In mid-September, representatives from the regions of Crete, Algarve, Brittany, Basque Country, Galicia, Occitania, as well as research infrastructures such as the European Marine Biological Research Infrastructure Cluster (EMBRIC, of which ECIMAT is part), met in Heraklion, Greece, at the initiative of EMBRIC to discuss the best way to foster the development of the blue bioeconomy.
Participants agreed on a joint strategic agenda that includes a comprehensive mapping of regional experience, an exchange of best practices and a joint effort to establish a pan-European investment platform to overcome common challenges, such as attracting SMEs or financing late-stage projects. “We want marine knowledge and sustainable innovation to be key drivers for the growth of the blue bioeconomy,” summarized Eleni Hatziyanni, Director of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Region of Crete.
During the meeting, all participating regions presented their current state of political engagement in the blue bioeconomy space. Speakers highlighted specific investment priorities and competitive strengths of each area. Annie Audic, representing the French region of Brittany, highlighted that “Blue biotechnology is a promising and rapidly evolving sector that is not yet fully exploited. This is partly due to the lack of definition of what blue biotechnology encompasses”. For this reason, participants agreed that the sector will advance more effectively when regional stakeholders map their diverse knowledge and activities and compile examples of existing best practices in science and economics. Blue biotechnology stakeholders will also explore the opportunity to establish a joint “Interregional Investment Platform”. A study published by the European Investment Bank recommends investment platforms as financing structures and co-financing or risk-sharing agreements that combine the resources of several investors and are partially supported by a public contribution.
Another topic raised during the conference was the possibility of closer cooperation between academic infrastructures, regional experts and businesses. “We need to build a mosaic of blue growth”, stressed Ibon Cancio, representing the Basque region. Bernard Kloareg, who leads the EMBRIC group and directs EMBRC-France, closed the meeting by highlighting that maritime regions can use Research Infrastructures to grow and accelerate the growth of the blue bioeconomy. A follow-up meeting is planned for the end of 2018.
About EMBRIC: The European Marine Biological Research Infrastructure Cluster (EMBRIC) is designed to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and innovation in marine biological resources. EMBRIC aims to promote new applications derived from marine organisms in fields such as drug discovery, novel foods and food ingredients, selective aquaculture breeding and cosmetics. EMBRIC, launched in June 2015, will be active until May 2019 and is coordinated by Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
Este proxecto recibiu financiamento do programa de investigación e innovación Horizon 2020 da Unión Europea en virtude do acordo de subvención nº 654008.
