On December 19, 2023, “Research and Innovations for a Sustainable Maritime Transport” Forum was held in Varna, organized by Marine Cluster Bulgaria.
The main objective of the event was to test and validate support services dedicated to Ecosystem Networking in the field of Maritime transport in Varna region.
Mrs. Ilze Atanasova, Chair of the Management Board of Marine Cluster Bulgaria, opened the forum and gave the floor to the official guests of the event. Mr. Blagomir Kotsev, Mayor of the Municipality of Varna, and Mr. Alexander Kalchev, Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Chamber of Shipping welcomed the participants and highlighted the event’s contribution towards positioning Varna in the field of the blue economy with the support of the marine ecosystem network.
Representatives of science, business and education introduced the attendees to the innovations and trends related to ecological and energy efficient shipping, the challenges facing the future development of marine technologies, port activities and living marine resources and aquaculture.
The four companies, supported under 4BIZ project: Galera 07 Ltd, 13 Mari Ltd., Scortel Ltd. and Solumar Ltd., pitched to the audience their innovative technologies for sustainable shipbuilding, reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the maritime transport sector and participated in an open discussion on potential opportunities for collaboration with representatives of the research, academia and public sector.
Marine Cluster Bulgaria presented the 4BIZ project objectives and achieved results, followed by an overview of upcoming opportunities for financing projects from the blue economy sectors with a focus on maritime transport through various EU funded programmes and in synergy with other EU initiatives for support of innovations and internationalization like the Enterprise Europe Network.
