversary Young Algaeneers Symposium.

Round 2 now underway

Building on the results of the first cohort, the Algae Accelerator has launched its second round with a newly selected group of SMEs. The six-month programme follows a structured three-sprint format, offering up to €10,000 in mentoring value per company.

Follow AlgaeProBANOS on LinkedIn to stay updated!

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