Climate, pollution, food… Marine science and technology offer solutions to the threats facing the ocean. Ifremer has developed a range of tools and initiatives to support blue economy businesses and foster the emergence of innovative solutions, such as the Octo’pousse competition, which is open to project leaders wishing to create a startup in ocean tech.
Innovation is at the heart of Ifremer’s mission, the French research institute dedicated entirely to marine science and technology, from the abyss to the surface, from the coast to the open sea. In response to the environmental urgency, its teams, alongside businesses, are developing concrete solutions to counter the effects of climate change, marine pollution, and overfishing, as well as in sectors such as energy, food, and health. Ifremer supports economic actors with ocean-based solutions through research contracts, expertise services, access to its facilities, and technology transfers.
In 2025, Ifremer aims to contribute to the creation of a startup studio dedicated to ocean tech. “The goal is to create between five and ten startups over five to ten years,” says Romain Charraudeau, Director of Partnerships and Innovation Transfer at Ifremer. “The portfolio of technologies from the laboratories, and more broadly all the research dedicated to the ocean, constitutes a rich pool of projects. The Octo’pousse competition should also play a key role in feeding the startup studio with high-potential solutions.”
The Octo’pousse Competition Boosts the Creation of Startups in Ocean Tech
This innovation competition, founded by Ifremer, is now organized with the 11 partners of the Blue Box University Innovation Hub (PUI), which allows for the funding of multiple projects instead of just one as in previous years, as well as offering broader scientific and technical support to the winners. It is open to project leaders who wish to create or accelerate the development of a startup in ocean tech. The applications for the developed solution may concern sectors such as agri-food, energy, transport, aquaculture, health, environmental monitoring, decarbonization, and cosmetics. The solution must have a positive impact on society or the environment. The winners receive support of up to €250,000 in the form of scientific and technical support (provided by Ifremer or other partners of the Blue Box PUI), an employment contract, financial contribution, and access to the infrastructures and resources of the scientific partner. This is a unique system at this stage of project maturity!
The competition emerged from the collaboration around the Bluefins project in 2020. Based in Brest, the startup designed an innovative boat propulsion system, developed in partnership with Ifremer. It has just raised €4 million to conduct the first sea trials in February 2025, contributing to the decarbonization of maritime transport. The winner of the 2024 edition, NANOTRAP, aims to develop a new process to trap nanoplastics in the ocean using a « molecular velcro » mechanism. The project will be supported by the institute for 18 months. In the long term, the startup could contribute to plastic pollution clean-up by installing the system on existing filtration systems used for wastewater or at the exit of fish farming ponds.
Applications for the 5th edition of the Octo’pousse competition will open on January 13, 2025.
Source: la tribune
