Connecting research, industry and capital to accelerate ocean innovation across Australia and New Zealand.
Access ocean innovation that's ready to work
The Blue Economy Innovation Hub ANZ is a collaboration network designed to strengthen the commercialisation and adoption of ocean innovation. We work across jurisdictions to better connect research capability, industry demand, infrastructure and capital.
Australia and New Zealand hold globally significant marine assets and world-class research institutions. Yet innovation pathways remain fragmented, and commercialisation outcomes do not reflect the strength of the underlying science or industrial base. The Hub exists to address that gap.
Through coordinated programs and regional partnerships, we support the development, testing and scaling of solutions that contribute to economic growth, environmental resilience and sovereign capability.
How We Operate
The Hub functions as a distributed platform rather than a single institution. Delivery is led by established organisations embedded in key regional ecosystems across Australia and New Zealand; organisations with track records in venture development, research translation and industry collaboration.
This means customers and investors engage with people who already know their market, their regulatory environment and their supply chain. Regional delivery partners bring local relationships and credibility; the Hub provides the cross-jurisdictional coordination, shared infrastructure and access to capital networks that no single regional actor can offer alone.
Regional Presence
The Hub currently works in partnership with regional stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand.
Each region brings distinct industry strengths, research capability and strategic priorities. The Hub provides coordination and shared capability across these jurisdictions while respecting local leadership and economic context.
What we do
The Blue Economy Innovation Hub ANZ connects government agencies, industry operators and investors to the ocean technology solutions and ventures most likely to deliver results.
We work across the full commercialisation pathway, from identifying validated technology and investment-ready ventures, to structuring industry engagement, infrastructure access, funding activation and export market development.
Our focus is on outcomes that matter to our customers: risk mitigation, productivity gains, cost reduction, sovereign capability, regulatory confidence, supply chain stability, market access and sector leadership. We select and support innovators whose solutions meet real demand and technologies genuine novelty and efficacy have been validated.
The Hub doesn't duplicate existing programs, events or initiatives. It integrates and coordinates them, so customers and investors engage through a single access point rather than navigating a fragmented landscape independently.
Why Now?
Australia and New Zealand's ocean environments and industries are under increasing pressure and in the midst of generational transitions. Coastal ecosystems are changing, fisheries face sustainability challenges, and the industries dependent on access to marine resources including aquaculture, maritime logistics, offshore energy, and coastal infrastructure, are navigating a more complex and demanding operating environment than a decade ago with change forecast to accelerate.
At the same time, the value of the coast and ocean as a resource has never been higher. Multiple drivers: for protection, development, regeneration are converging and sometimes conflicting, while innovation shows promise of enabling more solutions in, with and for the ocean to be developed. The very challenges that are acute in this region and solutions being developed here are exactly that which international governments, industries and investors are also seeking.
The Blue Economy Innovation Hub ANZ exists at that convergence. We support the development and deployment of solutions to real, local challenges. And we position the innovators and organisations who deliver them to compete and expand internationally.
The window to build that capability, and that advantage, is open now.
Latest Blogs
Building the Connective Tissue for New Zealand’s Blue Economy
By Elisa Marie Dumas
Not all partnerships are created equal. Over the years I’ve learned that to make meaningful impact, you have to find the people and organisations who share your values and your mission…..
UNOC3: The Finance UNOC – A Turning Point for SDG14 Blue Economy
By Nick Chiarelli
Now that I’m home from the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) and the Blue Economy & Finance Forum (BEFF), one theme stands out above all: finance finally took centre stage.…..