In the presence of EU|BIC Atlanpole and Secretary of State in France, Brune Poirson, Plastic Odyssey team has inaugurated “Ulysses", the first ship ever to run independently on plastic waste in Concarneau, France.

The winner of Nantes Atlanpole’s Eco Innovation Factory 5, Plastic Odyssey has created a 6meters large catamaran which engine turns non-recyclable plastic waste found in oceans/seas into fuel. As tons of waste pollute oceans every day, with a detrimental impact on environment and humans, a team of 4 young marine engineers wanted to give their contribution to the issue by putting their engineering skills into good use:

 “Through this project, we want to prove that there are solutions to give enough value to plastic waste to be considered as a resource. It is a key step to hope one day not to find them again in the ocean, " said Simon Bernard, co-founder of Plastic Odyssey.

What’s next?

Plastic Odyssey team is preparing Ulysses for a for a 3- year long expedition around the world starting in 2020 along the coasts of Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, with the aim to demonstrate how waste can be recycled, to understand local culture and needs, and initiate recycling projects.

EBN, EBN Members, startups and Blue economy

Plastic Odyssey and EBN Member Atlanpole are one of the many active startups and EBN Members in the field; a significant number of EBN Members based in coastal areas support entrepreneurs innovating in tourism, transport, marine litter, sustainable development, marine food and more, generally linked to the sea economy.

Since recently, EBN and its members have been closely collaborating with EC DG Maritime and Fisheries affairs in helping companies break through the market and find suitable investors ready to support their disruptive blue innovation. One example was May this year when EBN and members: Atlanpole (France), West BIC (Ireland) and Lazio Innova (Italy), participated at Blue Invest 2018, a matchmaking event, organised by the European Commission, that brings together innovation actors and the financial community to boost the economic potential of the ocean while protecting its marine resources. EBN and its  Members participated both as mentors and assesing blue economy startups pitching.

Interested in Blue Economy sector?

EBN recently launched a brainstorming group among the members more interested in Blue Economy. For more info and to join the group, get in contact with Laura Lecci, EBN Project Manager.