Category: News

Hub Azul Dealroom is the digital platform that connects start-ups and entrepreneurs with investors, companies and institutions in the Blue Economy sector.

By leveraging the power of digital connectivity and collaboration, HUB AZUL DEALROOM has the potential to revolutionise the Blue Economy, promoting responsible management of ocean resources while driving economic growth and innovation with impactful matchmaking suggestions.

With the confirmed presence of the Secretary of State for the Sea, Eng. José Maria Costa, this important event will also celebrate the signing of collaboration protocols and MoUs between Fórum Oceano and Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Startup Portugal, Euronext Lisbon, Katapult Ocean, BlueInvest and Porto de Lisboa, with the aim of developing the HUB AZUL DEALROOM platform and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

EVENT AGENDA

3:00 p.m. – OPENING SESSION

• Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon, Carlos Correia
• Secretary-General of Fórum Oceano, Ruben Eiras
• Director-General of the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, Marisa Silva

15h20 – PRESENTATION OF THE HUB AZUL DEALROOM PLATFORM

• Lead Manager of the Hub Azul project, Infrastructure Network for the Blue Economy, Gonçalo Faria
• Innovation Manager for the Hub Azul project, Manuel Melo

15h30 – SIGNING CEREMONY FOR THE OCEAN FORUM COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

Ocean Forum-Caixa Geral de Depósitos Protocol:
Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and CGD for partnerships in financing the sustainable blue economy, developing the Hub Azul Dealroom platform, and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

Fórum Oceano-Euronext Lisbon Protocol:
Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and Euronext Lisbon for the development of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

Fórum Oceano-Startup Portugal Protocol:
Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and Startup Portugal for the development of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

Fórum Oceano-Port of Lisbon Protocol:
Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and the Port of Lisbon for the development of a port innovation accelerator programme for the blue economy, in conjunction with the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

The following Memoranda of Understanding will be signed digitally due to scheduling issues.

Memorandum of Understanding between Fórum Oceano and Katapult Ocean:

Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and Katapult Ocean for the development of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

Memorandum of Understanding between Fórum Oceano and BlueInvest:

Establishes cooperation between Fórum Oceano and BlueInvest for the development of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform and the Hub Azul innovation ecosystem.

SPEECHES:

• Speech by António Nogueira Leite, President of Fórum Oceano
• Speech by Paulo Macedo, President of Caixa Geral de Depósitos
• Speech by Isabel Ucha, Chair of the Board of Directors of Euronext Lisbon
• Speech by António Dias Martins, CEO of Startup Portugal
• Speech by Carlos Correia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon
• Speech by Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, CEO of Katapult Ocean (video)
• Speech by Daniela Cedola, Partner at PWC Luxembourg (video)

16h15 – CLOSING OF THE EVENT
Speech by the Secretary of State for the Sea, José Maria Costa.

16:30h – Sea Tasting

(The event will be conducted in Portuguese.)

The president of Fórum Oceano, António Nogueira Leite, highlighted the partnerships with Euronext Lisbon and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), considering that ‘they are important for attracting new investors, providing access to new financial products and different forms of financing, creating conditions for the development of the maritime economy.’

Hub Azul Dealroom was launched today and is the first digital platform (https://hubazuldealroom.forumoceano.pt/intro) designed to quickly map business data from the Blue Economy and matchmake businesses between start-ups, SMEs and investors. There are already 1,045 start-ups registered on the platform (800 of which have raised capital), close to 1,200 investors and more than 100 large companies. The platform’s website shows 1,631 funding rounds.

The Hub Azul Dealroom is the digital platform for the global internationalisation of Portugal’s Blue Economy, promoted by Fórum Oceano (Portugal’s Blue Economy Cluster), in conjunction with the Strategic Management Council chaired by the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy of the Portuguese Ministry of Economy and Sea.

The Hub Azul Dealroom is funded by the Next Generation EU Fund – Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

António Nogueira Leite, president of Fórum Oceano, emphasised in his speech that ‘we are moving towards an economy in which, more than resources, it is skills that will be fundamental to the country’s growth’.

‘We have a unique opportunity here,’ Nogueira Leite stressed. The president of Fórum Oceano highlighted the partnerships with Euronext Lisbon and CGD, considering that ‘they are important for attracting new investors, providing access to new financial products and different forms of financing, creating conditions for the development of the maritime economy.’

