In March 2024, global leaders, scientists, policymakers, and innovators gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, for the 11th Annual Economist Impact World Ocean Summit & Expo — a landmark event dedicated to accelerating progress toward a sustainable ocean economy. Over three days (March 11–13), the summit became a dynamic forum for collaboration and innovation, uniting voices from across industries to tackle urgent challenges like marine conservation, climate resilience, and the blue economy’s future.
From discussions on sustainable seafood and decarbonising shipping to breakthroughs in ocean technology and finance, the event highlighted how collaboration and actionable policy can turn ideas into measurable impact. Lisbon — a city with a rich maritime heritage — provided the perfect setting for this global conversation about safeguarding one of Earth’s most vital resources: our oceans.
As part of the summit’s Innovation Expo, CCell was invited to showcase its pioneering work in coastal restoration and marine technology. At their stand, the CCell team presented their latest research into nature-inspired reef growth, featuring striking rock samples from active reef projects in Israel and Mexico. Visitors also had the chance to explore CCell’s laboratory experiments on growing rock on bamboo structures — a promising step toward scalable, eco-friendly reef formation. The exhibit drew attention from scientists, investors, and environmental advocates alike, all eager to see how technology and natural processes can work hand in hand to restore ocean health.
One of our key takeaways from the summit was the growing demand for high-quality marine data — from tracking biodiversity to monitoring carbon sequestration and ecosystem health. While there’s no doubt that this information will be vital to shaping the blue economy, there remains a classic “chicken-and-egg” challenge: everyone recognises its value, but it’s still unclear who will fund the initial data collection efforts needed to unlock that potential.
Another highlight was the wave of innovation in sustainable materials, particularly new ocean-safe plastics derived from natural sources such as seaweed. These materials degrade quickly in marine environments, offering a glimpse of a cleaner, healthier ocean future. If widely adopted, they could dramatically reduce the long-term impact of plastic pollution — though it may still take years, if not decades, for existing waste to fully work its way out of the system.
