Project description

MARTE - Marine Technology Excellence Hub for Sustainable Blue Economy in the Baltics

The project MARTE is an initiative funded by the Horizon Europe program, aimed at advancing top-level marine research and innovation in the Baltic Sea region and strengthening cooperation between research institutions, businesses, the public sector and coastal communities.

The project involves key research and development institutions:

• Research institutions: Tallinn University of Technology, University of Tartu, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology
• Public sector institutions: Estonian Environmental Investment Centre, Kurzeme Planning Region, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Saare Development Centre
• Industry representatives: Association of Estonian Marine Industries, Freeport of Ventspils Authority
• Coastal communities and conservation organisations: World Wide Fund for Nature of Latvia, Baltic Coasts Association, Saaremaa Leader Action Group

Our Mission

MarTe's mission is to enhance the marine value chain by promoting research and innovation (R&I), ecosystem empowerment, and the adoption of advanced technologies in alignment with the EU Green Deal and regional smart specialization strategies.

Our Vision

We envision a thriving Baltic region empowered by sustainable marine and maritime technologies, supported by robust quadruple-helix collaborations among academia, industry, government, and civil society.

Project Objectives

• Establishing a research and innovation excellence hub to support the development of the blue economy;
• Developing a joint research and innovation strategy for Estonia and Latvia, focusing on sustainable marine use;
• Strengthening collaboration between science and industry to support the development and implementation of innovative technologies;
• Creating investment and action plans to foster marine innovation;
• Launching the Blue Innovation Open Call to support new innovative solutions in marine technology;
• Organizing awareness-raising and training programs to enhance regional research and innovation capacities.

​​​​​

Tasks & responsibilities

The project supports the development of the blue economy in Estonia and Latvia through research and innovation (R&I), policy development, testbed design, and community engagement. It runs for 48 months between 01.01.2025 - 31.12.2028 and is structured into 7 work packages (WPs), each led by different partners.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• WP1 (Estonian Environmental Investment Centre): Project coordination, financial and administrative management, IPR, ethics, and risk oversight.

• WP2 (Kurzeme Planning Region​​​​​​​): Policy review, stakeholder engagement, ecosystem mapping, and development of R&I strategy and action plans.

• WP3 (Tallinn University of Technology​​​​​​​): R&I projects on innovation testbeds, marine monitoring technologies, ice forecasting, and hydrogen by-product valorisation.

• WP4 (Freeport of Ventspils Authority​​​​​​​): Action and investment planning, sustainable business models, and innovation incubator design.

• WP5 (Estonian Environmental Investment Centre​​​​​​​): Open call management and mentoring to support new pilot projects.

• WP6 (Baltic Coasts Association​​​​​​​): Community involvement, capacity building, study visits, workshops, and a joint summer school.

• WP7 (Saare Development Centre): Communication and dissemination, networking, and exploitation of project outcomes.

Timeline Highlights

• Start (M1): Project setup and management.

• M3–M18: Policy research, stakeholder analysis, and R&I strategy development.

• M8–M24: R&I project implementation and testbed planning.

• M12–M24: Action and investment plan development.

• M22–M41: Open call, mentoring, and pilot project evaluation.

• Throughout: Communication, community activities, training, and collaboration.

Project focus

The project MARTE is an initiative funded by the Horizon Europe program, aimed at advancing top-level marine research and innovation in the Baltic Sea region and strengthening cooperation between research institutions, businesses, the public sector and coastal communities.