Paulo Macedo highlighted the economic value of the sea to defend the importance of the platform. The issue of decarbonisation is particularly important to the banker.

The president of the Forum highlighted the importance of the protocols with Euronext Lisbon and Portugal’s largest bank, CGD.

Four Cooperation Protocols were signed on Monday between the Ocean Forum, led by António Nogueira Leite, and four institutions. At the Alcântara Maritime Station, the protocols were signed by the CEO of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Paulo Macedo; the president of StartUp Portugal, António Dias Martins; the president of EuroNext Lisbon, Isabel Ucha; and the president of the Port of Lisbon, Carlos Correia.

Two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were also signed with the world’s largest accelerator for blue economy start-ups, Katapult Ocean, and the European Commission’s Blue Invest Platform mechanism.

“The cooperation protocols that lay the foundations for these initiatives were signed today at the Alcântara Maritime Station. In addition to the agreement signed between Fórum Oceano and the Port of Lisbon Authority (APL), this ceremony also included the signing of three other cooperation protocols that Fórum Oceano established with Caixa Geral de Depósitos, StartUp Portugal and EuroNext Lisbon, as well as two memoranda of understanding with Katapult Ocean, the world’s largest accelerator for blue economy start-ups, and the Blue Invest Platform, the European Commission’s mechanism,” said the Port of Lisbon in a statement.

As part of the launch of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform, launched by Forum Oceano, the Port of Lisbon announced that it has launched an Innovation Acceleration Programme for the Blue Economy, in conjunction with the Hub Azul Portugal innovation ecosystem.

‘With this accelerator, the Port of Lisbon becomes the first port with a blue economy accelerator programme,’ says the institution, adding that ‘the goal is to create an innovation ecosystem capable of encouraging and scaling up relevant technologies in the fields of digitalisation, decarbonisation, intermodality and circularity in the areas of the maritime economy.’

This accelerator will work in conjunction with the Hub Azul Dealroom platform, also launched today by Fórum Oceano, which is the world’s first blue economy business platform.

For Carlos Correia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of APL, “this is an important milestone for the Port of Lisbon in the areas of economy, innovation, sustainability and business promotion. With the launch of a technological accelerator, we want to take on a central role in scientific and technological development linked to the sea. We are a company linked to the sea, in a country linked to the sea, and we are determined to promote the blue economy in a circular and sustainable way.”

The opening session was led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon, Carlos Correia, the Secretary-General of Fórum Oceano, Ruben Eiras, and the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy (DGPM), Marisa Silva.

The session was closed by the Secretary of State for the Sea, José Maria Costa, with the ceremony symbolically ending with the “ringing of the Euronext bell” marking the entry of the Hub Azul Dealroom digital platform into the market.

News from Jornal Económico: https://jornaleconomico.pt/noticias/nasceu-o-hub-azul-dealroom-e-ja-tem-1-045-startups-registadas/

The CEO of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Paulo Macedo, said that the bank is prepared to move forward with joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions in the field of the ocean economy, as part of the launch of a platform that facilitates investment in this area.

As part of the launch of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform – which aims to bring together start-ups, SMEs and investors in blue economy projects – the CEO of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Paulo Macedo, did not rule out possible joint ventures or future acquisitions to support the ocean-related economy.

The Hub Azul Dealroom platform, launched on Monday, uses artificial intelligence to connect various players in the blue economy investment market (investors, start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises) with common interests.

The technology identifies the profile of start-ups and matches them with investment funds on the platform, using open information from the Internet and Dealroom’s proprietary algorithm, which allows ‘access to credible information about investment types, investors, start-ups and the market,’ said Manuel Melo, innovation manager at Fórum Oceano. ‘The Portuguese economy can only grow if it takes advantage of its resources,’ said the professor at Nova School of Business and Economics.

That is why the project has attracted partners such as Caixa Geral de Depósitos, whose CEO, present at the ceremony, emphasised its relevance ‘in reducing the ecological footprint’ of companies and achieving zero emission targets. It was also in this context that he stated that CGD is prepared ‘to create joint ventures and carry out mergers and acquisitions,’ in addition to issuing sustainable bonds and green bonds.

