Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The Blue Bioeconomy defined as ‘the production and conversion of renewable marine biological resources into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy’ entails a large set of opportunities for European coastal communities. Innovative business models based on circularity; short-chains, digital solutions and ecosystem contributions offer the chance to stabilize and create new enterprises and jobs also for the lower-educated; while transforming remote, rural areas also into interesting, revitalized, climatefriendly places to live. However, blue bioeconomy actors struggle with challenges related to technology, lack of knowledge & skills or regulatory barriers. BlueBioClusters brings together 13 support organizations from across Europe, all of them highly engaged in their 9 regions in assisting start-ups, companies and policy makers to make best use of innovations. They have joined forces to improve, develop and implement new support tools and methods based on systematic collection, benchmarking and joint knowledge creation on *blue biobased value chains, practice cases and incentives, WP1; *ecosystem service valorization, WP2; *technology needs, identification and transfer of solutions, WP3; *start-ups/SMEs; experts and support mechanisms (coaching; co-creation), WP4; as well as *‘Communities of Practices’ to foster long-term stakeholder cooperation within and across the regions; WP5. While we expect to create long-lasting impact already within the project lifetime itself by engaging with hundreds of actors within our regions to stimulate collaboration and actions for change; activities are designed to be continued post-project being also open for other Blue Regions, clusters and individual companies to join. To that end the inter-active BlueBioCluster portal is not only a repository of the projects’ outputs, but is set up in such way, that it will be continuously updated and maintained by and with its users also post-project

In the context of global climate change, imminent need for energy security and environmental conservation, renewable energy is now considered an important element of a sustainable energy supply. The UK and Scottish Governments have set ambitious targets for power generation from renewable sources: 50% of electricity is to be generated from renewable sources in Scotland, and 15% of the UK's total energy consumption is to be from renewable sources by 2020. The UK has one of the richest wave & tidal energy resources in the world and is at the forefront of researching, developing & deploying this technology in challenging & energetic ocean environments. The industry's success depends on the natural environment (waves & tides), but often how wave & tidal energy devices interact with the environment is not well understood. Through decades of research UK scientists have gained substantial knowledge about our seas and a wealth of experience & data that could be translated and applied in support of sustainable wave and tidal energy generation. This project will create a common language between the UK research community and companies developing technology to harness ocean energy, and in doing so will support collaboration and information exchange between these groups, and with the UK government and industry regulators, to help maintain the ongoing growth of the industry. While the UK is at the forefront of marine renewable energy development, the production of energy from the ocean is by no means limited to the UK. Indeed projects are being developed on almost every continent around the world which could be accessed by UK companies looking to develop overseas. Likewise, many international companies are interested in developing in the UK. Attracted by the UK's leading position in the field and our wealth of natural resources, some international developers have already secured a place at the wave and tidal energy device testing centres at EMEC on Orkney, and at Wave Hub in Cornwall. Many of the greatest challenges facing such developers, whether in the UK or abroad, is in understanding and managing the interaction of the devices with the environment. During this project the fellow will highlight worldwide hotspots for marine renewable energy development and identifying common environmental challenges around the world. A key objective is to identify, translate and apply world leading UK environmental research to help tackle these common challenges. This Fellowship will signpost international business to applicable UK research and help UK researchers form productive industry collaborations to increase the impact and uptake of their work. The project will highlight relevant research outputs in key challenge areas and summarize these in a series of Bulletins. These Bulletins will be made widely available and targeted to businesses and policy makers in order to increase environmental understanding and therefore reduce risk and costs to businesses associated with tackling environmental challenges. It is anticipated that this approach will encourage financial investment from the industry into the UK, and will give confidence to British companies looking to grow and develop overseas. Academic input into the wave and tidal energy industries can help to reduce the environmental risks associated with many developments in the UK. Subsequently, by reducing the cost of environmental impact assessments and uncertainty around the extreme offshore environments where these projects are situated, confidence in the sustainability of the sector will increase. This will undoubtedly encourage further investment, both from the UK and from abroad, often into the rural or remote coastal locations where the energy resource is greatest. The support and networking provided throughout this project can therefore help to create jobs and spark regeneration in these areas while sustaining an economically strong, world-leading marine renewable energy sector.

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