«Building a sustainable and innovative Blue Economy: mastering digital opportunities and fostering resilience»
 

The vision of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, a European partnership under the Horizon Europe Programme, is to design, steer and support a just and inclusive transition to a regenerative, resilient, and sustainable blue economy. This EU Partnership aims to foster a climate-neutral, sustainable, and innovative blue economy in Europe by supporting research, innovation, and collaboration across marine and maritime sectors.

This fourth co-funded call aims to support transnational research and innovation projects of 36 months duration, addressing one of the four priority areas below (subject to funded priority areas by participating funding organisations, see Annex):
 

• Priority area 1: Transitioning the blue economy sectors for sustainability and strategic autonomy
• Priority area 2: Managing sea-uses by advancing digital and ecosystem-based approaches
• Priority area 3: Promoting sustainable blue bioresources through innovation in marine production and harvesting
• Priority area 4: Building resilience in coastal communities with infrastructure and businesses

Projects in this co-funded call must be impact-driven contributions to the transformation into a blue economy for a more resilient future and towards carbon neutrality targets, following an impact pathway approach.

The proposals are recommended to consider a minimum of two European sea basins and to assess the project proposal’s impact on various basins. Proposals can target European regional seas such as Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Arctic, Barents Sea, Celtic Sea, etc. however the recommended sea basins to address are: the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The fourth co-funded call of this EU Partnership pools national and regional financial resources through the participation of 33 funding organisations from 28 countries combined with the contribution from the European Union. 25 Member States, 7 Associated Countries and 1 Third Country are participating: Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine. The total estimated budget is about EUR 38 million. 

To be eligible, each consortium must be composed of eligible partners from at least three different countries participating in the call and requesting financial support from at least three different funding organisations participating in the call. In addition, the projects must involve at least two independent legal entities from two different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, eligible for EU funding in this call for (pre-)proposal. Self-funded partners, including partners from countries (and/or regions) not participating in this co-funded call, are allowed but do not contribute to the minimum eligible consortium size. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to involve stakeholders (i.e., SMEs, industries, authorities, public administrations, associations, as well as civil society organisations) as partners or self-funded partners (according to national/regional regulations) in their proposal. Stakeholder engagement in the research projects will enhance innovation, policy, and societal relevance and ultimately the impact of the projects.
 

Applicants must submit their pre-proposals before 16 November (15:00 CET). A first evaluation of pre-proposals will be organised and the deadline to submit full proposals is foreseen for June 2027.

Informative Webinar

A general information webinar will be organised on 29 September to answer your questions regarding the call. 
 

Brokerage Event

A matchmaking event will take place from Monday 14 September to Thursday 13 November and has the ambition to connect researchers, companies, and stakeholders from marine and maritime communities interested in the Partnership’s 4th Joint Transnational Call. To help you find a project to join, or partners for your project, you have the possibility to set up 20-minutes meetings with other participants during the matchmaking sessions of the event. More information here.

For more information: We invite you to regularly consult our website and social media channels to be kept updated on this major research funding opportunity. 

Contact: sbep.call-secretariat@uefiscdi.ro

 

Co-branded by

¹as recipients of the financial support, at the time of the closing of the call by 16/11/2026 and 14/06/2027