What is Red BEAM?

The Central Atlantic Testing Bank Network is a territorial cooperation initiative co-funded by the INTERREG MAC 2021–2027 Programme, aimed at strengthening the scientific, technological, and business capacities of the Macaronesian region and West Africa in the field of the blue economy. Its purpose is to create a shared ocean technology development space that drives the validation of new technologies from concept to market, promoting sustainable innovation and transnational cooperation.

The project addresses a common challenge of the EU’s outermost Atlantic regions: their territorial fragmentation and distance from major continental innovation centers. Red BEAM offers a solution based on interregional collaboration, integrating infrastructures, expertise, and talent to establish a distributed testing Hub. This Hub will allow companies and research centers to develop, test, and validate emerging ocean technologies, generating synergies between public and private sectors and contributing to sustainable economic growth in the Central Atlantic.

Red BEAM’s approach aligns with European policies on innovative transformation and the objectives of the European Green Deal, promoting energy transition, digitalization, and environmental sustainability. The initiative encourages cooperation between the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Ghana, expanding the reach of the MAC programme and strengthening scientific and economic ties between Europe and Africa. It aims to consolidate a competitive, inclusive, and resilient blue innovation ecosystem capable of attracting investment and generating skilled employment.

The project is structured around three main strategic objectives:

1.
Foster collaboration between public and private stakeholders to define the Hub’s strategy.

2.
Develop technological pilots in real environments, through case studies in autonomous navigation, aquaculture, and marine energies.

3.
Assess results, define the business model, and establish the Hub’s communication and internationalisation strategy.

Through this roadmap, Red BEAM aspires to position the Central Atlantic as an international reference in ocean innovation and technology validation.