What is Blue Observer?
Blue Observer is an oceanographic platform aiming at decarbonizing oceanography and developing innovation projects to better understand, value and protect the ocean.
Following 4 strategic axes, Blue Observer proposes a new economic model based on public-private partnerships and the transition from fundamental to applied research.
An integrated ecosystem
Oceanographic sailing campaigns
Ships for economical, clean, flexible and silent scientific campaigns
Startup Studio for responsible innovation
An operational unit to support innovative projects from the laboratory to market launch
Funding for decarbonized research
A structure to finance and support oceanographic research
Communication platform
An integrated communications team to promote partnerships and raise awareness of ocean issues
Blue Observer's foundations
Exploration
Through our expeditions, we explore the world’s oceans and seas. We sail in little studied maritime zones and allow, thanks to our oceanographic sailing ship and our expertise, to implement the study protocols ordered by scientists.
Understanding
Our approach is part of the understanding of oceanic phenomena with the aim of enriching knowledge on the functioning and the state of health of the ocean, but also to bring complementary data to fundamental research and its potential applications.
Innovation
The ocean is an ecosystem conducive to innovation. It represents a bioresource of the future, carrying immense hopes and the support of many projects aiming at its protection. By supporting project leaders, Blue Observer accompanies and develops responsible innovations with high potential and a positive impact on the environment.
Awareness
Informing in a rigorous way about the state of health of the ocean and mobilizing for its protection is a transversal mission of Blue Observer. Through its communication platform, the team highlights scientific content for its partners, the scientific community and the general public.
Governance
In terms of values and administration, Blue Observer is a simplified joint-stock company (société par actions simplifiées) which has its objective defined as “contributing to the understanding and protection of the oceans as well as the development of a respectful, sustainable blue growth” – and intends to make concrete commitments, including decarbonizing its process and achieving gender diversity.
Expertise since 2016
After several months of work and collaboration with the scientific community, the route of the next expedition is set. On the agenda: physical oceanography, microbiology, a study of pollutants and the observation of marine fauna. We are also continuing the transformation of the sailboat and preparing it for a departure planned for 2023.
We are launching our first innovation project in partnership with the Brittany region, Biotech Santé Bretagne and the Roscoff Biological Station. This is the first library of aerosolized marine micro-organisms collected at sea under sail. The objective is to screen new molecules of interest of natural origin with high added value for biotechnologies in nutraceuticals, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Inaugural expedition in the North and South Atlantic for international scientific institutes and laboratories. The program includes the deployment of measuring instruments (95 Argo floats) and the collection of microbiological samples. This scientific campaign is recognized by the United Nations as an ocean science action for sustainable development.
We identify the need for a flexible and economical solution to collect data at sea and decide in the fall of 2020 to create a SAS with a "raison d'être" to make a decarbonized oceanographic platform available to scientific and industrial actors. We acquire our first sailboat and start a large-scale project to transform it into an oceanographic vessel and prepare our first expedition.