The partners in the AquaForest project created a mangrove island in Ecuador using sand and dredged sludge. There are now around 30,000 mangrove trees growing there. This unique project shows how nature and technology can go hand in hand to breathe new life into vulnerable ecosystems.

From 22 to 25 May 2025, the City of Ostend hosted the maritime festival Ostend at Anchor. The central theme of this edition was working at sea. Blue Cluster participated in and helped shape the entire event. Join us as we look back on an inspiring event.

Within the scope of the European Ocean Pact, Blue Cluster has published a new position paper. This document puts forward six strategic priorities that are essential to use the full potential of our marine areas in a sustainable and balanced way.

The federal policy document North Sea 2025 of Minister Verlinden forms the policy framework for the Belgian North Sea area in the current legislature. During the discussion in the Belgian parliament, the Minister emphasized the need for an integrated approach to safety, economy and ecology.

Nature restoration in the Belgian North Sea is high on the agenda. But where are we today, and how do we make nature restoration at sea a large-scale reality? These questions were central during the event “Scaling up nature restoration in the Belgian part of the North Sea”.

Would you like to know more about innovations linked to the sea? Come to Ostend at Anchor and visit the blue innovation village. Various companies and organisations from the blue economy gladly present a wide range of innovative projects, services and products.

From 8 to 10 April, the WindEurope Annual Event took place in Copenhagen. More than 16,000 participants and 550 exhibitors descended on the Danish capital to discover or present the latest developments in wind energy. Blue Cluster was also present.

In March, a number of Belgian and other international companies participated in a group business trip to Poland in the framework of the ELBE Eurocluster project. During this mission, Blue Cluster gathered a lot of useful insights on the possibilities of offshore wind in Poland.

On 6 March 2025, the first workshop of the SWiM project took place in Brussels. This project investigates how offshore solar panels can be integrated into existing and new wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The focus of this workshop was on policy integration.