SBEP partnership launches cofund call for sustainable Blue Economy projects

A first cofund call for project funding under the new Horizon Europe SBEP partnership, which aims to develop a climate-neutral, sustainable, productive and competitive 'blue economy', opened on 13 February 2023. The deadline for submitting a pre-proposal is 14 April.

This partnership, with strong involvement from the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Oceans, will start initiating a range of activities in the coming years, of which calls for research projects will be an integral part. The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is an SBEP partner mandated by the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI).

This first transnational call focuses on impact-oriented research across European Sea Bassins, within five so-called Intervention Areas (IA), or priority areas:

1) Planning and managing sea-uses at the regional level;
2) Development of offshore marine multi-use infrastructures to support the blue economy;
3) Climate-neutral, environmentally sustainable, and resource-efficient blue food and feed;
4) Green transition of Blue Food production;
5) Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs) test use cases at EU sea-basins and the Atlantic Ocean.

For more clarification on these intervention areas, eligibility criteria and the possibility to submit, please visit the SBEP call page. Funding for Flemish proposals is through the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO).