The members of Blue Cluster, a group of innovative private companies active in a wide range of sectors, have created an organisation dedicated to developing and promoting economic activities that are linked to the sea. They believe that enhanced cross-sector partnerships and better cooperation with knowledge centres and government institutions, will lead to new and innovative investments and projects in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (“BNS”) and beyond, which are the anticipated solutions for a number of global challenges. By fully incorporating cutting-edge small and medium sized companies in the cluster organisation and the innovation projects, Blue Cluster ensures that they can accelerate their growth and leapfrog international competition. Apart from the infrastructural benefits, these solutions will create economic return for Flanders by creating new industries, opening up new markets for export and improving the competitiveness of the companies involved.