Maritime and Space Cluster. 15 years on the course of maritime and space innovations

 

By Marek Grzybowski

The Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster is a key maritime cluster in the Baltic Sea region, an active member of the European Network of Maritime Clusters, United Nation Global Compact and the Cluster Collaboration Platform. In 2023, the Cluster actively participated in international projects GALATEA, ZEVInnovation, INTERMARE, and is a business partner of the International University of the European Union SEA EU. The Cluster members actively participated in BALTEXPO 2023, Nor Shipping and Posidonia 2024 and the Polish Ports Congress 2023 and 2024.

The Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster is perceived on the international market as the Polish Maritime Cluster, promoting Polish ports and shipyards and companies cooperating with them, Polish institutes, universities and maritime schools, the Polish fishing and yachting industry and business environment institutions related to the maritime economy. As an organization operating in the Pentagon Helix system, it promotes and creates all scientific, business and social activities aimed at the sustainable development of maritime industries, sustainable exploitation and exploration of oceans and seas.

International Projects

In 2023, the cluster began operating in international projects I3-4-BlueGrowth Project and BLUEDOTS.

I3-4-BLUE-GROWTH is a preparatory action for building development and investment capacity, the aim of which is to promote interregional cooperation for generating innovative projects and investments in priority markets and high added value in blue economy sectors.

The BLUEDOTS project aims to build the capacity of social economy SMEs operating in the blue economy to apply digital and social innovations and principles, supporting a smoother and faster transformation of the blue economy towards smart, sustainable and inclusive models.

The BSSC is active in the business and scientific fields

The cluster is active in the business and scientific fields, supports initiatives that support the use of innovations in the development of the Polish maritime economy, the internationalization of Polish companies, the decarbonization of maritime industries, and the popularization of the achievements of the Polish maritime economy on the international market. The organization actively supports Polish large and small seaports and the Association of Maritime Cities and Municipalities in strengthening their position on the international market.

The cluster actively cooperates with the Space Science Commission of the Gdańsk branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Together with the Commission, it was a co-organizer of 4 international conferences per year. Over the past 7 years, the cluster, together with academics from Pomerania and Warsaw, organized conferences in which it positioned the achievements of young scientists, Polish maritime and space business, the results of scientific research by lawyers, economists and philosophers of science, engineers and representatives of medical sciences. The cluster organized expert panels in which various aspects of conducting maritime and space business were presented.

The cluster organized many international meetings or participated in conferences whose topics concerned the production of innovative ships, including zero-emission units. ZEV HUB was established – a hub for the production of innovative ships, coordinated by the CRIST shipyard. As part of the ZEV innovation project, financed by Norwegian grants, cooperation with the Norwegian GCE BLUE MARITIME Cluster was strengthened. Thanks to this, it was possible to position Polish enterprises and products of Polish companies on EU markets, especially Scandinavian markets.

Cluster of Hubs

Baltic Green Tech HUB is coordinated by the ASE Technology Group. Green Tech HUB offers comprehensive solutions related to the design and use of energy systems, energy storage and management. Its competences include the design of wind farms, gas terminals and ports, industrial safety of installations of strategic importance for the economy, industrial systems with a high degree of fire and chemical hazard, etc.

The cluster supports the promotional activities of the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone, including the activities of the Acceleration Zone, in the part related to maritime technologies. The cluster substantively prepared the meeting “Zero-emission technologies in the maritime economy” with representatives of Innovation Norway, which was financed by PARP.

The meeting took place during the Baltexpo 2023 fair and enjoyed great interest from companies. During the meeting, the innovative potential of Polish enterprises in the area of ​​smart ship and smart port, the offshore market and the scientific and educational potential was presented.

High position in the country in the world
The cluster is active in the national and international forum, in Pomerania and in the industry dimension. Participation in international projects I3-4-BlueGrowth, GALATEA, ZEVInnovation, INTERMARE and expanding the cluster’s activity areas to include space technologies was a good decision of the cluster members, and the conferences organized by the cluster and the Committee of Space Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences contributed to the integration of young scientists and representatives of startups, practitioners and the scientific community of the Baltic Sea Region.

The cluster owes its high position on the domestic and international market to the activities of its members, information about whose activities is posted on an ongoing basis in Polish and English on the websites www.bssc.pl and www.balticcluster.pl and on Linkedin, FB and TW and the aforementioned portals of world organizations. The cluster registers from about 10 thousand to 12 thousand views per day. This is a significant result if we take into account that the Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster is an elite organization (it is not a mass organization) and operates on a very competitive international market. Thanks to positioning on the Cluster’s websites and international portals, each supporting member or partner gains a specific promotional value, estimated in the value of expenditure on advertising and other promotional activities.

The promotional value of positioning one supporting member or partner through the website, social media (FB, TW) and other marketing activities of the Maritime and Space Cluster (content marketing, information, articles, patronage, events, B-to-B meetings, etc.) is at least USD 220,000 on the international market and PLN 90,000 on the domestic market. Actively conducted content marketing and other professional marketing activities (corporate PR, Public Affairs, Corporate Social Responsibility, Inbound Marketing) bring specific benefits to the Members of the Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster. Over 900 thousand views per year on the Cluster website and at least the same number on FB and TW as well as United Nations Global Compact and European Cluster Collaboration Platform mean that information about companies and events promoted by the cluster reaches over 4.5 million recipients per year. It should be emphasized that these are mainly recipients from the broadly understood maritime economy and those interested in implementing innovations and international cooperation.

