SUBMARINER NETWORK FOR BLUE GROWTH EWIV

Their core work

The Submariner Network is a European membership network that connects maritime industry actors, policymakers, and researchers around the sustainable use of marine resources and offshore space. Their core work is facilitating knowledge exchange and policy dialogue on blue economy topics — particularly the concept of "multi-use" marine space, where offshore areas serve more than one purpose simultaneously (e.g., wind farms combined with aquaculture). In H2020, they contributed network access, stakeholder engagement expertise, and dissemination capacity, moving from early conceptual studies of multi-use marine space to supporting real offshore demonstrator projects. They are not a research lab but a network hub: their value is connecting the right people across European maritime sectors.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The network entered H2020 through a coordination and support action (MUSES, CSA), which is characteristic of early-stage concept validation and policy groundwork — mapping how multi-use marine space could work across European seas. By 2020, their second project (UNITED, IA) shifted from concept to demonstration: actual offshore multi-use platform prototypes aimed at cost-effective, eco-friendly production. This is a meaningful progression from policy exploration to real-world implementation support. No keyword data was available, so this assessment is based solely on project types, funding schemes, and title analysis.

They are moving from facilitating conversations about marine multi-use to supporting physical implementation, suggesting future collaborations would benefit from their network reach as a dissemination and stakeholder engagement partner in offshore or blue economy demonstrator projects.

How they like to work

The Submariner Network participates exclusively as a consortium member — never as coordinator in these two projects — which fits their profile as a network organisation that adds value through reach and connections rather than technical leadership. They operate in mid-to-large consortia (37 unique partners across 2 projects, averaging 18+ partners per project), which reflects their role as a convener that brings legitimacy and access to diverse maritime actors. Working with them means gaining a link into the broader European blue economy community, not a hands-on technical execution partner.

With 37 unique consortium partners across 11 countries in just two projects, the Submariner Network demonstrates broad geographic and sectoral reach across European maritime regions. Their network likely spans the Baltic, North Sea, and Mediterranean, consistent with their pan-European mandate as a European Economic Interest Grouping (EWIV).

What sets them apart

The Submariner Network occupies a niche that very few organisations fill: they are a dedicated European advocacy and knowledge network specifically for blue growth, not a university, not a company, and not a public authority. This gives them credibility with all three audiences simultaneously — industry, science, and policy — which makes them uniquely effective as a dissemination and stakeholder engagement partner in projects that need to reach actual maritime operators or influence EU blue economy policy. For any consortium targeting offshore multi-use, blue economy uptake, or maritime spatial planning, they offer a ready-made European stakeholder audience that takes years to build independently.

Highlights from their portfolio

• UNITED
  The larger-budget project (EUR 495,062) and an Innovation Action — the most implementation-focused funding scheme — signalling the network's step into real offshore multi-use demonstrators rather than just policy work.
• MUSES
  Their entry point into H2020 was a Coordination and Support Action on multi-use in European seas, establishing their role as a convener in what became a sustained EU research theme on offshore space sharing.