Innovation Categories

Blue Policy & Funding Clusters

Beyond the 12 formal blue economy sector classifications, the EU works in practice through a set of implicit Policy and Funding Clusters. These are especially evident across Horizon Europe, EMFAF, and the Mission Ocean programmes, and strongly influence how calls are designed and how proposals are evaluated. These clusters are highly relevant for innovators, startups, and project consortia seeking EU funding. We therefore make them explicit under OC Innovate, reflecting how innovation is currently framed at EU level.

Key Blue Policy & Funding Clusters:

Ocean Energy Systems
Renewable and hybrid ocean-based energy solutions, including wave, tidal, offshore wind integration, and energy systems supporting coastal and maritime operations.
Sustainable Food from the Ocean
Low-impact fisheries, regenerative aquaculture, alternative marine proteins, and circular food systems contributing to food security, biodiversity, and climate goals.
Zero-Emission Maritime Transport
Clean propulsion, energy efficiency, port electrification, alternative fuels, and system-level solutions supporting the decarbonisation of maritime transport.
Digital Ocean & Observation
Ocean data, monitoring and sensing, digital twins, AI-driven analytics, and decision-support systems enabling evidence-based ocean management and policy implementation.
Coastal Resilience & Water Systems
Nature-based solutions, coastal protection, water management, climate adaptation, desalination, and integrated land–sea systems strengthening resilience of coastal communities.

By working across these clusters, Ocean Community helps innovators align solutions with EU priorities, strengthen proposals, and increase funding readiness and impact.

OC Innovation Categories

Ocean Community Innovation Categories are designed as cross-sectoral solution systems, aligned with EU Blue Economy Sectors, considering how innovators intervene.

Water Management in the marine context involves the sustainable use, distribution and treatment of water resources. It covers a wide range of activities, including desalination (converting seawater into drinking water), wastewater treatment, pollution control, flood management and maintaining water quality in marine environments. Effective water management is crucial for balancing the needs of households, agriculture, industry and ecosystems.

Coastal & Marine Climate Resilience encompasses solutions that protect and strengthen coastal ecosystems, infrastructure and communities against climate impacts. This includes nature-based as well as industrial climate-adapted infrastructures, early warning systems and strategies to address sea-level rise, ocean acidification and extreme weather events. These solutions enhance the ability of coastal zones to withstand and recover from environmental change.

Ocean Data, Monitoring & Intelligence comprises data, sensing, modelling and digital intelligence solutions that enable understanding, management and decision-making across ocean systems. This includes technologies such as sensors, smart buoys, data capturing, autonomous underwater vehicles and predictive analytics that support scientific research, resource management, environmental protection and maritime operations through enhanced situational awareness and evidence-based insights.

Shipping & Ports focuses on solutions that decarbonize, digitalize and optimize maritime transport and port infrastructure. This includes innovations in alternative fuels and energy-efficient vessel design, alongside smart port systems and digitalized logistics. Transforming maritime and port sectors is essential for reducing the environmental footprint of global trade and enhancing operational efficiency.

Coastal & Ocean Economies encompasses solutions that enable inclusive, resilient and locally anchored economic models supporting coastal livelihoods, sustainable tourism and community-led ocean stewardship. These solutions strengthen local economies through improved market access, financial inclusion and community participation in resource management. Building inclusive ocean economies ensures that coastal communities benefit equitably from marine resources while contributing to their conservation.

Marine Pollution Prevention & Mitigation encompasses solutions designed to prevent, reduce, capture, or remediate pollution entering marine and coastal environments. It addresses contamination across land-sea interfaces and maritime operations, including plastic waste management, chemical pollution control, nutrient runoff reduction and marine debris removal. Effective pollution prevention and mitigation strategies are essential for protecting ocean health, preserving marine biodiversity and maintaining the ecological balance of coastal and offshore ecosystems.

Ocean Climate Solutions focuses on science-based interventions that deliver measurable climate mitigation through ocean-based carbon removal. This includes blue carbon restoration such as seagrass and salt marsh restoration for long-term carbon sequestration, alongside technologies such as ocean alkalinity enhancement and direct ocean carbon capture. Robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems ensure the integrity and permanence of carbon sequestration. These solutions are critical for reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and meeting global climate targets.

Ocean Energy Systems covers technologies that generate renewable energy from ocean resources, including offshore wind, wave energy, tidal power and ocean thermal energy conversion. This category also encompasses the infrastructure and systems needed to deploy, connect and operate these technologies. Sustainable ocean energy systems contribute to the transition away from fossil fuels while harnessing the vast energy potential of marine environments.

Blue Food Systems advances innovations that improve sustainability, efficiency and resilience across seafood, aquaculture, fisheries and alternative protein value chains. This includes regenerative practices in aquaculture and fishing, traceability and loss reduction throughout the value chain and circular approaches to feed production, water consumption and waste utilization. Ensuring sustainable blue food production is crucial for global food security while protecting marine ecosystems.

Blue Biotechnology leverages marine biological resources—such as algae, seaweed, microorganisms and bio-derived compounds—to develop sustainable products and industrial processes across health, materials and manufacturing sectors. These innovations reduce pollution, replace fossil-based inputs and enable circular value chains by unlocking the potential of marine biodiversity. This emerging field represents a transition toward regenerative, ocean-positive production systems.