Project Parnters
BLUE MISSION BANOS 2030 is a consortia of 20 partners from 12 countries, coordinated by the SUBMARINER Network:
01 SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth EEIG
The SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth EEIG is a European economic interest grouping of organisations working on sustainable blue economy in the Baltic and North Sea. It brings together research institutes, businesses, public authorities and NGOs, and acts as a flagship network of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Its work spans maritime spatial planning and marine protected areas, low-trophic aquaculture, fisheries, blue biotechnology and start-up support, and it has coordinated more than 25 large multi-partner initiatives at the interface of science, policy and industry.
Project coordinator. Leads the communication and dissemination work, and the transnational Mission Arenas, and keeps the project aligned with other Mission Ocean lighthouses and EU-level processes.
02 Norwegian Institute for Water Research
The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) is an independent institute, and Norway’s premier research community in a series of topics related to water. NIVA’s main tasks besides research are environmental monitoring, assessment, consultancy, and problem solving for decision makers in both the public and private sectors. We work locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. We are experts on ecosystems in both freshwater and marine environments, from mountains, via lakes and rivers, to fjords, coasts and oceans.
Leads the work on National Mission Hubs, setting up and strengthening hub secretariats and advisory boards across the twelve countries. Hosts the Norwegian hub.
03 IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute is an independent research organisation working in close cooperation with industry and government agencies on applied environment and sustainability research. Their projects cover a broad range of topics with the environment and climate in focus with relevance for e.g. sustainable industrial production, water and resource efficiency as well as air and water pollution. The marine research includes projects on aquaculture, sources, impacts and solutions to marine pollution, impacts of shipping on the marine environment and sustainable use of marine resources.
Leads the work on innovation and finance pathways, including the mapping of testbeds, accelerators and support services, and the development of finance and investment models for scaling solutions. Hosts the Swedish hub.
04 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICES is an intergovernmental marine science organisation that provides impartial evidence on the state and sustainable use of the seas and ocean. It advances and shares scientific understanding of marine ecosystems and turns this knowledge into advice for conservation, management and sustainability goals, working through a network of national delegates and expert groups.
Leads monitoring and impact tracking, aligning regional monitoring with the European Environment Agency, WISE-Marine and the regional sea conventions, and organising the flow of data from the region to EU level.
05 Flanders Marine Institute
The Flanders Marine Institute is the coordination and information platform for marine and coastal research in Flanders. It is recognised internationally for marine knowledge brokerage, citizen science and public engagement, and serves as the Belgian focal point for the UN Ocean Decade.
Leads citizen engagement and the work of connecting the wider Mission community, including the citizen engagement playbook. Co-hosts the Belgian hub.
06 University of Southern Denmark
The Mission Ocean team at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) has a portfolio of several interdisciplinary projects across departments, covering marine and maritime sciences, stakeholder engagement and digital solutions. Our work is framed around the EU Mission Ocean objectives to protect and restore our oceans, and support the transition to a circular and carbon neutral blue economy.
Leads the synthesis of national hub work and the Blue Vision Strategies, setting out how the hubs continue beyond the project. Contributes to the Danish hub.
07 Geological Survey of Finland
Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) is a national geological research centre operating under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. GTK is an internationally known and recognized expert organization in applied earth sciences. The geological earth resources of strategic and economic importance are in the core of GTK’s research mission and GTK has skills and knowledge in the area of environmental impacts of mining, mine closure, geology, mineralogy and mineral processing needed for the implementation of the project objectives. The Geological Survey of Finland offers services combining decades of research data, high-quality expertise and innovation. GTK provides impartial and objective research and services for managing water resources and environmental effects.
Leads knowledge and data management for the project, and contributes geoscience and monitoring expertise to indicator design and data curation.
08 Gdynia Maritime University
Gdynia Maritime University is the largest state school of higher maritime education in Poland established in 1920. The University four Faculties offer degree in Navigation, Marine Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Entrepreneurship and Quality Science. At present Gdynia Maritime University provides studies for 5000 students. Within the University operates the Maritime Institute which conducts research work and implementation projects in the field of: ecology, maritime electronics and hydrotechnics, maritime law and economics, operational oceanography, maritime spatial planning and many others.
Hosts the Polish hub, channelling national solutions towards transition labs and procurement pathways.
09 Klaipeda University
Klaipeda University is represented by the subdivision Marine Research Institute (MRI). Marine Research Institute is unique centre of fundamental and applied marine research in Lithuania. The institute is embedded in a dense fabric of research infrastructures, maritime and technology clusters and digital innovation hubs on the Lithuanian coast, and works in a national policy environment with ambitious green and innovation procurement targets.
