What is it about?
The Ocean Mission's primary objective is to promote cross-sectoral and co-located activities, aiming to utilize marine spaces more efficiently and sustainably. This "multi-use" approach, encouraging activities from different sectors to occur simultaneously and harmoniously, not only holds economic benefits but also presents environmental advantages. For instance, co-locating a wind turbine with an aquaculture installation could generate synergy effects by using wind-generated power to meet the energy needs of the aquaculture unit.
While the concept of co-located activities at sea is logical, real-world implementations are still scarce. Existing EU projects have produced valuable pilot installations, but full-scale platforms with demonstrated economic viability remain elusive. The challenge lies in determining how the co-location concept can be effectively applied across the diverse Nordic marine areas.
"Multi-use can be part of the solution to many of our marine problems. But we need practical initiatives that work in the market, and that's what we're hoping for with this Ocean Mission."
– Emil Gejrot, Innovation Adviser
Looking to realizing multi-use activities at sea
Nordic Innovation is inviting Nordic consortia to actively contribute to a 12-month mission aimed at realizing multi-use activities at sea. The call focuses on innovation, excluding research projects, and encourages projects encompassing product development, business plans, promotion, life-cycle analysis, or testing.
The objective is to promote sustainable, viable, and scalable solutions for co-located activities at sea. While emphasizing cross-sectoral collaboration, the call aims to generate new products, partnerships, business models, or value chains that enhance sustainability, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness in the Nordic Ocean economy. Importantly, the projects are not restricted to the Nordic region, and activities outside the region are welcomed if they add value.
Chosen partners must showcase the engagement's value for Nordic Innovation, outlining how the organization will be involved, contributing, and supporting throughout the project. The mission aims to spotlight the program's ambition to make the Nordics the most sustainable Ocean Economy globally, inviting industry involvement, and encouraging consortia to build a strong Nordic foundation for future larger projects, including EU-funded initiatives.
The call underscores a commitment to funding distinct innovation projects, ideally with diverse geographic distributions among the three selected consortia.
