On 22 November 2023, JPI Oceans invited ongoing R&I projects funded by the MarTERA ERA-NET to a one-day project event in Brussels. The event is part of an effort by JPI Oceans of ensuring the legacy and community of this ERA-net after the funding consortium led by German officially ended in 2022.
The MarTERA projects from the 2020 call (ADRIATIC, AMMOTRACE, BIOGLIDER, DeMARC, MARINAL, MMSUV, ProBaNNt, UNDINA) presented their research within a broad range of topics related to marine and maritime technology. A special session on the challenges and opportunities science-industry collaboration featured a key-note by Peer Fietzek, Senior Business Development Manager Ocean Science at Kongsberg Discovery, followed by a panel discussion among MarTERA project coordinators on the same topic. Additionally, the meeting featured poster presentations of projects from the 2021 call: ASTRA, EROVMUS, MuWin, PRONICARE, SMARTPOL, iPREMAS, LOCOMOTION, WeBoat.
The event also included a session on future funding opportunities for R&I within marine and maritime technology. Presentations on this topic were given by Jaap Gebraad, Secretary General at Waterborne Technology Platform and Maurice Heral, French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership Brussels Cellule, and Jaques Delsalle, European Commission, DG R&I. The meeting concluded with a discussion regarding ideas for joint activities to enhance synergies and outcomes of the MarTERA project portfolio.