The European Commission, through its Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, has awarded the European Atlantic Project Award 2025 to two cooperation projects financially supported by Interreg Atlantic Area. The SmartDec project, led by the French institution Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique, won in the Atlantic Ports category. In the Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts category, the winner was the Marinnonet cooperation project, led by the University of Vigo.
In different areas, the winners were publicly recognised for their contribution to the implementation of the European Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic. "The Atlantic Project Award 2025, granted to our cooperation projects, gives us confidence that we are working as a team together with our partners at a high level with European counterparts in the Atlantic Region. Whether in the field of clean energy or marine biological resources, we have the best researchers and entrepreneurs," said António Cunha, President of CCDR Norte and the Managing Authority of the European funding programme Interreg Atlantic Area.
The SmartDec project brings together eight partners in a mission to decarbonise maritime transport, enhancing the environmental sustainability of the sector. By now, partners are working with entrepreneurs in a tailored acceleration programme, aiming to strengthen the maturity of their solutions in areas like electrification, digital green solutions, energy efficiency and alternative fuels. The goal is to facilitate the introduction of new solutions into the market and create a Network of Atlantic Hubs for the maritime transport sector, exchanging promising ideas, new tools and technologies that contribute to maritime decarbonisation.
The Marinnonet project is working with ten partners to boost the innovation capacity of the Atlantic Blue Biotech sector. With the launch of open calls, partners have been able to bring research centres and companies closer together, seeking to test new products and solutions to be introduced to the market. For example, new feed is currently being tested in aquaculture, seaweed is being used as a substitute for pollutants in the pulp industry, discarded fish skins are being used in collagen-based products, and seaweed is being used in dog supplements.
The awards were presented during Atlantic Days in Galway 2025 by the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan. The two-day initiative brought together the Interreg Atlantic Area Annual Event, the Blue Synergies Event and the Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in a back-to-back format.
In different areas, the winners were publicly recognised for their contribution to the implementation of the European Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic. "The Atlantic Project Award 2025, granted to our cooperation projects, gives us confidence that we are working as a team together with our partners at a high level with European counterparts in the Atlantic Region. Whether in the field of clean energy or marine biological resources, we have the best researchers and entrepreneurs," said António Cunha, President of CCDR Norte and the Managing Authority of the European funding programme Interreg Atlantic Area.
The SmartDec project brings together eight partners in a mission to decarbonise maritime transport, enhancing the environmental sustainability of the sector. By now, partners are working with entrepreneurs in a tailored acceleration programme, aiming to strengthen the maturity of their solutions in areas like electrification, digital green solutions, energy efficiency and alternative fuels. The goal is to facilitate the introduction of new solutions into the market and create a Network of Atlantic Hubs for the maritime transport sector, exchanging promising ideas, new tools and technologies that contribute to maritime decarbonisation.
The Marinnonet project is working with ten partners to boost the innovation capacity of the Atlantic Blue Biotech sector. With the launch of open calls, partners have been able to bring research centres and companies closer together, seeking to test new products and solutions to be introduced to the market. For example, new feed is currently being tested in aquaculture, seaweed is being used as a substitute for pollutants in the pulp industry, discarded fish skins are being used in collagen-based products, and seaweed is being used in dog supplements.
The awards were presented during Atlantic Days in Galway 2025 by the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan. The two-day initiative brought together the Interreg Atlantic Area Annual Event, the Blue Synergies Event and the Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in a back-to-back format.
Publish date: 2025-11-13
