On October 25, 2024, the assignment of the Red BEAM (“Red Bancos de Ensayo del Atlantico Medio”) project grant agreement has enabled the approved projects to be launched. AIR Centre is one of the beneficiary partners of the project, which is committed to develop a Hub of test benches for the testing of ocean technologies, aiming to improve the research and innovation capacities of local companies. These technological innovations will allow the region to lead the development of the Mid-Atlantic blue economy.

Red BEAM, which is part of the INTERREG MAC, is a project about the development and improvement of research capacities and innovation of advanced technologies. The priority of this project is to create a “MAC inteligente” for the improvement of business competitiveness, through innovative and intelligent economy.

INTERREG MAC (Madeira, the Azores, Canarias) 2021-2027 is a programme of cooperation approved by the European Commission, on September 21, 2022. The cooperation area is comprised of the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (belonging to Portugal and Spain), Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Senegal and São Tomé and Príncipe.

The project’s partners are led by the Consortium for the Design, Construction, Equipment and Operation of the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform, whose CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is José Joaquín Hernández Brito. The other partners are AIR Centre; Association for the Development and Formation of the Sea of the Azores (ADFMA); ARDITI – Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation – Association; Canary Islands Maritime Cluster Association (CMC); Marine Science Technology Centre (CETECIMA); Premium Catamarans SL; University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government Regional Fund for Science and Technology. The partners from African third countries are: Centre for Enterprise Learning; Sea Institute (Imar) and Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA).