Intervention Area: Transitioning Blue Economy Sectors

Background and rationale 

As ocean-based industries expand and climate-induced pressures intensify, Europe must ensure that its ocean governance models are supported by robust data infrastructure, participatory processes, and equitable innovation pathways. The Partnership asserts that several common challenges can be tackled by stimulating cooperative cross-sectoral technological actions and developments. Embedding ocean and water governance into the EU’s strategic agenda, the recent EU Ocean Pact endorses actions and developments across all sectors, member states, and society that address the accelerating threats to marine biodiversity, climate resilience, and the economic viability of the European blue economy by consolidating fragmented policies into a unified strategic vision. The related Ocean Act will be logically interlinked with the EU's competitiveness strategy by serving as the core legislative tool to implement the "Boosting the competitiveness of the EU sustainable blue economy" priority of the EU Ocean Pact and expected follow-up initiatives and actions, such as the EU Ocean Observation Initiative and the Industrial Maritime Strategy. 

The Partnership accelerates these efforts, because improving conditions for sustainability and reducing environmental pressures provides pathways to greater competitiveness and strategic autonomy, for example by enhancing productivity, developing cost-efficient solutions and fostering technological innovation. In addition, the activities under this IA contribute to the just and digital transition, as well as co-existence and multi-use of activities and infrastructures at sea. Altogether, these aspects are embedded within a context of targeted funding and public sector support, the existing business R&I environment, opportunities for training and knowledge exchange with industry-academia collaboration, and ideally a supportive regulatory environment. 

The IA is focusing on the blue economy sectors of energy, food, underwater domain and communication infrastructures, representing central prerequisites for the transition. The integrity of key infrastructures is essential, while ensuring sustainability, security and safety for the environment and society remains the premise. Quintessential connectivity to closely related IAs extends to the IA Managing Sea Uses with reference to the development of innovative Decision Support Tools (DST) and ecosystem-based management of human activities for sustainable resource management, conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems, conflict resolution, disaster risk reduction, economic development, and addressing climate change challenges. Intrinsic relations extend to the IA Blue Bioresources in relation to the production and processes of blue bioresources, as well as to the IA Resilient Coastal Communities and Businesses in relation to commercial activities and coastal infrastructures. To deliver truly systemic transition pathways, the IA mobilises broad industrial stakeholder involvement and diversified funding, while addressing regulatory challenges, social acceptance of the developments of the sectors (license to operate), socio-economic dimensions of transition, corporate social responsibility, and new ocean data collection and sharing models needed for a knowledge-driven ocean economy.   

Key thematic areas 

Through this IA, the Partnership will support activities that accelerate the transition by improving the security, safety, and integrity of infrastructure, enhancing the sustainability of sector value chains, increasing the circularity of infrastructure materials, and providing sustainable solutions for climate-related mitigation and adaptation. These efforts aim to strengthen societal and economic resilience, grounded in principles of inclusive social innovation.

All activities should develop and apply tools, techniques and processes that facilitate, monitor and assess the impacts of marine interventions, develop new or improve tools and regimes for mitigating human-induced stressors in support of Cumulative Effects Assessments (CEA), and improve the understanding and quantification of ecosystem responses to direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures. 

Activities should also promote standardisation in innovation and procurement processes to scale up the application of new solutions to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). 

In addition, projects are expected to channel data into the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EDITO) platform and ideally apply digital twinning and/or artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. The activities may apply digital twins and/or Virtual Research Environments (VREs) to enable both direct developments (e.g., real-time simulation, mission planning, anomaly detection, remote research capabilities), and indirect developments, including collaborative data analysis, the facilitation of complex marine operations, and broadening access to data and analytics (c.f. IA Managing Sea Uses). The development of advanced technologies, intelligent systems and data-driven solutions will further expand this capacity, as advanced sensors and smart imaging devices, next-generation imaging instruments, hyperspectral radiometers and acoustic systems, integrated on autonomous platforms – either individually or in concert – augment the monitoring of the physical, chemical and biological environment, improve the spatial and temporal resolution, and ultimately support ecosystem health assessment and regulatory compliance. 

Activities should foster co-creation and collaboration to improve the ability of scientists and policymakers to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts (including multi-use) on the ocean and society. Finally, activities should support the creation of markets, business and funding models by identifying opportunities for profit within appropriate bounds of social licence, including at regional level (cf. EMFAF).

1. Secure and Sustainable Marine Infrastructures for Strategic Autonomy 

The thematic area focuses on the sustainability, accessibility, security, and safety of all activities across the blue economy and how to address these within the legal, economic, social, operational, and policy context. It supports the development of intelligent, AI-driven monitoring and control systems for remote intervention on critical offshore assets, spanning renewable energy installations, aquaculture, and communication infrastructures such as underwater cables. 

The R&I activities are expected to address the following aspects:  
Management of complex safety, security and risk conditions and activities within an overall sustainability context.

• Management, control and securing the integrity of key infrastructures, including the establishment of integrated monitoring of strategic infrastructures in their natural surrounding through robotic and sensor-based systems for the surveillance and maintenance of key underwater infrastructures ensuring their safety, resilience and sustainability as critical components of the growing blue economy.
• Management and monitoring of operations requiring knowledge-based decision-making, supported by faster, reliable, safe and secure control systems for remote intervention, alongside efficient strategies for preparedness, prevention, containment, and subsequent environmental remediation approaches.
• To address current geopolitical shifts, R&I efforts shall deliver new strategically reoriented methodologies, tools, and approaches that fundamentally enhance the EU strategic autonomy beyond mere technical refinement.
• Digitally assisted exploration and observation of the underwater domain to monitor, understand, and sustainably manage the ocean environments.
• Improvement of autonomous and intelligent robotic systems for deep-sea exploration, enabling efficient and continuous monitoring and high-resolution data collection, overcoming the limitations of traditional vessels and stationary observatories.
• Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to analyse large, heterogeneous datasets from multiple sensors and platforms strengthening the informed decision-making for sustainable blue economy activities.
• Through development of "local digital twins" R&I activities will contribute to building Europe's critical digital infrastructure and enhance its capacity for maritime surveillance and energy security.

2. Enabling Circularity and Ecosystem-Based Transition  

Recent experience indicated that a more targeted and coherent approach is required to effectively support the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and related marine environmental policies. Within this thematic area, R&I activities are therefore expected to address the following aspects:  

• Promoting circularity and reducing/preventing waste and pollution (especially regarding new materials), sustainable solutions for the construction, maintenance, and decommissioning of marine infrastructures.
• Elaborating business models for possible investment mechanisms to facilitate the re-use of installations in the marine domain, addressed from a legal, environmental, and economic perspective.
• Enabling the pursuit of climate neutrality, including consideration of activities and consequences related to safe and acceptable possibilities for the sequestration of carbon in a biotic or abiotic form in the marine domain.
• Improving resilience to natural disasters, including adaptation to extreme events in offshore operations.
• Increasing natural capital (enhancing marine biodiversity), and contributing to ‘good environmental status’ of the marine environment, such as:
  • contributing to restoration of ecosystems in the form of nature-based solutions (NbS) and their scaling up to higher TRL-levels
  • taking a holistic approach to the effects of interventions with attention to cumulative impacts and the extent of compatibility (/trade-offs) between different functions.

3. Co-creation of a Just and Inclusive Digital Transition 

This thematic area places strong emphasis on the socio-economic and legal dimensions of the green and digital transitions shaping the future of the blue economy. Implementing activities will be expected to contribute to science-based research and innovation to support more inclusive, equitable, and resilient pathways for ocean-dependent societies and sectors, and support the following aspects: 

• Diversification and promotion of social innovation and, business models, as well as legal frameworks for ensuring co-existence of sectors and social license to operate, with a focus on empowering coastal communities and smaller actors.
• Development of new technologies and data models ensuring equitable access to and benefit-sharing from new digital technologies and data (e.g., Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence).
• Improvement of marine data sharing across science, policy, society and the private sector based on FAIR and CARE Principles.
• Socio-economic research on the just transition of blue economy workforces, identifying opportunities for new skills and upskilling in support of a digitalised and circular economy.

Implementation, enablers, and synergies 

The proposed IA will be implemented not just through a single R&I call but rely on a comprehensive portfolio of activities that span the entire R&I value chain. The Partnership’s multi-faceted implementation strategy, as evidenced in its past cycles, allows it to go beyond traditional calls. The IA is designed to activate different tools, making it a truly "realised" concept. Successful delivery will depend heavily on the integration of innovative Nature-based-solutions (NbS) and advanced digital technologies across the supported activities.

Furthermore, implementation will include a Pilot Action on Public-Private Data Sharing. This activity seeks to acquire observational data from non-academic actors, including industry, for integration into the EDITO data lake and for use in associated applications and decision-support tools. Direct and meaningful engagement of stakeholders is essential, ensuring that all sectors addressed by this IA are represented. The R&I activities will draw on expertise from a wide range of disciplines, including mathematics, physics, marine, maritime and aquaculture sciences, economics, legal studies, political sciences, and science diplomacy, and will actively involve research infrastructures as well as national competent authorities. Co-creation processes will be aligned with the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” and its regional lighthouses. 

Complementary policy frameworks, including the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Common Fisheries Policy, and the management of Marine Protected Areas with a particular focus on regional implementation, will be addressed through connections with the IA Managing Sea Uses.

Outcomes and Impacts

The R&I investments in this IA are expected to yield transformative and measurable impact across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. By focusing on a "digital and resilient" approach, the IA will ensure that these outcomes are directly measurable against the Partnership key performance indicators (KPIs) and SRIA objectives.

• Environmental Impact: The R&I will fundamentally contribute to marine biodiversity and ecosystems restoration by strengthening the scientific basis for effective management measures. This focus will enhance ecosystem resilience, including for vital sectors like fisheries, through the development of agile frameworks to address environmental challenges. A key deliverable is the increased uptake of sustainable practices and measurable reduction in the environmental footprint of blue economy sectors, driven by a strong emphasis on circularity and Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
• Social Impact: The Partnership is committed to fostering a just and inclusive transition, notably by promoting social innovation models and providing opportunities for developing new work-life skills and knowledge across the blue workforce. Crucially, the IA aims to secure the social acceptance of new and improved offshore structures by actively engaging citizens and workers in the development process. This approach, which supports the resilience of coastal and island communities (see also IA5), ensures that the Partnership contributes directly to the well-being and prosperity of those who rely on the sea by addressing the socio-economic dimensions of the transition.
• Economic Impact: The IA will generate new, high-value knowledge, sophisticated tools, and robust platforms that empower actors to driving a just and inclusive transition. This translates directly into the creation of sustainable blue markets and opportunities, providing science-based, cost-efficient solutions and strategic recommendations for economic development to policymakers. Ultimately, the IA will strengthen the global competitiveness of European blue economy sectors by promoting standardisation and scaling up of new technologies to higher TRLs.