News and events published on the Eco-innovation Community Platform

• News event: "Accelerating the Commercialisation of Eco-Innovation in Europe‘s Regions"
• News: "EMAS Accommodation Infosheet 2016 lists EMAS-registered hotels, campgrounds, etc."
• News: "Report: Circular Economy clusters and emerging industries - impact on value chains and cross-sector collaboration"

The French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER, Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) is one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions. It has around 1600 staff and a remit to carry out targeted applied research on issues such as the impact of climate change on the oceans, marine biodiversity, pollution prevention and seafood quality. IFREMER is involved in numerous projects, including the application of eco-innovation to the oceans. A particular current concern is the issue of micro-plastics in the sea.
Chantal Compère, head of the IFREMER research and technological development unit, discussed some of the challenges facing the oceans that eco-innovation could help to tackle, and highlighted some current key research projects.

A company with its origins in Swedish aerospace and automobile company Saab is moving towards installation of an underwater power plant that it claims will produce energy cost effectively and with minimal environmental impact. The company, Minesto, has developed what looks like an underwater kite that performs figure-of-eight manoeuvres in the sea, driven by ocean currents. The kite carries a small turbine, which is turned by the water flowing through it. The power generated by the turbine is transmitted via cable to the shore.

A high-level conference held in Utrecht, the Netherlands in mid-April, under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union, has published a manifesto that sets out a roadmap for the development of the bioeconomy in the EU.