The blue economy encompasses economic activities that depend on marine resources. Within this economic sector, the blue bioeconomy stands out, based on the intelligent and sustainable use of marine biological resources to develop/produce high value-added products and services. Globally, this sector is projected to grow, supported by Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI).

However, in Portugal, the blue bioeconomy sector faces a mismatch between scientific research and industry: around 36% of stakeholders are concentrated in RDI, while only 8% are involved in the final stage of the value chain, the product generated by ID. This gap between scientific research and industry is known as the innovation valley of death—a critical interval between technological maturity levels TRL4 to TRL7—where the technological solution has already left the exploratory phase but is not yet ready for commercial scalability.

The valley of death remains one of the biggest challenges for technological innovation; here, many technological solutions face difficulties, not only due to limited public and private funding and insufficient institutional support, but also because the transition from scientific research to marketable products and services requires specialized skills.

In Portugal, this challenge is even more relevant, since the business fabric constitutes 58% of the entities in the blue bioeconomy value chain, consisting mainly of SMEs (76%) and an emerging group of start-ups (13%). These entities—SMEs and start-ups—face significant obstacles such as complex regulatory requirements, limited financial capacity, and difficulties of various kinds. Many start-ups in their early stages are the result of academic initiatives, which reinforces the need for technical and organizational skills. In this context, it is essential to develop technical and organizational skills focused on the blue economy, capable of transforming scientific knowledge and innovative ideas into products and services with real commercial viability.

Blue technical skills relate to the specialized field of scientific and technological knowledge applied in areas ranging from marine resource bioprospecting to biomass cultivation (i.e., microalgae, macroalgae, microorganisms, and aquaculture), industrial process engineering and biorefinery, molecular biology and bioinformatics, product formulation and development, system digitization and automation, sustainability and environmental engineering, and others. Blue organizational competencies, on the other hand, involve knowledge and skills that ensure the link between science and the market. They include strategic competencies, governance and partnerships, R&D competencies, IP and technology transfer, regulatory surveillance competencies, compliance and biosafety, operations and supply chain skills, sustainability and impact skills (i.e., LCA, ESG, and circular economy), data and digital skills, financing and incentives skills (i.e., fundraising, project management), risk management and continuity, and others.

B2E CoLAB promotes a diverse set of training activities in the field of blue bioeconomy, with the aim of equipping professionals and entrepreneurs with technical and organizational skills that are highly relevant to the sector – basic principles of knowledge transfer. A significant example is the partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), which includes offering a course unit in Aquaculture and Blue Biotechnology in a postgraduate program. This course focuses on the sustainable management of marine resources and aquaculture, providing participants with a holistic view of the sector, as well as tools to assist in decision-making and to implement innovative and environmentally responsible practices.

Contributing decisively to the consolidation and sustainable strengthening of the blue bioeconomy in Portugal, B2E CoLAB stands out for promoting technical and organizational skills in the blue economy. By accelerating the transformation of scientific knowledge into high-value technological solutions, it enables the transition from science to the market.