 

Participation in international projects
In 2023, the cluster continued the projects it started in 2021 and 2022. The cluster was invited by Aerospace Valley and Le Pôle Mer Méditerranée to participate in a project from Horizon 2020. By the Centre for Technology Transfer LLC from Croatia and ÅKP from Norway to a project financed by Norway Grants.
The launch of the projects creates an opportunity for members of the Baltic Maritime Cluster and Polish maritime companies to participate in the transfer of knowledge, internationalization and commercialization of products and services. It also places the cluster in the ranks of many of the most active faculties and research institutes, considering that the cluster currently operates in four international scientific, research and application projects.

As part of the projects, the cluster supports innovative small companies. We also promote the New Competences Centre, which used the technology of Flin Systems (another member of the cluster) and launched a training centre using VR technologies in training port equipment and offshore vessel operators. We inform about the achievements of Marine Techology, which designed and introduced the first hydrodrone to the market.

The hydrodrone was used in the Port of Gdynia (a member of the Cluster) for hydrographic research of the port’s water areas. These water areas are also researched by another member of the Cluster, the Echogram Measurement Group. We also use the experience of advanced partners in implementing innovations and transferring knowledge, such as the Port of Hamburg, which is a leader in introducing automation, ICT, innovation and pro-ecological activities in ports. The decision to expand the activities and establish the Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster turned out to be a good one. It was made after a short meeting by professors Zdzisław Brodecki, Marek Grzybowski and Edmund Wittbrodt over 7 years ago.

The concept of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster and its strategy was clarified during creative discussions in the VADEMECUM café at ul. Świętojańska 5 in Gdynia, which is managed by Mrs. Emilia and serves delicious winter teas. The cooperation of the Cluster with the Commission of Space Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, managed by Prof. Edmund Wittbrodt, turned out to be particularly effective. In a short time, the Baltic Sea & Space Cluster became a recognizable brand on the international forum.

       

Knowledge transfer
The cluster focused on popularizing knowledge that the use of space technologies is useful in environmental protection and monitoring, spatial planning and maritime transport. For example, the satellite monitoring of the Baltic Sea environment SatBałtyk, which was developed by scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences as part of the Innovative Economy project, allows for ongoing monitoring of many factors determining the state of the Baltic Sea and its surrounding conditions.

The cluster operates in numerous projects implemented within the framework of Interreg Baltic Sea Region and DG Mare, and also holds an important position in the European Network of Maritime Clusters, is an active member of the United Nations Global Compact and is active on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform. Thanks to this activity, the Cluster members are practically positioned all over the world. On the international forum, the Cluster is positioned as the Baltic Sea & Space Cluster.
So far, almost 30 conferences, symposia and seminars have been held, and their topics included the development prospects of legal and economic sciences and oceanology (organizer IO PAN), the use of innovative technologies in ports, including ICT and space technologies (WSAiB), autonomous ships (PG), institutional cooperation in the development of legal and social sciences related to the sea and space (UG).

Interdisciplinary nature was also held by conferences presenting the use of space technologies in sea research (IO PAN) and the use of marine drones in maritime research and defense (AMW). A special conference entitled Smart Port was devoted to the computerization of ports and the use of satellite technologies in their management. It was organized at WSAiB by the Baltic Sea & Space Cluster, the Space Science Committee, the Gdańsk branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences under the patronage of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA). There were also conferences devoted to the use of artificial intelligence (Gdańsk University of Technology and University of Gdańsk), the use of satellite technologies in maritime security and ocean and sea research (IO PAN). In November, a conference entitled “Early Spring Of The Era Of Artificial Intelligence” was held. The conference took place at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk and combined technological, legal, business and humanitarian threads. The conference had a wide resonance in the international environment, and on the Linkedin portal, over 600 people were interested in its subject matter in the first 24 hours.

 

Maritime and Space Policy
An important feature of the conference is that research results are published in English, and periodic book publications are published. The latest publication, in the area of ​​legal, economic and technical sciences and the philosophy of space, was assessed at 100 points. Today, it is an exceptional position in the achievements of Polish science and the result of the work of scientists working within the Baltic Maritime and Space Cluster and the Space Science Commission of the Gdańsk Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
One of the most active areas of activity of the Cluster members is the activity to popularize issues related to Polish maritime policy. The Cluster continues the activities initiated in the flagship undertaking of the Cluster, the Maritime Policy scientific conference. It was attended by over 150 representatives from about 80 companies, institutes, universities and administration. The Polish maritime economy is not a black hole in the space of the global maritime economy – this was the conclusion of the Conference, and an interdisciplinary Think Tank was established at the Cluster, which supports all activities to strengthen Maritime Poland and develop space technologies.


The cluster is promoted via its website, social media and in media and publications. One of the important elements of promotion are conference publications in English, which were created on the initiative of professors Brodecki and Grzybowski. On the pages of the “Gospodarka Morska” portal and in the NAMIARY NA MORZE I HANDEL magazine, periodicals: “Logistyka”, “Nautologia”, “Rocznik Gdyński” we publish on the maritime economy and our activities.
The launch of projects creates an opportunity for members of the Baltic Maritime Cluster and Polish maritime companies to participate in the transfer of knowledge, internationalization and commercialization of products and services. It also places the cluster in the ranks of many of the most active faculties and scientific institutes, considering that the Cluster currently operates in four international scientific-research and application projects.
The cluster is developing in the Pentagon Helix formula, integrating the transfer of knowledge between science and business, supporting social initiatives, local governments and administration, and developing investor relations. The cluster’s activities are characterised by a holistic, integrative and global approach, incorporating the activities of maritime industries into the 4.0 economy with a large load of ICT systems and tools and space technologies.