The final of the fifth edition of BluAct, the programme supporting the growth of startups in the blue economy, will take place on 28 November, starting at 2.30 pm, at Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos. Manuela Álvares, Councillor for the Environment and Energy Transition, Public Space, Housing and Municipal Works at Matosinhos City Council, and Maria Oliveira, Business Director at UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, will be present at the grand final.

An integrated system for the treatment and recovery of wine wastewater using microalgae, versatile nanofibre membranes with marine compounds for applications in cosmetics, health and agriculture, a biogas purification system using microalgae, a food supplement with macroalgae extracts for glycaemic control, water disinfection technology using antimicrobial microparticles, and a passive, modular underwater robot for distributed and scalable monitoring are some of the business ideas that will compete for the prizes offered in the BluAct 2025 final.

After mentoring sessions and support for the development of their business models, as well as workshops to prepare for the public presentation of the projects, which took place on 17 and 18 November, it is now the turn of the candidates to present their ideas to the judges on 28 November.

The overall winner of BluAct will receive €5,000, a prize offered by INDAQUA Matosinhos. In addition, the top three winners will have access to free incubation at UPTEC Mar for four months, as well as a premium subscription to School of Startups: Foundations, UPTEC’s online pre-incubation programme. The project with the greatest impact on the canning industry will receive €2,500 from Conservas Portugal Norte, while one of the top three winners will have free access to the next edition of UPTEC’s School of Startups.

BluAct is promoted by the Matosinhos City Council, in partnership with UPTEC, INDAQUA and Conservas Portugal Norte, and has supported more than 50 business projects over five editions. The final session of the programme will take place on 28 November at 2.30 p.m. Registration is free and can be done here.

21 November 2025