Sectors
Marine & Blue Economy
Organisations working in Marine and Blue Economy innovations can access grant funding, from improving the adoption of new ideas to solutions for ocean sustainability.
Marine and Blue Economy encompasses innovation in areas from sustainable aquaculture and fisheries to maritime transport and offshore renewable energy. These themes reflect the sector’s growing influence as oceans are critical to both economic prosperity and environmental health.
Venturenomix understands the Marine and Blue Economy sector, including opportunities across Innovate UK programmes, Horizon Europe, and wider UK and European funding schemes that support sustainable ocean innovation and blue growth.
Non-dilutive Funding for Marine and Blue Economy
- Accelerating commercialisation – Non dilutive funding provides immediate capital to scale operations and support investment in new marine technology.
- Reducing financial risk – De-risks early-stage development, enabling organisations to test and validate solutions in real-world environments.
- Enables collaboration -Encourages partnerships across industry, universities, and government to drive shared innovation outcomes.
- Supports sustainable growth – Supports technologies that improve ocean health, biodiversity protection, and climate resilience.
In the UK there is growing support for Non-dilutive R&D funding as seen by the recent partnership between Innovate UK and Department for Transport who have invested £30 million in innovation grant programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.
Europe has also begun maritime Missions in particular the “Restore Our Ocean and Waters” initiative, which driven by Horizon Europe is set to fund between €1m-€8m per project to help restore the health of ocean, seas, and inland waters by 2030. Furthermore, the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) have supported the development of fisheries and wider blue economy sectors.
Success Stories
Marine and Blue Economy themes for grant funding
These are the most prominent themes for UK and European R&D grant funding within the growing Marine and Blue Economy sector:
- • Marine Renewable Energy – Technologies that harness ocean resources for clean energy generation, including offshore wind, tidal, wave, and floating energy systems.
- • Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture – Innovations that improve productivity and resilience while protecting marine ecosystems, including smart aquaculture systems and sustainable fishing practices.
- • Marine Robotics and Autonomous Systems – Advanced technologies for underwater exploration, monitoring, inspection, and maintenance, including autonomous underwater vehicles and AI-driven sensing systems.
- • Blue Bioeconomy and Marine Biotechnology – Development of marine-based biological resources for high-value products such as pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, enzymes, and sustainable chemicals.
- • Marine Environmental Monitoring and Climate Adaptation – Solutions that track ocean health, biodiversity, and climate impacts, supporting coastal resilience and ecosystem restoration.
Marine and Blue Economy funding programmes and funders
- Innovate UK – Regularly provides competitive grant funding for projects focused on decarbonisation, offshore renewable energy and clean maritime.
- Horizon Europe – Research and innovation programme, offering significant funding for marine, climate, and ocean-related technologies.
- EMFAF – European marine fund that directly targets sustainable fisheries and marine ecosystems.
Winning Grant Funding for Marine and Blue Economy
We know which non-dilutive funding gives companies the best shot at success based on where they are in their journey – whether that’s early discovery, development, launch, or scaling. If you are developing an innovative solution in Marine and Blue Economy, Venturenomix can help you identify, position, and secure the most suitable UK and European grant funding opportunities.
Ready to explore funding options? Book a no obligations meeting now.
Alex Chalkley
Director