Hosts the Lithuanian hub, with a particular role in procurement pilots and funder roundtables.
10 Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology
Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (LIAE) is a research institute, an Agency of Daugavpils University. Originally dedicated to basic and applied research of ecology and environmental problems in the Baltic Sea, LIAE has become the leading institution in the environmental expertise for marine and freshwater issues in Latvia. In the Latvian part of the Gulf of Riga and Baltic Proper LIAE is responsible for marine environmental monitoring. Recently LIAE has contributed with its knowledge on ecosystem values and services to national maritime spatial plan, to implementation of Ballast water convention with information on invasive species and have pioneered in microplastic research of Latvia.
Hosts the Latvian hub, connecting national authorities, researchers and stakeholders to Mission Ocean.
11 University of Tartu
University of Tartu is the biggest and most prestigious classical university in Estonia. It was established by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1632, thus being one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. The Estonian Marine Institute of the university has a mission to enhance the knowledge and understanding on the functioning of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and to seek scientific and management solutions in order to improve environmental quality and the sustainability of ecosystem services. Research is focusing on marine biology and biodiversity, sustainable use of marine ecosystem services including the fishery resources, environmental safety of maritime transport, maritime spatial planning as a tool for practical implementation of the ecosystem-based approach.
Hosts the Estonian hub, building national innovation pipelines and engaging stakeholders.
12 Netherlands Enterprise Agency
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) helps entrepreneurs and organisations to invest, develop and expand their businesses and projects both in the Netherlands and abroad. We are a government agency which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Through its Community of Practice North Sea it convenes more than 700 stakeholders from government, industry and research.
Hosts the Dutch hub, with a strong role in uptake by small and medium-sized enterprises and in cross-border replication.
13 Blue Cluster
Blue Cluster is an independent and neutral partner supporting Flemish companies in setting up partnerships with other companies, knowledge centres and government agencies with a view to developing and promoting offshore economic activities.
Co-hosts the Belgian hub and mobilises businesses and investors, linking Mission activities to market demand.
14 Technical University of Denmark
DTU Aqua is the National Institute for Aquatic Resources, at the Technical University of Denmark. It conducts research, educates at university level and contributes to innovation in sustainable exploitation and management of aquatic resources.
Contributes to the Danish hub and to the project’s technical and monitoring work.
15 A'Pelago Experience ab
A’Pelago is a Nordic accelerator for blue economy ventures, with strong ties to Finnish and Nordic ecosystems and links to national innovation and procurement agencies. It works on scouting solutions and moving them towards business support and investment.
Co-hosts the Finnish hub, with a focus on venture building and routes from solution scouting to business support and innovation procurement.
16 John Nurminen Foundation
The John Nurminen Foundation works to reduce pollution and restore ecosystems in the Baltic Sea, combining practical projects with public communication and maritime cultural heritage work. It holds high credibility with Finnish civil society and the wider public.
Co-hosts the Finnish hub, with a focus on stakeholder mobilisation, pollution reduction and ecosystem restoration.
17 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) is a leading European interdisciplinary research center contributing advanced expertise in environmental monitoring, hydro-biogeochemical modeling, and high-performance data infrastructures. Within Mission Ocean, FZJ drives cutting-edge innovations in tracking aquatic pollutants, scaling up circular solutions, and leveraging advanced digital simulation to support the restoration and sustainable management of European waters.
Co-hosts the German hub and provides one of Europe’s strongest interfaces with research funding agencies, supporting the project’s work on financing pathways and policy-relevant monitoring.
18 Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Kiel University combines marine research excellence with a strong record of convening stakeholders, and is embedded in German marine governance structures. It leads a large publicly funded innovation platform uniting more than 60 research and industry members around blue bioeconomy and circular value chains based on aquatic biomass.
Co-hosts the German hub, linking national governance frameworks, research funding and industry to Mission Ocean.
19 Latvian Sustainable Procurement Association
The Latvian Sustainable Procurement Association works to embed sustainability in public purchasing. It is an active member of the Procura+ European Sustainable Procurement Network and develops training, guidelines and capacity-building for public buyers.
Leads the work on Mission-aligned procurement, providing training, guidelines and capacity building for public authorities across all twelve countries.
20 Aquimer
AQUIMER is a business association focused on the valorisation of aquatic products. The aim of the AQUIMER competitiveness cluster is to reconcile the depletion of seafood resources and the increase in food demand with the imperatives of sustainable development. Professionals are supported, individually or collectively, in projects of regional, national and European scope.
Hosts the French hub, connecting the national seafood and blue economy ecosystem to Mission Ocean.