MED-Hubs: Maritime Innovation for Smart Specialisation in the Western Mediterranean
MED-Hubs Startups: From Innovation to Deployment in the Blue Economy.
The MED-Hubs Acceleration Program, managed by MALTAccelerate, has selected 15 high-potential startups developing solutions for a more sustainable, resilient and innovative Western Mediterranean. These ventures work across marine renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, smart ports and marinas, and sustainable maritime transport, bringing breakthrough technologies closer to market through pilot deployments and investor introductions.
Startups
Multiple blue economy verticals.
One pathway from innovation to deployment.
Meet the MED-Hubs cohort:
Meet the innovators developing practical solutions across marine energy, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, smart ports, maritime mobility and environmental monitoring.
Sustainable and green maritime transport
BioBright develops an environmental intelligence platform for ports and maritime infrastructure, enabling real-time monitoring of carbon emissions, water quality, and pollution risks. Its integrated hardware-software solution combines dual-phase sensing technology with AI-driven analytics to provide accurate, continuous data in harsh marine environments.
Sustainable maritime transport / marine mobility
Bout develops a digital platform that improves sustainable maritime mobility by optimizing vessel utilization and supporting electrification. Its solution helps modernize waterborne transport and respond to growing demand for cleaner urban mobility services.
Sustainable fisheries
DuWo tackles marine pollution by replacing single-use polystyrene fish crates with smart returnable alternatives. Its solution improves circularity in fisheries supply chains while supporting food safety and material recovery at end of life.
Smart ports and marinas
Recycllux develops a data-driven marine litter management platform for ports and marinas. Combining satellite Earth observation, AI hotspot detection, and cleanup orchestration, the solution helps operators monitor, manage, and verify pollution control in real time.
Sustainable fisheries
PONTOS develops a marine socio-ecological digital twin and an onboard AI copilot for fishers. Its solutions support route optimization, stock management, e-logbook compliance, and more sustainable fishing practices, helping improve both ecological and economic outcomes.
Smart ports and marinas
ODYBOAT develops a digital operating system for smart cruise disembarkation and coastal mobility orchestration. Its platform helps reduce congestion, activate underused coastal assets, and generate actionable intelligence for ports, municipalities, and local operators.
Sustainable fisheries
Reefsupport develops digital tools for marine and coastal ecosystem monitoring. Its platform helps conservation teams and fisheries stakeholders collect, map, and manage reliable field data, supporting better-informed decisions for sustainable fisheries and marine protection.
Aquaculture and fish farming
ExypnoTech supports aquaculture farms with EyeFish, a solar-powered AI and IoT platform for biomass estimation, water quality monitoring, predictive analytics, and real-time alerts. The solution helps farms improve efficiency, reduce losses, and operate more sustainably.
Aquaculture and fish farming
CORAlliance develops innovative solutions for large-scale coral and oyster reef regeneration. Using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), the company applies living tissue onto substrates to accelerate the restoration of damaged marine ecosystems, including coral reefs affected by climate change and deep-sea mining.
Marine renewable energy
SolarSub develops high-capacity floating solar solutions designed to address key constraints in port electrification. By enabling renewable energy generation directly on water surfaces, the technology provides clean, behind-the-meter power for ports and maritime infrastructure without requiring additional land or grid capacity.
Marine renewable energy
Seares develops adaptive, self-powering mooring systems for offshore aquaculture, floating photovoltaics, offshore wind, and marinas. Its Seadamp FX technology uses active damping, energy harvesting, and AI to improve survivability, reduce maintenance costs, and support predictive monitoring.
Smart ports and marinas
Vessel X develops autonomous water surface vessels for coastal and marine pollution management. Its solutions combine AI, image processing, and autonomous navigation to support water cleaning, environmental monitoring, and maritime safety.
Marine renewable energy
Nautracker develops floating photovoltaic tracking technology for ports, reservoirs, and other inshore water surfaces. Its patented platform follows the sun to increase energy yield while also helping reduce evaporation and improve water quality.
Sustainable and green maritime transport
TUCCO is developing an autonomous underwater drone system that uses LED-UVC technology to prevent biofouling on ship hulls. By stopping biofilm formation early, the solution can reduce maintenance costs, fuel consumption, chemical pollution, and carbon emissions.
Energy, AI, marine monitoring, data analytics
Sensemakers develops autonomous surface vessels and docking stations for continuous marine biodiversity and water quality monitoring. Combining robotics, AI, underwater imaging, sonar, and sensors, the company enables scalable seabed mapping and environmental data collection in ports, coastal zones, and offshore environments.