In addition to Caixa Geral de Depósitos, another prominent partner is Euronext Lisbon itself. Its executive chair, Isabel Ucha, also referred to the central role that the blue economy has taken on in Europe. According to the CEO, in the last five years, the blue economy at Euronext has grown by 30% and now includes 200 companies in areas such as fishing, mining, maritime transport, tourism, among others.

News Jornal de Negócios: https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/mercados/detalhe/cgd-esta-preparada-para-joint-ventures-e-aquisicoes-no-ambito-da-economia-azul

The local authority has already established partnerships for new projects with the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, the Infante D. Henrique Nautical College and the Navy. The aim is to utilise the ecosystem of 25,000 companies and various research institutions located in the municipality.

Oeiras has around ten kilometres of coastline, several scientific and research institutions and companies linked to the sea, such as the Infante D. Henrique Nautical College, the Instituto Superior Técnico and the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, as well as 25,000 companies that generate around 26 billion in annual revenue, not counting the financial sector, to launch its blue economy hub. Partnerships already exist, some of them long-standing, such as with the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and the Navy, with new projects, and the local authority is also consulting companies based in the municipality to create projects for this hub.

“Today it is clear to everyone that water is a resource to which we must pay increasing attention, that it is a strategic asset that the country must rely on, and as we are a municipality with an available coastline, with this scientific and technological capacity and this entrepreneurial strength, this investment capacity already in place in the municipality, it would be a huge loss of opportunity if Oeiras did not draw up an action plan for the blue economy and thereby send a signal to the companies that are here and those that may want to come and invest in our territory, and to the scientific institutions and science centres that are here, as well as to cultural agents, sports agents, and other sectors involved in the development of the blue economy,” Pedro Patacho, Oeiras City Councillor for Science and Technology, told DN.

Establishment of a European school of blue economy
One of the projects of this blue hub that is already established is a partnership between the Oeiras City Council and IPMA to set up Oeiras Mar, a collaborative centre in Algés for research and innovation in the blue economy. “The IPMA campus will have an Ocean Engineering unit, which will be closely linked to issues of ocean robotics and unmanned marine vehicles, a liquid sample unit, which will be a structure to serve not only the IPMA, but also the University of Lisbon, the New University of Lisbon, among others, an interface unit with the economic sector, specialising in monitoring the process of patent registration, contracting with industry and technology transfer to the economy,‘ lists the mayor, adding that the local authority will channel its investment ’into improvements to buildings, reorganisation and refurbishment of outdoor spaces and reorganisation of accesses and the entire surrounding area”. This project represents an investment of around five million euros resulting from an IPMA application to the PRR and a further 3.5 to four million from Oeiras Municipal Council.

A memorandum of understanding has also been established with the Infante D. Henrique Nautical College, in which the Oeiras City Council undertakes to support the school in the renovation of all its buildings – including the swimming pool, diving tank, rowing training area and university residences. The planned investment for this project is €20 million: €15 million from PRR funds and €5 million from the local authority.

“What we are seeking to do, with the help of Fórum Oceano, the nautical school, FOR-MAR and the Directorate-General for Marine Resources, is to concentrate projects from institutions with approved PRR programmes on the nautical school’s campus, so that we have a world-class school in terms of maritime training, whether national, European and international certifications, short-term specialised technical training, whether vocational training equivalent to 12th grade, higher education at undergraduate and postgraduate level, or research and then research and development dynamics,‘ explains Pedro Patacho, emphasising that the goal is ’to make that campus what we could call the European School of the Blue Economy, a European benchmark in the training of seafarers and maritime professions.”

Full article published in Diário de Notícias: https://www.dn.pt/local/oeiras-esta-a-criar-hub-azul-com-grande-aposta-em-parceria-com-a-marinha-14830365.html

Application for Recovery and Resilience Plan funds approved

It will be ‘a living laboratory, essential for the development of services, goods and products in the areas of biotechnology, food and the enhancement of endogenous marine resources’ and will be established in the Fishing Port of Olhão in 2025, following a recently approved application led by the Municipality of Olhão.

The Algarve Blue HUB ‘will be created from the reconstruction and expansion of the existing building on the southern edge of the Olhão port area, on the eastern pier of the fishing port,’ according to the Olhão City Council.

