Blue biotech summit will be repeated in Maine

A second “blue biotechnology” summit is to be held in Portland, Maine, after the sell-out success of the inaugural summit last March.

The event, which is being being organised by Maine’s Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and aquaculture investor Hatch Blue, will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2027, two days after trade show Seafood Expo North America closes in Boston.

The summit is focused on the business of waste valorisation and upcycling of marine resources into high-value products, using materials from seaweed and microalgae to fish and shellfish byproducts. It is a roughly US $7 billion global market that industry estimates expect to double by the mid-2030s, and North America is already its largest regional market.

Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, situated in Portland, joins as co-host for the second edition, bringing closer ties to the life-sciences and AI-innovation ecosystems and resources for helping entrepreneurs launch.

Curated platform

The event format is the same as this year’s: a curated, invitation-only investment and market access platform where investors meet founders and business scouts who connect large companies with innovative startups. The venue, speaker line-up, curated founder pitches and sponsorship packages will be announced over the coming months.

“Maine is an excellent place to bring people together around the potential for blue biotech, considering the region’s strong commercial fishing and aquaculture sectors, unique algae and seaweed assets poised for increased valorisation, the deep pool of life science innovation leadership, and connectivity with the North Atlantic corridor,” said Beth Orcutt, vice president for research at Bigelow Laboratory.

Sold-out debut

The inaugural summit in March was the first in the North Atlantic built entirely around blue biotech, and it sold out with 200 registrants and a wait listing. Biotech investors from RA Capital and food and agriculture investors from S2G Investments shared the stage with Unilever, Skretting, the US Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ocean farming non-profit GreenWave and LifeMine Therapeutics. Thor Sigfusson, founder and chairman of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, gave the keynote on what it would take to accelerate blue biotech in the US.

“March felt like the start of something,” said Dylan Terry, innovation studio director at Hatch Blue. “Scientists, investors and global brands that rarely share a room spent the day finding reasons to work together. In year two, we want to turn those conversations into companies and deals, and an engine for growth for coastal communities in the US.”

The event is now open for registrations of interest.