EVENTS: Rivers, lakes and sea basins – Living Lab sites for testing blue technologies

As part of the Innovablue project, partners are working together to expand the Living Lab concept beyond the Adriatic-Ionian Sea into rivers and lakes across participating countries. These Living Labs provide real-world testing environments where new blue technologies can be demonstrated, validated, and improved.

Expanding the Innovablue ecosystem

During the first year of implementation, the project team made significant progress in identifying and formalizing Living Lab sites. The goal was to expand both the geographic reach and functional scope of the Innovablue innovation ecosystem by including inland waters alongside marine sites.

This process combined:

  • Stakeholder consultations with infrastructure providers and local authorities.

  • On-site assessments of infrastructure readiness, safety, accessibility, and support facilities.

  • Regulatory reviews to ensure testing could be conducted under local conditions.

Thanks to this coordinated effort, three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed with site operators, confirming their integration into the Innovablue ecosystem. These agreements mark an important step toward building a distributed, transnational testing infrastructure for blue technology development.

Living Lab demonstrations

Kotor, Montenegro – 24 September 2025

As part of the event “Innovations in the Blue Economy – Living Lab Concept, Projects and Opportunities for Montenegro”, Innovablue project partners and their stakeholders will showcase the use of the latest technologies, such as an underwater drone. The demonstration will highlight how advanced technologies can support the management of marine environments and provide new services for coastal communities.

Vransko Jezero Nature Park, Croatia – 15 October 2025

Pilot action will be carried out at Vransko jezero. Using a drone deployed from a boat , the team will test methods to detect underwater vegetation and assess the potential for freshwater ecosystem monitoring.

Crete, Heraklion Port – 23 October 2025

Living lab demonstration at the Heraklion Port pier, conducted by Dr. Nikolaos Kampanis and Dr. George Alexandrakis from the Coastal Marine Research Laboratory of FORTH, will showcase the Coastal Crete Digital Twin,  a pioneering digital representation system of the Cretan Sea. Using the mobile marine laboratory (moLab) of the National Research Infrastructure E-RIHS, real-time measurements and equipment demonstrations will be performed, highlighting the potential of coastal monitoring technologies to support sustainable Blue Economy activities.

Why Living Labs matter

Living Labs are more than just test sites – they are collaborative innovation spaces where researchers, businesses, authorities, and communities come together to:

  • Test new blue technologies under real conditions.

  • Reduce risks and accelerate the path from idea to market.

  • Strengthen cooperation across the Adriatic-Ionian region.

By expanding the network of Living Lab sites to both marine and freshwater environments, Innovablue is laying the foundation for a more resilient, sustainable, and innovative blue economy.