‘In an area of 836 square metres, several laboratories for testing and cultivating marine organisms will be installed, providing the hub with capacity for molecular biology, general biology or pathology, including new technologies and robotics, bioprospecting for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries,’ it adds.

Now that the application has been approved, ‘the process is currently in the architectural and specialised design phase.’

The infrastructure will cost €4.4 million, shared between the Blue Fund and the local authority, and is the result of an application for funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, led by the Municipality of Olhão.

The consortium created to implement this project also includes the University of the Algarve, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, Docapesca, and S2AQUAcoLAB – Collaborative Laboratory for Sustainable and Intelligent Aquaculture.

‘These are the relevant partners for the implementation of the project, who have committed themselves to creating synergies that will boost development, attract companies and investment, and create jobs,’ says the local authority.

For António Pina, Mayor of Olhão, ‘the aim is to create conditions for a more competitive, cohesive and inclusive maritime economy, but also one that is more decarbonised and sustainable, with a greater capacity to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the climate and digital transitions, while strengthening the training and technical skills of workers and students in the maritime sector.’

News published based on the original news item from Sul Informação: https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2023/03/olhao-vai-ter-um-polo-hub-azul-para-potenciar-a-economia-do-mar/

A consortium agreement was signed on 11 March between the City Council, the University of Lisbon, Docapesca, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, and Fórum Oceano. The project will be submitted for funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) in the amount of €31 million.

The ‘Hub of Sea Unicorns’, said the Mayor of Lisbon, will ‘bring together start-ups and science’ and succeed in ‘growing companies in the maritime sector’.

At the end of the ceremony, which was attended by Ricardo Serrão Santos, Minister of the Sea, Carlos Moedas clearly expressed the importance of the project for the city, revealing that ‘if I had to choose one thing to achieve during my term of office, it would be this’.

The future construction, at Doca de Pedrouços, next to the Champalimaud Foundation and the Gulbenkian Foundation, aims to create the conditions for the consolidation of a blue hub of innovation, technology and business, capable of generating and consolidating an ecosystem of excellence, combining skills that ensure and develop synergies, capable of creating a space for dialogue and cooperation between universities and research centres, companies and entrepreneurs.

News published based on the original news item on the Lisbon City Council website: https://www.lisboa.pt/atualidade/noticias/detalhe/hub-do-mar-vai-avancar-na-doca-de-pedroucos

The Lisbon City Council approved the signing of a concession contract with the Lisbon Port Authority to install the Hub do Mar at Doca de Pedrouços, investing €26 million by 2098.

On Wednesday, Lisbon City Council approved the signing of a concession contract with APL – Administração do Porto de Lisboa (Port of Lisbon Authority) to install the Hub do Mar (Sea Hub) at Doca de Pedrouços, investing €26 million by 2098.

In a private meeting, the proposal to submit the concession contract between APL and the municipality to the Lisbon Municipal Assembly for approval was approved by the 17 members of the executive, with 12 votes in favour, including seven from the Novos Tempos coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), which governs without an absolute majority, four from the PS and one from Livre.

There were also four abstentions, two from the PCP and two from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), and one vote against from the BE, according to a source from the office of the mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), speaking to the Lusa news agency.

“In return, the municipality is obliged to pay a private use fee of €4.00/m²/month (four euros per square metre per month) on the concession area (7,484.00 m²), subject to annual updates, the proposal states, noting that there are initial discounts on the respective amount, namely 95% in the period between the signing of the contract and the start of the work, 90% while the work is pending, and 50% in the six months following the completion of the contract.

On 11 March 2022, a consortium agreement was signed between the municipality of Lisbon, Docapesca, Fórum Oceano, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and the University of Lisbon, with an application for funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), requesting €31 million for the construction of the Sea Hub.

Dubbed by Carlos Moedas as the Hub for Future Sea Unicorns, the project aims to be ‘an infrastructure with the capacity to cement and enhance a sustainable and circular blue economy, contributing to the strengthening of a highly innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem.’

The project also aims to promote ‘research and innovation activities, prototyping and testing, acting as an aggregating link, generating complementarities and synergies that enhance the ideal conditions for the success of innovative solutions and new businesses.’

