Four CINEA EU funded projects receive the 2024 Atlantic Project Award

Projects FLORA, MSP-OR, C-FAARER and A-AAGORA were distinguished with an Atlantic Project Award each at the 11^th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in Bordeaux on 22 November 2024. 

These prestigious awards, presented by the Atlantic Steering Committee members and the European Commission, celebrate outstanding success stories achieved by projects within the geographical area covered by the Atlantic Strategy.

This year, six awards were granted as recognition of the projects’ outstanding performance in the five award categories corresponding to the Pillars of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0:

• Atlantic Ports
• Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy
• Marine Renewable Energy
• Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts
• International Cooperation

Meet the winners

Marine Renewable Energy:  FLORA Ocean Station (EMFAF)

The project is developing an industrial-scale prototype of an ocean station with renewable energy generation and oceanographic capabilities.

Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts: C-FAARER (Horizon Europe Mission Ocean) and MSP-OR (EMFF)

C-FAARER supports ocean farmers in the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin to develop community-driven business models for regenerative ocean farming and policymakers to take enabling actions.

MSP-OR helps national authorities with the implementation of maritime spatial planning in the outermost regions of the Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands) and French Guiana.

International Cooperation: A-AAGORA (Horizon Europe Mission Ocean) 

Atlantic-Arctic Agora (A-AAGORA) supports the European Commission Mission on “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” within the “Atlantic- Arctic lighthouse” through the reduction of pressures in coastal areas to boost resilience to climate change and mitigate its impacts.

Both EMFAF and Horizon Europe Mission Ocean programmes are implemented by CINEA.

Atlantic Ports: HYDEA (Interreg Atlantic Area)

The main objective of HYDEA is to assess, develop and promote the use of technologies based on green hydrogen from renewable energy sources (like marine energy) in ports in the Atlantic Area.

Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy: BLUESKILLING INNOVATION

Blueskilling Innovation will deliver the necessary skills for marine renewables and green shipping technology in the Atlantic Area.

With 23 very diverse applications it was challenging to select the projects that contribute most to the priorities of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 as well as their potential for replicability and expansion across the sea basin – and beyond. 

Achievements and challenges in the Atlantic blue economy

In line with the 2023 Ministerial Declaration signed in in the framework of the 2023 Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in Porto, this year’s conference under French Presidency has been focusing on three key priorities that underscore the Ministerial Declaration: 

• Environmental stewardship, 
• Stakeholder community involvement
• International cooperation. 

For the first time, the conference also featured two hackathons on future project ideas. Common interest has been shown on:

•  Ensuring resilient coasts while enhancing the port infrastructures. 
• Decarbonising ports for sustainable coastal communities

As in the previous years, the Conference has been organised in close liaison with the Annual Interreg Atlantic event. This approach illustrates the strong cooperation between the Atlantic Steering Committee and the Interreg Atlantic Managing Authority to support the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 implementation.

To tap even further into synergies, the Conference also took place back-to-back with the “Assises de l'économie de la mer 2024”.

CINEA Project Adviser Julia Beile, responsible for the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan, participated in the event sharing relevant information on CINEA funding programmes.