TWELVE TECHNOLOGICAL BASED BUSINESS PROJECTS IN THE MARINE-MARITIME FIELD OF GALICIA AND NORTH OF PORTUGAL WILL RECEIVE SUPPORT FOR THEIR VALUATION THROUGH SHERPA DO MAR

15.12.2020

They respond to challenges in the sector such as digitization, food safety and traceability or the sustainability of resources

They encompass initiatives with a great innovative component and high added value focused on the production of large-scale unisex mussel lines, the creation of cosmetic products, technology for the elimination of nano-plastics or the manufacture and marketing of beacons with ecological funding

Through the program, they will have specialized advice and the support of an innovative system for measuring and monitoring their performance based on indicators that will allow them to design a personalized and dynamic roadmap that helps them bring their business ideas to the market. throughout the entrepreneurship phases

Sherpa do Mar has announced today the 12 projects that will participate in the first edition of its support program for the Sherpa Journeys entrepreneurship, aimed at promoting the creation of innovative products and services that provide high added value solutions to real needs in the marine-maritime field.

They will have access to a specialized and comprehensive support program, lasting 14 months, in which they will be accompanied by a manager specialized in promoting entrepreneurship and technology and knowledge transfer and will receive scientific-technical advice. During this process, they will have mentoring, training, networking sessions, as well as services and technical means to consolidate their development and growth.

The projects selected in this first edition stand out for their great innovative component and offer high value-added responses to challenges such as digitization, the sustainable use of resources, food security and traceability, ecotourism or the protection and conservation of the marine ecosystem and they apply biotechnology or emerging technologies such as blockchain or virtual and augmented reality. Most of them are in the conception and prototyping phase, although there are also entrepreneurial and inter-entrepreneurship initiatives in the more advanced maturation phase. Its proposals cover different sectors of the marine-maritime field such as aquaculture, canning, port, fishing or tourism.

The objective of Sherpa Journeys is to create a cross-border ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship in the marine-maritime sphere and in the blue economy, which favors the generation of employment, synergies and business competitiveness.

Along these lines, the 60 initiatives from Galicia and northern Portugal that have been presented to this first edition, with high participation, will also be present in a catalog of online business ideas, where they will have the opportunity to gain visibility to establish contacts with potential collaborators and investors. This web directory will also be open to entrepreneurs who have not participated in the call. They will be able to register their business idea, which must be based in Galicia and northern Portugal, provided that it meets a need in the marine-maritime sector based on scientific-technical knowledge.

Sherpa Journeys is led by the REDE group of the University of Vigo and has the participation of Campus do Mar and the R&D Office of the University of Vigo, the Vigo Free Zone Consortium, the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) and the universities of Santiago and A Coruña. On the part of Portugal, the Asprela Technology Transfer Association (UPTEC), the University of Porto, the Interdisciplinary Center for Marinha and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) and the Forum Oceano-Associacão da Economia do Mar participate.

It is part of the Sherpa do Mar project, part of the INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020, co-financed 75% by ERDF funds.

 

Selected projects:

 

MytUniSex: proposes the production of unisex mussel lines on a large scale and on a sustained basis throughout the year. Through the implementation of an intensive reproduction program in the laboratory, it envisages obtaining viands of intense orange hue, the most appreciated by the consumer and of great commercial value for the canning industry, or by-products of high quality and added value, such as caviar. The project also seeks to promote the sustainable use of marine resources, offering an alternative that could reduce the need to collect seed in the rocky intertidal zone.

 

ActiveAlgae: focused on the development of cosmetic products of natural origin, based on unexplored eukaryotic microalgae extracts, and with anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, exfoliating or protective properties against ultraviolet (UV) rays.

 

BIMA (Biología e Información Marítima Ártabra): oriented to the development of technological solutions based on GIS and focused on improving the competitiveness of the port sector and organizations related to the marine environment.

 

SUBGO: virtual reality (VR), augmented (AR) and mixed (MR) project aimed at research and scientific dissemination of underwater landscapes with applications in the education and ecotourism sectors.

 

ValBioSea: focused on the development of an efficient extraction method for the selection of bioactive compounds, with high added value and obtained from invasive macroalgae, with a cascade biorefinery approach.

 

Fish & Food Technology: proposes the creation of a tool based on blockchain technology for the traceability and food safety of fishery products.

 

Sailing For Science: It is focused on the creation of scientific-marine tourism experiences, by setting up a platform open to the scientific community interested in participating in citizen science activities, with the aim of enhancing the ecosystem of the Atlantic region.

 

Container Over Board system (formerly “Lost Containers at Sea”): focused on the creation of a system for locating containers and buoyancy that allows generating alerts that reduce the generation of polluting spills or possible risk situations for navigation and the marine environment.

 

Blue Bioprana: proposes the application of biotechnology solutions that reduce the environmental impact of organic by-products and generate more sustainable production processes with higher performance, which could also be used in circular economy models.

 

ABZU Maritime Platform: port operations platform based on blockchain technology that will provide more transparency, simplicity and immediacy.

 

Basemar: focused on the manufacture and commercialization of beacons with ecological anchoring for maritime signage and for seafood farming parks, which offer data in real time.

 

KERSSHIP: Focused on the development of a new bow thruster that is more efficient than the current ones, which, in addition to working as a "propeller", also works as an energy collector in different navigation manoeuvres, with greater energy autonomy, reducing the ship's emissions and allows minimizing risks of collision between ships with large inertia.

 

The final resolution can be consulted on the page "Sherpa Journeys - Entrepreneurs" of this website, section "Documents of the selection process":

 

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