The MarInn Association – Maritime Innovation Cluster was presented at the Ambasador Hotel in Opatija, marking a big step forward for the whole destination, but also Croatia, reports HRTurizam.
By establishing this cluster, Croatia wants to return to the map of the strongest maritime countries. One of the main goals is to establish a global center for innovation and smart skills in the maritime industry in Kvarner. Thus, MarInn will become the backbone of the development of the maritime sector in the Republic of Croatia, and the priority areas that the cluster will develop will be autonomous vehicles, clean technologies with an emphasis on hydrogen, transformation of waste into energy, and smart, green, and self-sustainable marinas.
Through a unique and innovative event, new technologies in the maritime sector, goals, and areas of activity of the Maritime Innovation Cluster were presented. In addition, a new online platform will serve to connect partners and achieve cooperation on projects in the maritime sector.
A green and digital vision of the future of the maritime industry
The founders of the Cluster are Lürssen Design Center Kvarner d.o.o., Maritime Center of Excellence d.o.o. and Gitone d.o.o. while the partners are Jadrolinija, ACI, University of Rijeka, ERNAFA, Novatech, BrightDock, FER, regional development agency PRIGODA, AVL, City of Rijeka, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.
“By establishing this cluster, the Lürssen Group wants to bring together the entire eco-innovation system, from academia, the business sector, local government, and non-governmental organizations, and strengthen cooperation in the maritime industry and position itself, both in Croatia and in Europe, as a center of excellence for the development of new technologies and smart skills in the maritime sector. Furthermore, by joining the cluster partners, we enable work on already existing commercial projects, but also on future EU projects related primarily to innovation, research, and development in the maritime industry,” said Peter Lürssen, co-owner of the Lürssen group behind the cluster.
MarInn is a platform for preparing research and development projects and the development of research infrastructure that will be available to all cluster members. By establishing and expanding the cluster, Croatia has the opportunity to show how it has the people and potential to achieve top results in the maritime industry, especially in the development of the vessels of the future, clean technology, autonomous platforms, and many other technologies.
“Our idea is to bring together all the Lurssen Group’s commercial projects, but also new EU projects, to help us solve innovation challenges so that our technologies, these ships, are as green as possible, as clean as possible,” said Ana Odak, President Maritime Innovation Cluster for the RI Channel.
The maritime innovation cluster will be located in the Innovation Arena, which will soon begin construction on the Rijeka campus.
Also, the construction of the most modern marina Porto Baroš will soon begin in Rijeka as one of the most significant investments in nautical tourism. This year, ACI d.d. and GITONE Kvarner d.o.o., part of the famous Lurssen Group, founded a joint company ACI-GITONE d.o.o. The combined company applied and won the tender for the concession for the construction and economical use of the nautical tourism port Porto Baroš in Rijeka, the future ACI marina Rijeka, which is also the largest and most important maritime project in the history of the Republic of Croatia.
The marina will have 260 berths and become a new Adriatic center for megayachts, and the estimated value of the project is 363.7 million kuna. It is planned to employ 132 workers.
The beginning of the sea part of the marina is planned for 2024, and the beginning of the land part of the marina with the main building is expected in 2025. With the new marina, Rijeka will be side by side with the most modern marinas across Europe.
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