An opportunity as big as our ambition, provided we have ingenuity and skill

Much has been said about the opportunities associated with the Sea. Some of these texts end up being somewhat evocative, recalling the glories of times past (we will return to this point in the conclusion). Considering the sea area, it’s regularly mentioned that we hold the fifth largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) among European peers, representing 95% of the national territory. If our claim to expand the continental shelf – currently under review by the United Nations – is successful, our EEZ will double, and the maritime area will become 40 times larger than the terrestrial one. Said approval also brings new opportunities and increased responsibilities.

Portugal, with a small population and continental area, located on the periphery in Europe, shows certain difficulties in scaling national companies. Despite some surprising and potential companies classified as unicorns, our major national businesses compare themselves to medium-sized companies on a European or global scale. Which new “variables” could the Sea bring to this “system of equations” that can significantly change and improve Portugal’s future? With the growing and widespread awareness of the importance of water and oceans, Portugal’s Atlantic opportunity can significantly change our “geographical location” in the world! We can become part of the restricted group of countries leading the decarbonisation and energy transition, promoting sustainable food and an important exercise of sovereignty, with deep changes in a fundamental restriction that has limited our economic potential – “unlimited” growth of our companies dedicated to the Blue Economy; not only because of the size of our EEZ, but also because the Sea favours the coexistence of several economic activities in the same space, promoting synergies (e.g., marine renewable energies, extraction of living resources, desalination).

Let’s look at some notions that fuel optimism in this domain (Sea). According to the OECD [“The Ocean Economy in 2030”], the world population and economy face several challenges, associated with medium and long-term trends that directly and indirectly generate a set of impacts – which, in turn, pose a set of questions and even geopolitical tensions. The increase in the world’s population, and the current lifestyle, puts enormous pressure on natural resources and the environment. Pressure on food production and global supply chains, together with the constant increase in energy consumption (mainly fossil fuels), and the demand for (rare) minerals and metals, has aggravated the environmental impact and pollution, with significant effect on climate change and the health of ecosystems. Intertwined with these issues, we find the geopolitical tensions, and a transformation into a multipolar world. The impact generated by previous trends have been discussed in various forums and include different topics: pollution; unsustainable fisheries; rising ocean temperatures and rising average water levels; ocean acidification; the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2; changing sea patterns; changes in the hydrological cycle, with an impact on precipitation patterns, among others [see the World Economic Forum’s Ocean transformation map]

For the readers who may be more familiar with the strategic priorities of the European Commission, and the priorities defined in its Missions, the relationship between the numerous previous challenges and the Blue Economy begins to become clearer. Still, it is important to remember that the Blue Economy encompasses all economic activities that depend on the ocean, seas, and coasts – as well as those that are directly related to these environments, by using or developing products or services from marine environments. Thus, it includes sectors related to marine living resources (e.g., fisheries and aquaculture), extraction of non-living resources (e.g., minerals, oil & gas), marine renewable energies, water desalination, maritime or fluvial transportation, as well as coastal and maritime tourism. In terms of activities that are directly related to the marine environment, we can find many examples: processing of food originating from the oceans, marine biotechnology, shipbuilding and repairs, port activities, underwater cables, technologies and equipment, defence and security.

INESC TEC has been actively involved in R&D+I activities aimed at the Blue Economy sectors, addressing concrete challenges, and creating basic conditions for the development of an economic ecosystem capable of generating social impact. Among the various sectors in which we are actively involved, the most socially relevant initiatives today are Marine Renewable Energies. Considering this sector, INESC TEC has been part of a set of European flagship projects (EU-SCORES; MAGPIE; ILIAD; BLUE-X; ATLANTIS; NAUTICAL SUNRISE), of the national agendas of the PRR (ATE and NEXUS alliances) and other national projects and INTERREG, like K2D, AOWIND, etc. INESC TEC contributes with the multidisciplinary skills of its Centres, generating innovative solutions capable of addressing challenges ranging from production optimisation; integration of renewable energies and new energy vectors; digitalisation and development of new models capable of replicating and simulating new scenarios; sensing, inspecting and monitoring maritime and offshore infrastructures; data collection, integration and fusion; optimisation and logistics; monitoring of biodiversity and environmental impact; among others.

In addition to its commitment and contribution to achieving the ambitious objectives of major projects at European and national level, the institution leads a set of strategy initiatives, capable of creating the fundamental conditions for the development and flourishing of the scientific and innovation ecosystem. These initiatives complement the previous ones and aim to generate a medium and long-term lasting and sustainable impact. These strategic plans translate into the conditions required to address the future challenges expected until 2050. In this group of initiatives, it is important to highlight two important recent endeavours:

– the leadership of the consortium Hub Azul de Leixões – Pólo 1 (HAL): framed within the scope of the C10 component of the PRR; the main goal is the development of a scientific infrastructure supporting technological development and innovation aimed at Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency, Digital Transformation and Circular Economy. HAL will allow the development and testing of scale platforms, autonomous systems, and other offshore technologies – not to mention green infrastructures, marine biological resources, bioremediation, development of rapid prototyping capabilities, seeking innovation and technology transfer, training and advanced training (including scientific and specialised diving), among others.

– INESC TEC as the largest shareholder of the CEO – Companhia de Energia Oceânica, the entity that holds the test site at Aguçadoura, where pilot projects such as AWS and Pelamis (wave energy), WindFloat-1 (floating/wind) were tested, and where CorPower Ocean’s HiWave-5 project (wave energy) is underway. The offshore area of this test site is only 6 km from the coast, roughly equidistant from the two major Ports of the Northern region (Leixões and Viana do Castelo), and close to the port of Póvoa do Varzim. The 20 km distance from two of the main areas proposed by the Portuguese government for the installation of 2.5GW of floating wind energy is an asset for technological demonstration and validation in a real environment.

Over the past three years, INESC TEC has been involved in more than 19 projects related to Marine Renewable Energies, environmental monitoring, decarbonisation, energy, and digital transition in the Blue Economy, leading to an amount of more than €32M. These figures represent a serious commitment by the institution to the development of innovative solutions and technologies that allow us to look with more optimism at the challenges presented by the OECD and nurture the hope that we will be able to develop a more wealthy and resilient economic system, generating great social impact – based on a more sustainable economy and fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, when we recall the golden age of the Descobrimentos, we should keep in mind that behind these achievements was the advanced knowledge we had at the time, in several domains, and that we managed (with ingenuity and art) to materialise a set of innovations that took a few centuries to surpass!