Today, the Port of Lisbon Administration signed a concession agreement with the Lisbon City Council for the installation of the Shared Ocean Lab in one of the warehouses at Doca de Pedrouços, which is part of the future Ocean Campus. The strategic goal is to create a space for scientific research and innovation in the field of Maritime Sciences and the blue economy.

The concession agreement for the space is valid for a period of 75 years, and the investment that the Lisbon City Council will make in the concession of this sea-related hub is 26 million euros. In addition to this, the council will invest 31 million euros in the construction of the building at Doca de Pedrouços.

According to the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, "the development of the maritime economy is a term often used without substance. Now we are giving it substance, aiming to make Lisbon a capital of innovation and entrepreneurship in the blue economy."

The goal is for this to be a crucial infrastructure for collaboration and multidisciplinary interaction between business and entrepreneurial activities and scientific knowledge, creating an ecosystem capable of enhancing open innovation and knowledge transfer to enable the development of the blue economy.

"The Lisbon City Council has a dream, to launch a 'Unicorn Factory of the Oceans' with the ability to transform knowledge into products and companies, create well-being, and bring employment. Today, we lay the first stone in that direction," emphasized the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas.

Integrated into the Ocean Campus, it aims to be a cluster that enhances development associated with the sea through a network of research, teaching, and technological development units, whose main objective is to generate innovation and qualified research.

For Carlos Correia, President of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon, "with this partnership, the Port of Lisbon takes another important step in its strategy to promote sustainability and make the Port of Lisbon an international hub for innovation in the blue economy. This is an important step in the path we are following, based on a collaborative and open innovation model with the Lisbon City Council, a shared commitment with the goal of growing the sustainable and circular blue economy, a motor of enormous relevance for Lisbon and the country."

The formal ceremony took place aboard a vessel that connected Doca de Santo Amaro and Doca de Pedrouços. The session was attended by the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, and the President of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon, Carlos Correia.