Technologies are developing faster than regulations. EU and IPA countries are facing the same administrative burdens caused by a regulatory vacuum in innovative fields. INNOVABLUE is laying the groundwork to unlock the potential of deep technology.
Robotics and artificial intelligence are rapidly transforming the blue economy. However, the regulatory framework across the world is evolving slowly, causing a general slowdown in the adoption of advanced technologies that could improve the mapping and monitoring of the ecosystems in seas, rivers, and lakes.
The Adriatic-Ionian region is no exception. Despite having different governmental systems and jurisdictions, both EU and non EU countries face the same regulatory as well as administrative gaps. That is a real concern, if we think about the region’s inherent potential in the sector of sustainable blue economy – including biotechnology, ICT and marine services. Moreover, the EU’s agenda (the European Green Deal and the EU Blue Economy Strategy) and macro-regional EUSAIR Blue Growth objectives call for increasing transnational collaboration and skills development to foster green growth. To support this transition, the INNOVABLUE project aims to accelerate the market uptake of marine technologies by strengthening ties among researchers, SMEs, policymakers and civil society through a comprehensive blueprint for regional transformation.
Regulation: the missing link to blue technology innovation
Scientists do not lack solutions; what is missing is the market link needed to move from ideas and prototypes to real products. This gap is — as mentioned above — primarily regulatory, but not only. INNOVABLUE looks at building a bridge between innovation and governance. The project merges two already established communities of the blue economy (InnovaMare and Blue Air) created through previous Interreg projects (funded by Italy-Croatia and ADRION), while taking their collaboration a step further.
Željka Rajković, DIH InnovaMare
First, the countries involved in the project investigated and compared national regulatory frameworks through their community of experts. Željka Rajković, project coordinator and manager of the Croatian start-up DIH InnovaMare, said “The analysis conducted showed all project partners, namely Croatia, Greece, Italy and Slovenia as European Member States, as well as Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia as IPA States, have resulted to be not so far among each other in terms of technology transfer on deep technology. The main obstacle the project intends to overcome”, continued Ms. Rajković, “is the lack of supportive regulatory frameworks for testing and validating blue technologies in real-world conditions”. Actually, testing robotics for the market involves a multi-stage process to ensure safety, functionality, and reliability, but going beyond the labs is not easy, due to fragmented regulations and slow permitting.
A bridge between innovation and governance: regulatory sandboxes and Living Labs
The project has already tested a possible solution through the establishment of a regulatory sandbox, a controlled space where innovators can trial new technologies without having to comply immediately all regulatory requirements. In this framework, the project engaged intellectual property experts, who expressed a favourable view on these real‑world testing environments, recognising them as adaptive mechanisms that effectively support technological experimentation and help reduce risk and uncertainty before large-scale deployment. Here, prototypes applying AI and robotics are tested for developing new ways to collect environmental data, removing marine litter from the seabed, and mapping ecosystems in freshwater environments. Trials were set in both marine areas (Šibenik, Kotor and Piran) and freshwater environments (Vrana Lake):
- Kotor (Montenegro): tested underwater drone in marine environments management and new services provision for coastal communities.
- Vrana Lake (Croatia): tested how underwater drone sensors adapt to low visibility.
- Šibenik (Croatia): demonstrated autonomous vessel navigation in changing marine environments.
Testing site in Sibenik
These technologies make responding to environmental threats faster and safer than traditional methods. To strengthen collaboration among all interested actors, the project established Living Labs, inviting policymakers to observe the tests and subsequently take part in tailored workshops designed to deepen their understanding of emerging technologies. As reported by Ms Rajković, Living Labs are “much more than just technical testbeds: they are spaces where technologies are tested, but also where discussion, comparison, co-creation, and regulatory dialogue take place”. By involving many stakeholders as infrastructure owners, researchers, companies, public authorities, and end users, the project ensures “not only technology validation but also alignment with consumers and the market as a whole”. Regulatory authorities joining the project partnership, such as the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Regional Union of Chambers of Commerce of the Veneto Region and the Region of Crete, are responsible of drafting policy recommendations. By bringing together representatives from science and governance under the same umbrella, the project strengthens the dialogue around deep tech solutions and the challenges they entail.
Fuel the innovation: Map of Excellence and ADRION Blue Fund
Living Labs also contribute to raising awareness among the fourth category of the quadruple helix: citizens. Bespoke workshops are being organised to educate the large public on how robotics and AI can provide solutions and safely improve quality of life. In addition, the project paves the way for more substantial collaboration formalized through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). Through one of these MoUs, a Technical Secretariat has been established for an Innovation Community within DIH INNOVAMARE, currently composed of the 9 organizations forming the partnership and expecting to expand further, whose aim is to ensure long-lasting transnational cooperation as well as transferability of the outcomes outside the already established community. The Secretariat is already developing a Map of Excellence aimed at identifying high‑level stakeholders in the blue economy, with the goal of fostering closer‑to‑market collaboration. The ecosystem mapping is definitely a pre-condition for building a value chain on sustainable blue economy where solid and highly qualified partnerships of public and private nature can lead to faster commercialisation.
To attract new funding, the project is also working on the development of a dedicated financing mechanism, created in cooperation with sister stakeholders and known as the ADRION Blue Fund. The Fund aims to mobilise and channel financial resources tailored to the specific needs of blue‑economy innovators. Conceived as a public–private equity instrument, it will target blue‑economy start‑ups and researchers, helping reduce reliance on public finance and addressing asymmetries among regions where innovation ecosystems are less developed.
Conclusions
Although legislative gaps currently limit the potential of AI and robotics technology, INNOVABLUE shows how this gap can be constructively managed through transnational cooperation. The missing link between solutions and market is tackeld by capacity building and networking, as well as by putting together the scientific world with the one of the policy makers in a community aiming to provide a strong incentive for legislative advancement and alignment between countries. INNOVABLUE, by seeking to create the precondition for an innovation-friendly framework, embraces the core IPA ADRION value of collaboration beyond borders toward shared goals, leaving the project results as a legacy for future generations.
Learn more about the project: https://innovablue.interreg-ipa-adrion.eu/