The Sea Hub will be located at the Pedrouços Dock, in a space with a markedly industrial architectural character, linked to the blue economy, more specifically to the fisheries sector, and which, ‘currently isolated from the city, has the ideal conditions for the creation of a new centrality, based on the urban regeneration of this area’.

In the vote on this proposal, the BE council justified its vote against it with the need for a structure for the defence and conservation of the sea instead of a Hub for Sea Unicorns, considering that ‘the sea is not a resource to be exploited, but an ecosystem to be protected’.

The Hub do Mar project was part of the electoral programme of the Novos Tempos (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) coalition in the local elections of September 2021, in which the Social Democrat Carlos Moedas defeated the Socialist Fernanda Medina to become Mayor of Lisbon.

News published based on the original ECO news item: https://eco.sapo.pt/2023/06/14/camara-de-lisboa-preve-investir-26-milhoes-durante-75-anos-numa-concessao-para-instalar-hub-do-mar/

Matosinhos is one of the municipalities included in the Blue Hub, which is the Infrastructure Network for the Blue Economy. The Blue Hub network, which includes Lisbon, Oeiras, Porto, Matosinhos, Algarve, Peniche and the Azores, with a total investment of €87 million, will receive funding from the PRR – Resolution and Resilience Plan.

On Friday, the 11th, a first step was taken towards the Hub do Mar project, which will be installed at the Pedrouços Dock in Lisbon, with an application for €31 million in funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

The development of the project began with the signing of a consortium agreement between five partners, namely the City Council, the University of Lisbon, Docapesca, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and Fórum Oceano, at a ceremony attended by the Minister for the Sea, Ricardo Serrão Santos, which ended with a visit to the Doca de Pedrouços site that will host the Hub do Mar.

The Hub do Mar building will be constructed at Doca de Pedrouços, next to the Champalimaud Foundation and the Gulbenkian Foundation, and is intended to be a space to host ‘many companies’ in the maritime sector, promoting ‘value creation through innovation, technology and science’, bringing together universities and research centres.

The Minister for the Sea said that the PRR’s €31 million investment is 100% non-repayable, to build a new building at Doca de Pedrouços called Shared Ocean Lab, which will have several laboratories for different types of blue economy activities and scientifically equipped spaces, including for prototyping and biorefineries.

‘These will be shared-use infrastructures where multiple research and innovation projects can be developed,’ said Ricardo Serrão Santos, adding that the Sea Hub will also include “a space dedicated to a national biobank of marine resources, with all the laboratory equipment for its maintenance, as well as a “data centre” associated with the Blue Hub”, which is the Infrastructure Network for the Blue Economy.

Emphasising that marine science research in Portugal is ‘cutting edge’, including in terms of per capita production, which ranks first in the European Union according to the 2020 report by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the minister said that this ‘excellent scientific research and innovation’ at university level has not been reflected in terms of transition to the business world and the economy.

In this sense, the Blue Hub network, which includes Lisbon, Oeiras, Porto, Matosinhos, Algarve, Peniche and the Azores, with a total investment of €87 million, out of the €252 million earmarked by the PRR to develop a marine economy, will be ‘a very important starting point’ for linking science and innovation with the business world in this field, including blue biotechnology with pharmaceuticals, sensor engineering, autonomous underwater modules and aquaculture.

‘We have excellent research in the field of biotechnology. Now we need to move on to the productive economy,’ said Ricardo Serrão Santos, emphasising the importance of Portugal deepening its relationship with the sea, ‘recognising its potential to be a determining factor for the country’s economic growth’.

News published based on the original news item from Notícias Primeira Mão: https://noticiasprimeiramao.pt/matosinhos-faz-parte-do-hub-azul-juntando-ciencia-e-tecnologia-para-aproveitar-potencial-dos-recursos-marinhos/

The managing entity of the Peniche Hub of Hub Azul, Smart Ocean – Association for the Promotion and Development of the Peniche Sea Science and Technology Park, has approved the opening and launch of an international tender for the construction of the Smart Ocean Open Labs building.

Find out more: https://www.dinheirovivo.pt/empresas/lancado-concurso-de-56milhoes-para-incubadora-de-empresas-da-economia-do-mar-em-peniche–16878322.html