ABBA project - Sustainable blue economy through Adriatic-Ionian cooperation

Duration

01.09.2024. - 31.08.2027.

Budget

1,574,323.72 EUR

Project Description

The Adriatic-Ionian Sustainable Blue Economy Alliance (ABBA) is a project funded by the European Union under the Interreg VI-B IPA ADRION programme, aimed at boosting sustainable blue growth across the Adriatic-Ionian region. The project will establish six Regional Blue Excellence Hubs across Greece, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These hubs will foster innovation by supporting deep tech innovators focused on advanced technologies like AI, robotics, and biotechnology. 

These innovations will benefit blue economy sub-sectors such as marine energy, sustainable aquaculture, maritime transport, and shipbuilding. By facilitating collaboration and capacity building, the ABBA project will address regional challenges and contribute to economic development.

Objective/Output/Impact of the Project

The main objective of the project is to harness the potential of advanced technologies and support the scaling-up of SMEs and startups in the blue economy sector.

Key deliverables include:

• The development and testing of two innovation support services.
• Promotion and scaling-up of 30 early-stage deep tech concepts.
• Creation of 12 Proof of Concepts through transnational partnerships                                                                         

By bringing together stakeholders from multiple countries and sectors, the project will promote cross-border innovation, increase research capacity, and help bridge the economic gap between Adriatic-Ionian regions. It will also enhance the integration of blue growth strategies in Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) at the regional and national levels​.                                                               

Partners

The ABBA project consortium is led by the University of the Aegean (UAEGEAN) and includes partners from key blue economy sectors across the Adriatic-Ionian region. 

The project partners 

UAEGEAN – Lead partner (Greece)
KiNNO Innovation Intermediaries LTD (Greece)
Chamber of Commerce Venice Rovigo (Italy)
Intermodal Transport Cluster (Croatia)
Science and Technology Park Montenegro (Montenegro)
AULEDA – Local Economic Development Agency (Albania)
Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency (SERDA) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)​​

Associated Partners

Porti Detar Vlorë Sh.A
ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΙΣ – ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΑΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΝΑΥΤΙΛΙΑ- STRATIGIS-KENTRO ARISTEIAS GIA TIN NAUTILIA
T2I– Trasferimento tecnologico e innovazione scarl
Ministarstvo nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Crne Gore
Ministarstvo saobraćaja Kantona Sarajevo
Lučka uprava Zadar

Contacts

Project manager 

Maja Lukić Grabovac   maja@serda.ba