Tomorrow.Blue Economy explored the potential of the blue economy for ports, cities and corporations

The enormous potential offered by the blue economy was the main focus of the fourth edition of the Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress (TBEWC), held from November 4–6 at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue as part of the Smart City Expo World Congress. The event highlighted how fishing, aquaculture, port management, shipbuilding, and other activities linked to seas and oceans are turning the marine ecosystem into a key driver of socio-economic development.

BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- TBEWC featured 120 experts and 42 sessions across the three major events that made up the congress: Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, promoted by the Port of Barcelona; and the Global Blue Finance Summit and the Sustainable Ocean Summit, both organized by the World Ocean Council.

The congress also included a start-up area, the Ocean Innovation Hub, where 30 emerging companies specialising in the blue economy showcased solutions ranging from sensorized decontamination barriers to materials that recover carbon from the seabed, floating wind platforms, proteins derived from algae biomass, and hydrogen-refuelling buoys for offshore vessels.

Port Management & Finance

Representatives from nine European, North American, and Asian ports took part in the seventh edition of the Smart Ports congress, including the President of the Port of Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell; the Vice President of the Port of Busan (South Korea), Ja-rim Koo; and the CEO of the Port of Hamburg and President of the IAPH (International Association of Ports and Harbors), Jens Meier.

The Global Blue Finance Summit focused on innovation, bluetech, and marine and coastal systems as areas of public and private investment. Speakers included Dale Galvin, Managing Director of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Fund; Esther Badiola, Principal Climate Adviser at the European Investment Bank; and Lucy Holmes, Senior Director of Ocean Markets and Finance at WWF UK.

The Sustainable Ocean Summit explored business, start-up, and innovator involvement in corporate ocean responsibility, with contributions from Jason Giffen, Chief Sustainability & Innovation Officer at the Port of San Diego; Aisha Stenning, Business Action Lead for the Plastics Team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; and Ben Rubin, Executive Director and Founder of the Carbon Business Council, among others.

The Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress is organised by Fira de Barcelona with the collaboration of Barcelona City Council through Barcelona Activa; the Port of Barcelona; the World Ocean Council; Oceanovation; and Smart Ports: Piers of the Future.

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