The data comes from the Hub Azul Dealroom, which brings together 1,210 blue economy start-ups worldwide (47 from Portugal). Most of the value is concentrated in the areas of robotics, shipping, climate technology, clean energies and energy efficiency.
Start-ups Bluetech (technology startups linked to the sea) e Blue Economy (startups linked to blue economy) have a valuation of 92.8 billion euros in global terms, according to data provided exclusively to Jornal Económico by Hub Azul, based on the Hub Azul Dealroom platform, where there are currently 1,210 global blue economy startups (47 Portuguese). Portugal has “great potential in this area” and the capacity to generate “great added value” despite having an “embryonic ecosystem”, according to the coordinator of Hub Azul Portugal, Gonçalo Faria.
Of this total of 92.8 billion euros, 63.8%, the equivalent of 59.5 billion euros, is concentrated in the areas of robotics, shipping, climate technology, clean energy or energy efficiency.
“11.3% are classified with robotics, 13.4% are classified as shipping, 31.5% are classified as climate technology. 7.6% are classified as clean energy or energy efficiency,” according to data from the Blue Hub.
The co-ordinator of the Hub Azul Portugal project, Gonçalo Faria, believes that the value contributed by these companies as global trends serve as “benchmarks” for Portugal to direct its strategy.
“Analysing these trends gives us very relevant information about the path we should follow in terms of research, but also in terms of innovation, with the development of new products and new solutions. It allows us to realise in which areas international investors are more interested, in which areas the bet is greater, which means a greater capacity to attract international investment,” Gonçalo Faria told Jornal Económico.
The coordinator of Blue Hub Portugal emphasises that Portugal “has enormous potential in these areas”, but taking into account the data from the Hub Azul Dealroom, a platform created as part of the Hub Azul Portugal project, which brings together investment funds with international startups and these with anchor companies from the Portuguese ecosystem, “reveals that there is still a lot of work to be done”.
Gonçalo Faria emphasises that of the 47 Portuguese startups that are registered in the Hub Azul Dealroom, “representing 3.8% of the total), eight have a registered valuation of 194 million euros, equivalent to 0.2% of the total valuation of the sample.
The coordinator of Hub Azul Portugal adds that Tekever alone absorbs 125 million euros of valuation, or 64% of the total.
“Even so, it's interesting to see that of the eight startups [with a registered valuation of 194 million euros] (Tekever, Inclita Seaweed Solutions, Oceano Fresco, Cargofive, Meight, Sensefinity, Exogenus Therapeutics and Bitcliq), four work on digitising processes (Bitcliq, Sensefinity, Meight and CargoFIve) and one works mainly on ocean sensing and observation (Tekever),” says Gonçalo Faria.
Portugal has high added value potential
For Gonçalo Faria, Portugal has an “embryonic ecosystem” that has “high potential” for added value.
Gonçalo Faria emphasises that one of the tasks of Hub Azul Portugal is to “develop mechanisms” that seek, through the seven hubs that will be created on the Portuguese mainland, to “take advantage of the excellent research that is being done in Portugal, in these and other areas, to create new companies, products and solutions that meet the trends and needs of international markets”.
The coordinator of Hub Azul Portugal considers that the country is facing an “opportunity”, and emphasises the importance of the Hub Azul Dealroom platform as it “provides very relevant economic intelligence to align research and innovation with international investment trends”.
Aquaculture and shipping gain prominence
In global terms, the data also shows that 82.5% of the valuation [92.8 billion euros] of Bluetech and Blue Economy startups in the robotics category were created after 2015.
“This figure is approximately 20% for the aquaculture area and 29.6% for the shipping”, emphasises the data taken from the Hub Azul Dealroom.
Bluetech and Blue Economy startups in the offshore area are worth 1.8 billion euros.
“45% of this assessment concerns companies created after 2015. Within this classification are infrastructure technologies, maintenance, monitoring, digitalisation, etc.”, explains Hub Azul.
In the area of offshore wind (offshore wind) this figure stood at 1.7 billion euros and 33% relates to startups created after 2015.
Offshore wind area achieves greater growth
Bluetech and Blue Economy startups linked to wind power offshore have seen remarkable growth.
Data from Hub Azul Dealroom confirms an increase of 102% between 2021 and 2022. Robotics is also following the trend with growth of 65%.
Start-ups, on the other hand Bluetech e Blue Economy in the area seaweed increased by 40% when comparing 2022 with the first nine months of 2023.
Major investment is concentrated in robotics and shipping
Investing in start-ups Bluetech e Blue Economy in the area of robotics totalled 1.5 billion euros, reaching a growth of close to 200% compared to 2021.
“This figure was greatly influenced by Anduril's series E of 1.3 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros) from December 2022,” explains Hub Azul.
Investing in start-ups in 2022 Bluetech e Blue Economy, in the area of shipping, was 1.5 billion euros, an approximate growth of 200% compared to 2021.
“This figure was greatly influenced by Flexport's series E of 934 million dollars (883 million euros) in February 2022,” explains Hub Azul.
Investment in start-ups in 2022 Bluetech e Blue Economy and the offshore was 145 million euros, up 76% compared to 2021.
Comparing 2022 with the first nine months of 2023, investment in this area stood at 198 million euros, “greatly influenced by an operation in August 2023 of 150 million pounds (172 million euros) in growth equity of Venterra, a company operating in the floating offshore wind, by Beyond Net Zero,” emphasises Hub Azul.
Investing in start-ups in 2022 Bluetech e Blue Economy in the aquaculture area totalled 233 million euros, an approximate growth of 6% compared to 2021.
“Comparing 2022 with the first nine months of 2023 there were only two rounds above B series, both for EFishery, in May and July,” says Hub Azul.
In analysing this data, the Blue Hub points out that in the most scalable industries, such as robotics and shipping, “We have seen the emergence of late VC operations with large sums, marking a separation from the traditional domain of seeds and A series”.
The Blue Hub emphasises that climate technology dominates the total evaluation, with approximately one third, “perhaps because it is well identified as a potential for sustainable investment”.
The Hub Azul Dealroom platform is part of the Hub Azul Portugal project, funded by the European Commission under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). Fórum Oceano is responsible for creating the global business model for Hub Azul, in conjunction with its Strategic Management Board, chaired by the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy.
News published on the basis of the original article in Jornal Económico: Portugal has high potential in a blue economy worth 92 billion worldwide | Jornal Económico (jornaleconomico.pt)