European startups working on ocean and water-related technologies raised fresh funding this year, with several deals running into the tens of millions of euros.
The blue economy — business activity linked to seas and waterways — is expanding beyond established sectors such as fishing, shipping and offshore energy, the European Commission pointed out in a release on Thursday.
EU-Startups’ 2026 coverage cited €17 million raised by logistics platform cargo.one alongside its acquisition of ocean-freight platform Cargofive, and €10 million raised by marine-biofuel developer Kvasir Technologies.
The same source said newer companies are also attracting smaller rounds across areas including coastal ecosystem restoration, tidal power, water treatment, wastewater monitoring, aquaculture and maritime automation.
Where the money is going
Paris-based Apolownia, founded in 2024, has raised €1 million to develop coastal ecosystem restoration and “blue carbon” projects such as mangroves and seagrass, using satellite imagery, drones, field data and AI to track recovery and estimate carbon capture.
Heidelberg-based Blue Activity, founded in 2021, secured €8.5 million for industrial cooling-water treatment systems that replace toxic biocides with microorganisms and use digital monitoring.
Oxford-based Caudal Energy, launched in 2024, has raised €6.43 million for a tidal-power system that uses moving fins rather than conventional rotating turbines.
Also in Heidelberg, leak-detection startup Enzo raised €6.3 million after launching in 2021 with a sensor that attaches to a building’s main water pipe and uses AI to spot unusual water-use patterns.
London-founded Lir Labs, set up in 2025, raised €245,000 for AI-powered microscopy that monitors microscopic activity in wastewater treatment to provide real-time operational insights.
Bari-based Mirai Robotics, launched in 2025, secured €3.6 million to develop AI systems that can guide maritime vehicles using onboard sensors and real-time decision-making.
Irish startup Nernst Electric, founded in 2023, raised €1.7 million for on-site oxygen generation for aquaculture using ceramic membranes to separate oxygen from air.
Finland’s NPHarvest, founded in 2023 in Espoo, raised €3.4 million for hardware that collects nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and recycles them into fertiliser ingredients, with the company saying it can recover up to 90% of the nutrients.
Zurich-based Oxyle has raised €19 million since being founded in 2020 for water treatment systems designed to break down PFAS — often called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment — in contaminated groundwater and industrial wastewater.
Berlin-based Tilla, founded in 2021, raised €4 million for a digital platform designed to help shipping companies organise crew changes by bringing voyage schedules, crew information and travel requirements into one place.
