Artigos de Opinião

The second day of Matosinhos Business2Sea featured a high-level Portugal–Canada Blue Cooperation session, focused on how the Hub Azul Network can support closer collaboration between Portugal and Canada in building a shared acceleration platform for investment, technology, and maritime entrepreneurship.

The Fórum Oceano – Portuguese Blue Economy Cluster will provide digital integration services for the Japanese blue start-up ecosystem, led by the Marine Open Innovation Institute (MaOI), into the Hub Azul Dealroom investment database.

On Tuesday, 22 July 2025, the stage at the #OeirasBlueTechOceanForum hosted the panel “Hub Azul Portugal Ecosystem: a One-stop Shop of Lab2Market Blue Innovation”, dedicated to the Hub Azul Portugal network and its various regional hubs.

At the Brazil National Sustainability Conference 2025 in Vitória, Sérgio Leandro, Director of the Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar (ESTM) at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and Hub Azul Peniche – SmartOcean, delivered a strong message:

On 3 June 2025, during a meeting of the Hub Azul Portugal network in Peniche, members had the opportunity to visit the ongoing construction of the future Hub Azul Peniche – Smart Ocean facilities.

On 10 June 2025, Hub Azul Portugal and the Portugal Blue Digital Hub hosted the session “Shaping the Future of Portugal’s Blue Economy” at The Startup Reef during the United Nations Ocean Conference (#UNOC3) in Nice, France.

In Athens, Fórum Oceano participated in a high-level panel discussion titled “Maritime Cooperation — Safeguarding the Blue Economy and Marine Biodiversity: Navigating the Blue Horizon” during the 8th edition of Circle the Med – The Mediterranean Forum.

The Hub Azul Portugal network participated in the final event of the Biobanco Azul Português project, held at the Cruise Terminal of Porto de Leixões.

In April, a delegation from Hub Azul Portugal visited LHEEA Nantes – the Hydrodynamics, Energy and Atmospheric Environment Research Laboratory, founded in 1977 and located on the École Centrale Nantes campus. The visit is part of the network’s ongoing efforts to benchmark international best practices and foster sustainable ocean innovation.

It was a historic moment for Hub Azul Portugal and for the national Blue Economy. After overcoming several challenges, construction began on the Hub Azul Leixões – Polo I ocean basin, a state-of-the-art infrastructure for testing and developing ocean technology.

A delegation from Hub Azul Leixões – Polo I paid an institutional visit to the Centro de Investigación Mariña (CIM) / ECIMAT – Estación de Ciencias Mariñas de Toralla, in Vigo, a leading infrastructure in the field of applied marine research.

The Hub Azul Portugal Network, in conjunction with Fórum Oceano, was highlighted as a benchmark example in the European Blue Economy during BlueInvest Day, the leading European event dedicated to investment, innovation and competitiveness in the blue sector.