What is the Blue Economy?
The blue economy encompasses all economic activities related to our oceans, seas, and coasts. This includes traditional sectors such as fisheries, tourism, and maritime transport, as well as emerging industries like renewable energy, aquaculture, biotechnology, and seabed mining. With an increasing focus on sustainable practices, the blue economy aims to balance economic growth with the preservation of ocean ecosystems.
The Blue Gravity Program
The City of Cockburn is a proud sponsor of the Blue Gravity Program run by For Blue. Blue Gravity supports the growth of high-potential marine innovations and facilitates collaboration among stakeholders in WA’s ‘blue economy.’ The program's activities include funding support, services, education, events, partnership facilitation, investment brokering, and communication.
A start-up success story
WaveX a Cockburn tech start-up has grown from a single-person side-project to a full-time team. They participated in the Blue Gravity program in 2023-24 and took their desktop concept to the next level. Their technology is ready for large-scale demonstration, and WaveX has rapidly evolved from a self-funded start-up to attracting nearly $10M in public and private investment.
Learn more about their rapid growth and how they engaged the ecosystem of support in this feature article on the For Blue website.
Engineering Ocean Solutions: a conference fostering innovation
Now in its third year, Engineering Ocean Solutions (EOS) is an exciting one and a half day conference that brings together leading experts and innovators to tackle the challenges of marine and maritime engineering. In partnership with the City of Cockburn, the Department of Jobs, Tourism, and Innovation, For Blue brings this conference to life with world class discussion on leading technologies, emerging challenges, business opportunities, and support for new innovation.
Engineering Ocean Solutions event was on 10-11 September 2024 and was your chance to dive into the blue economy and explore the vast opportunities it offers. Whether you're an entrepreneur, researcher, or industry leader, this event will provide valuable insights, networking opportunities, and the chance to be part of a community dedicated to sustainable growth and innovation.
Business opportunities within the blue economy
The potential within the blue economy is vast and varied. Here are just a few of the exciting opportunities on the horizon:
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Renewable Energy: The ocean offers immense potential for sustainable power generation, including offshore wind farms, wave energy converters, and tidal power plants.
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Marine Biotechnology: Marine biotechnology unlocks new possibilities in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and industrial processes, leveraging the unique properties of marine organisms.
The future is blue
The City of Cockburn has recently strengthened it’s partnership with UWA, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Oceans Institue.
The Oceans Institute uses its multidisciplinary research strengths across oceanography, ecology and engineering to work with all levels of government, industry and business, research institutions and the community to achieve the sustainable use of ocean resources.
The MoU will support the development of ocean-related industries and infrastructure, education, training and research to support investment attraction and employment in the growing sector, positioning WA as a leader in the blue economy.