The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund has launched a €20 million open call and organisations can get up to 70% co-funding for their projects.
Any for-profit SME based in the EU (single participant or a member of a consortium) can apply.
Objectives
The aim of the call of proposals is to:
• Bring to market new products, services, processes, and business models in blue economy value chains and help advance their market-readiness;
• Develop sustainable and innovative blue economy in Europe's sea basins;
• Facilitate their access to other financing schemes for the next stages of their activities.
In order to achieve the objectives above, proposals should aim to:
- establishing new product and/or service and/or processes and/or business model in the blue economy value chains that contributes to one or more Commission political priorities, with a particular focus on the objectives targeted by the European Green Deal[3], including e.g. biodiversity, circular economy, digital earth and farm to fork strategies and the transition to a climate-neutral economy with reduced carbon and environmental footprint that is competitive on a global scale.
and/or
- shifting existing products and/or services and or processes and/or business model in the blue economy value chains towards the above mentioned political priorities and objectives.
A non-exhaustive list of relevant areas for the blue economy includes:
- the blue bioeconomy — the cultivation, husbandry or capture of living material from fresh or saltwater and activities based on the use or processing of this material
- digital transformation of ocean and coastal activities
- renewable energy — including energy from wind, sun (floating), tide, wave and thermal gradients; logistic or supporting activities in that area are covered
- enabling technologies such as sensors, corrosion or biofouling resistant materials or coating, digitisation, electricity transmission equipment, multi-purpose platforms
- production of new products from living or non-living resources that would otherwise be wasted
- cleaner shipping
- pollution monitoring, clean-up or management
- new facilities that support the diversification or energy efficiency of ports
- sustainable tourism aiming at reducing its carbon footprint or enhancing biodiversity, or efficiently managing resources (e.g. water, food and waste) or tourist flows (e.g. diversifying offer, addressing seasonality and safety)
Excluded areas are:
exploration or extraction of gas and petroleum
Activities could, for example, include trials, prototyping, validation, demonstration and testing in real- or close to real environment conditions, and market replication.
Applicants must explain how their proposals will advance towards the commercial phase by improving the market-readiness of innovative products and services and demonstrating their benefit to potential clients.
The deadline of the call is 16 February 2021.
To learn more about the call description and to apply go to: Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
Watch the Blue Economy Window 2020 Info Day here: EMFF information day 2020 | EASME (europa.eu)
