Marine Technology Excellence Hub

MARTE
Marine Technology Excellence Hub for Sustainable Blue Economy

It's a Horizon Europe project that connects Estonia and Latvia to strengthen marine research, innovation, and sustainable technology development across the Baltic Sea region.

By bringing together leading research institutions, public bodies, industry partners, and coastal communities, MARTE promotes collaboration and the creation of new solutions for a resilient and competitive blue economy.

Project Partners

The project brings together key research, public, and community institutions that form the foundation of the Baltic marine innovation ecosystem:

• 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 and maritime innovation ecosystem 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 specialisation 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

• Establish a cross-border research and innovation excellence hub to support the development of the blue economy.

• Develop a joint R&I strategy for Estonia and Latvia, focusing on sustainable marine use and innovation policy alignment.

• Strengthen collaboration between science and industry to support the development and implementation of new technologies.

• Create investment and action plans that accelerate marine innovation.

• Launch the Blue Innovation Open Call to support new, high-potential solutions in marine technology.

• Organise awareness-raising and training programmes to enhance regional R&I capacities and ecosystem resilience.

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 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2028 and is structured into seven Work Packages (WPs) – each addressing a specific part of the joint innovation ecosystem:

• 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.

These phases collectively build the MARTE Excellence Hub – from strategy development and policy alignment to piloting innovations and empowering coastal communities.

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.