12 Blue Economy international startup companies, are pitching at this edition of the ClimAccelerator, developing innovative, real-world solutions directly tied to Malta’s key environmental and maritime challenges.

These range from port sustainability and marina innovation to ocean health and marine pollution. Their work could have a significant impact on Malta’s marine ecosystems and related industries.

Who’s hosting it?

Malta ClimAccelerator specialises in supporting technology startups tackling real world problems affected by the ongoing climate emergency.

The acceleration programme is run by MALTAccelerate, under license of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Climate-KIC, an EU agency that supports entrepreneurship and technology as key tools to tackle the issue of climate change.

MALTAccelerate also provides over 20 years expertise in supporting and bringing to success ventures across the UK, Europe and accession countries.

The accelerator is open to startups engaged in areas like coastal tourism, blue biotechnology, marine living resources, port activities, marine renewable energy and maritime transport.

What do participants get?

• Access to equity investment up to €1.5 million
• Access to local and European funding up to €1 million
• Access to Malta Venture Capital programme up to €500,000
• Post-program support
• Access to partnerships, workshops, mentoring, both locally and internationally, for joint R&D, MVP pilots and consortia development for EU funding purposes
• Winner of pitching competition receives a prize along with tailored support to secure up to €1 million in public funding

Who are the 12 start-up participants?

• Algae Scope – Specialises in replacing harmful substances in textiles with high-performing alternatives made from seaweed
• BioBright Algae – Helps maritime industry to reduce CO2 emissions and water pollution within ports through algae plats and monitoring systems
• Clean Valley – Aims to transform Canadian innovation with nature-inspired solutions for the aquaculture industry
• GT Wings – A technology provider designing unique wind propulsion systems to decarbonise the commercial shipping industry
• Ogyre – A company specialising in ocean cleaning
• Nature Safe Marine – Helps businesses reduce fuel consumption, lower emissions and minimise environmental impact
• Vessel X – The creators of a small-craft water surface cleaning vessel
• Bout – A platform that connects people seeking boat rides with people that provide them
• Green Independence – A tech startup dedicated to accelerating independence from fossil fuels by providing green energy and clean water solutions
• MANHAT – Deep technology startup focused on patented natural water distillation technology for sustainable water solutions for irrigation on in-land and floating farms
• TUCCO – Developers of a biofouling prevention system based using autonomous underwater drones equipped with UVC light banks
• Planetixx – Startup that uses satellite data and AI methods to monitor ocean health, particularly focused on marine debris, algal blooms, aquaculture and blue carbon

Event details

Happening Friday 9th May 2025 (tomorrow), the event kicks off with speeches from Alessandro Silvestri (MALTAccelerate), Bernard Montebello (MDIA), Matthew Walsh (expert board member, EC Mission Restore our Oceans and Waters), Katalin Magyar (Director of Business Development, Island Innovation) and Andrea Conti (Ecosystem Lead South Europe, EIT Digital).

Two pitching sessions, each featuring 10-minute presentations, will follow.

In between pitching sessions, a panel discussion titled Climate-tech ventures and equity investment in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities, will take place, moderated by Francesco Cracolici (CEO at Nomadic Minds).

The panellists will be Ulyana Shtybel (CEO at Quoroom), Nora Szeles (CEO at TokePortal, EUROCROWD), Danijela Matovic (Founding Partner and CEO at Strategic Investment Partners), Anastasios Avranas (MP at Pella) and Ranier Chircop (Manager at Malta Venture Capital).