Out of the 17 startups from ten different nationalities competing in the 4th edition of the Blue Bio Value acceleration program, there were distinctions for the Portuguese Blue Oasis Technology, the Norwegian Tekslo Seafood and the Argentinean FeedVax.

Founded in 2021, the Portuguese startup Blue Oasis Technology builds and installs artificial, carbon neutral “reefs” that enable the recovery of damaged marine ecosystems and the reversion of the decline in the biodiversity of the oceans. The BluBoxx solution developed by this startup also ensures the registration of the environmental parameters and the data transmission, installing the means in both reefs and other subaquatic structures.

In turn, the Norwegian Tekslo Seafood focuses its activities on the utilisation of seaweed harvested from the North Atlantic in a sustainable approach to commercialising innovative food products. Founded in 2017, the company holds the objective of building major international brands and introducing seaweed into daily diets.

Finally, the FeedVax startup, launched in Argentina in 2017, operates a platform for the preparation of oral vaccines for aquaculture fish. They currently commercialise an oral vaccine against Streptococcosis in tilapia, combined with feed and resistant to gastric processes. This oral vaccine is a solution that simplifies the life of producers and eliminates not only the stress of the fish but also the need to make recourse to antibiotics.

These three startups received prizes with a total value of €45,000, which may be applied through the Blue Demo Network, a platform focused on the blue bioeconomy set up to help startups find, through Portuguese infrastructures and services, the solutions to their needs. 

The Blue Bio Value program results from vision shared by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Oceano Azul Foundation of advancing towards a new model of development that dissociates economic growth from the degradation of natural resources. The Blue Bio Value supports solutions with their origins in the ocean, from the emergence of an idea through to the launching and developing of startups.