ProtoAtlantic Final Conference

The ProtoAtlantic project announces its final conference and encourages all the stakeholders in the European marine community and general public to save this date. The conference will take place online on the morning of October 19^th and will offer attendees the opportunity to learn first-hand about the project results, findings and conclusions, as well as high-level insights from experts on current and innovative blue economy topics and supporting strategies. The invitation for registration will follow in the coming weeks.

ProtoAtlantic is a European project co-funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme which supports marine startups in meeting the main challenges to get their technologies and products ready and therefore accelerating innovation into the market.

Furthermore, this ProtoAtlantic final event will be completed with a Demo Day where preselected marine start-ups will get the opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors. The Demo Day will take place online on the morning of October 20^th as a private session (only for invited startups and investors).

Programme

Opening and Contextualization

09:00-09:05 - Interreg Atlantic Area and Blue Growth

Isabel Silva - Program Project Officer

09:05-09:15 - ProtoAtlantic Project Introduction and General Insights

Jorge Galván – Project Coordinator (Innovalia Association)

European Strategies and Initiatives on Blue Growth

09:15-09:25 - Atlantic Action Plan - Priority 1: Promote entrepreneurship and innovation

Cecilia Samos – National Node Atlantic Action Plan

09:25-09:35 - BlueInvest – Connecting the Blue Economy Ecosystem

TBD

Block 1. Marine Policies and Investment Opportunities

09:35-09:45 - ProtoAtlantic Main Results, Findings and Recommendations

Jessica Giannoumis – Project Manager (University of Cork)

09:45-10:05 - Discussion Panel: Opportunities for Know-How Transfer and Collaboration among Regional Ecosystems

• Joaquín Hernández – CEO at PLOCAN (Canary Islands)
• Zakaria Naimi – Director at Green Energy Park (Morocco)
• Rotem Cohen – Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Israel)

Moderator: Moisés Santana – General Manager (EMERGE)

Block 2. Marine Startups Acceleration and Business Support

10:05-10:15 - ProtoAtlantic Main Results, Findings and Recommendations

Héctor Martínez – Project Manager (EMERGE)

10:15-10:25 - Main Challenges for Marine Startups to Reach the Market 

Oscar Villanueva – Co-Founder at Arrecife Systems and Startups Mentor

10:25-10:45 - ProtoAtlantic Success Cases in Startups Accelerated:

• Subsea Mechatronics (Canary Islands)
• TBD (Cork)
• TBD (Brest)

Block 3. Marine Infrastructures and Prototyping/Testing Support

10:45-10:55 - ProtoAtlantic Main Results, Findings and Recommendations

Paula Lima – Project Manager (INESC TEC)

10:55-11:15 - Discussion Panel: Access to Infrastructures and Expertise in the Atlantic

• Jérémie Bazin - Head of Campus mondial de la mer
• Dernis Mediavilla - Marine Energy Development Manager at EMEC
• Liam Fitzgerald - Marine Incubation Manager at MaREI

Moderator: TBD – (INESC TEC)

Closure

11:15-11:20 - Conference Closure and Demo Day Welcome

Jorge Galván – Project Coordinator (Innovalia Association)