Collaborations and clusters play a significant role in promoting innovation and business in the blue bioeconomy. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the role that clusters are playing in promoting regional resilience, as they offered a vital collaboration bridge between businesses and policymakers across various regions of Europe. Furthermore, the presence of clusters in certain regions is correlated with stronger innovation trends, higher economic performance, and better employment outcomes, which is consistent with the rationale of cluster policy and its main objective – to improve innovation and competitiveness at the firm level, increasing resilience. In the EU-27 there are over a thousand cluster organisations, whose members are, on average, 70% SMEs, 10% large companies and 8% research organisations (1). Clusters account for almost 25% of total EU employment (2).

With an estimated value of over US$3 billion by 2030 (3), the blue bioeconomy sector has enormous potential, encompassing a wide range of sectors, including aquaculture, biorefineries, marine biotechnology, and ocean energy. Thanks to collaborative synergy between different actors such as companies, research institutions, and governments, common challenges are identified and, consequently, innovation opportunities arise. Clusters, as groups of companies representing economic agents and institutions with nearby locations – with sufficient scale to develop expertise, services, resources, suppliers, and specialized skills (2) – have the potential to help create an environment conducive to innovation, fostering close cooperation and knowledge sharing.

In Portugal, the Ocean Forum – Portuguese Sea Cluster is formally recognized by the Portuguese Government as the Portuguese Maritime Competitiveness Cluster. The Ocean Forum is leveraged through its massive ecosystem of over 150 members, including companies, business associations, R&D centers, higher education institutions, local authorities and other associative organizations (4). The Ocean Forum is thus well-positioned and acts as a key partner and facilitator of strategic cooperation between B2E and the different players in the sector. A recent example of excellent collaboration between the Ocean Forum, B2E and other partners is the Portugal Blue Digital Hub project – an innovation hub created to support all sectors of the blue economy, which recently received the European Commission’s Seal of Excellence in recognition of its “high quality in a highly competitive evaluation process” (learn more here).

There are also relevant success stories of blue bioeconomy cluster collaboration in the European context.

A prime example is the NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster in Norway, which brings together more than 100 companies, research institutions and other actors in the Norwegian fish industry. Through sustainable innovation projects and by facilitating interaction across the entire industry, the NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster has achieved significant results in the blue bioeconomy sector, including the development of new products, the creation of new jobs, and the improvement of the competitiveness of the Norwegian fish industry sector (5).

Another successful blue bioeconomy cluster is the Iceland Ocean Cluster, which brings together more than 70 companies and research institutions in the Icelandic sea and fish industry. Thanks to its activity, the Iceland Ocean Cluster has contributed to the growth and development of Iceland’s blue bioeconomy sector and has placed the country on the map as a leader in this field (6).

Recognizing them as strategic partners, due to their vast and complementary knowledge in the fish sector, B2E collaborates with both in identifying challenges and opportunities in the valorization of marine co-products, relevant to the successful management of the sector in Portugal and the consequent generation of new business models, new value chains, new technologies and processes, new intermediary businesses, etc. This will result in a framework for developing a roadmap for the valorization of marine co-products in Portugal, leveraging research and business partnerships between the three entities and their respective partners. This is a bilateral initiative funded by the EEA Grants that will be implemented throughout 2023 (learn more here).

The European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) is another example of how collaboration and clusters can drive innovation and the market. The ECCP is a platform that brings together clusters from across Europe, functioning as an online hub for cluster stakeholders (cluster organizations, policymakers, and other ecosystem-related stakeholders) to connect, communicate, and collaborate, providing various services. Through the ECCP, blue bioeconomy sector clusters can collaborate on challenges.

Common opportunities and opportunities, sharing best practices and exploring new ways of working together. To leverage the international strategic positioning of its value proposition for the sector, and to boost the results of its activity in an international context, B2E joined the ECCP in May 2022, where 173 research organizations, 772 SMEs, 148 large companies and 181 other national entities are registered (1).

In conclusion, through partnership and proximity of different actors, clusters play a crucial role in building bridges between different sectors, supporting the joint definition of strategies and creating new opportunities. B2E has embarked on this strategy since its creation in 2019, entered the Blue Bioeconomy sector in 2020, and has been working every day since then to actively contribute to the sustainable development of aquaculture and the use of marine living resources, promoting international collaborations, sharing knowledge and information, and providing relevant services to its entire ecosystem, linking research, education, innovation and business. Collaborate with us and help shape a new blue bioeconomy! Learn more here!

References:

1. European Cluster Collaboration Platform (2021). European Cluster Panorama 2021

2. European Commission. Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Accessed February 2023, available at https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy/cluster-policy_en

3. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2017). The Sea Economy in 2030

4. Fórum Oceano (2022). Accessed February 2023, available at https://forumoceano.pt/en/associacao-2/

5. NCE Seafood Innovation (2021). Annual Report 2021