World Oceans Day 2026: Meet the EIC-baked innovators helping us see, connect and protect the ocean 

"Reimagine" is the theme of World Oceans Day 2026, observed each year on 8 June. It invites us to change the way we see and care for the ocean, to stop treating it as something distant and to become true guardians of its future. But reimagining our relationship with the ocean also means developing the tools to truly know it: to detect threats in real time, to communicate across its depths, and to build the scientific foundations for a new era of ocean stewardship. On this occasion, we spotlight two EIC-funded innovations that contribute to this vision in different but complementary ways. Read on to learn how BlueArray and Ocean Visuals are helping us protect and understand the world beneath the waves. 

BlueArray (Denmark): Pioneering the next generation of underwater optical wireless communication 

The ocean covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface, yet it remains one of the least connected environments on the planet. Monitoring it effectively (whether for marine conservation, climate change research, aquaculture, or disaster prevention) requires the ability to transmit data reliably and at high speed between underwater sensors, vehicles and surface platforms. Today's technologies fall significantly short of what is needed. BlueArray, funded under the EIC Pathfinder programme and coordinated by Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) in Denmark, is working to change this. 

The global ocean economy is valued at €1.3 trillion and expected to more than double by 2030, yet current communication technologies (whether acoustic, radio, or conventional optical) face severe limitations in speed, range, reliability, and energy efficiency. BlueArray's response is to develop a radically new approach: an underwater optical wireless communication system on a chip, based on integrated blue optical phased arrays, blue vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), photonic and electronic integrated circuits, and advanced packaging. The goal is to deliver low-cost, energy-efficient, high-speed and long-range communication networks for the underwater environment: the essential infrastructure for what the project calls the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT). 

Foundational breakthroughs in the making 

BlueArray is a consortium of five European research organisations and one SME, bringing together expertise in photonics, electronics, ocean technology and nanofabrication. Backed by nearly €3.9 million in EIC Pathfinder funding, the project began in August 2024 and is currently making steady progress across its core technical work packages, advancing the foundational components that will underpin the full underwater communication system. 

A vision for ocean science and sustainability 

The potential applications of a successful IoUT are wide-ranging. Enabling seamless data transfer between underwater sensors, autonomous underwater vehicles, and surface platforms could support marine conservation, climate change monitoring, offshore industries, aquaculture, and security applications. For a day dedicated to reimagining our relationship with the ocean, BlueArray represents exactly the kind of long-term, foundational scientific investment that makes new relationships with the deep possible. Not through immediate deployment, but through the patient, rigorous research that tomorrow's ocean technologies will be built upon. 

Learn more about BlueArray by visiting the Horizon Europe database.  

Ocean Visuals (Norway): Detecting the invisible threat of submerged oil spills 

Oil spills are among the most damaging threats to marine ecosystems, yet much of their impact goes undetected. For decades, satellite radar and camera systems have been the primary tool for spotting oil in water. These systems rely on a fundamental assumption: that oil floats. But scientific reports from some of the largest oil spills globally have revealed that as much as 30–40% of spilled oil submerges within just 2 to 4 hours, depending on oil type and meteorological conditions. Once below the surface, it becomes effectively invisible to conventional detection systems, with consequences for marine ecosystems, coastal regions and the organisations responsible for responding to spills. 

Ocean Visuals, a Norwegian company supported by the EIC Accelerator, is tackling this blind spot head-on. Through its OWL project, Oil-in-Water Locator, the company has developed a solution based on advanced Hyperspectral Laser Induced Fluorescence (HLIF) LiDAR sensors, capable of detecting, classifying and quantifying oil spills and chemical pollution both on the water surface and at depth, in dissolved, emulsified and submerged forms. The system enables real-time, accurate surveillance of the marine environment and supports AI-driven spectral analysis to identify oil types, helping energy companies and enforcement agencies respond faster and more precisely to spills. 

A modular system designed for deployment at sea, in the air and by drone 

Backed by over €2.2 million in EIC Accelerator funding, Ocean Visuals has developed three classes of OWL systems: Sea OWL for shipborne operation, Air OWL for airborne surveillance, and Elf, a lightweight system designed for unmanned aerial vehicles. The hardware has been optimised around a modular design, with unified opto-mechanical and opto-electronic blocks shared across all system classes, providing flexibility and scalability as production volumes grow. The OWL operational software, built on open web standards, supports data integration with major third-party mapping and visualisation platforms, and is available natively across desktop and mobile operating systems. 

A new standard for marine environmental surveillance 

The implications of OWL extend well beyond individual spill response. By enabling real-time detection of oil both on the water surface and at depth (including in dissolved, emulsified and submerged forms), Ocean Visuals is addressing a blind spot that conventional radar and camera systems have never been able to close. With systems designed for deployment on vessels, aircraft and drones, and software that integrates with existing mapping and data platforms, OWL is built to fit into the workflows of those responsible for monitoring and protecting the marine environment. 

Learn more about Ocean Visuals by visiting the Horizon Europe database and the company’s official website. 

Reimagining ocean stewardship through innovation 

World Oceans Day 2026 reminds us that protecting the ocean requires innovation across multiple fronts, from the urgent and applied to the long-term and foundational. Ocean Visuals is addressing one of the most immediate and underestimated threats to marine ecosystems, making the invisible visible through real-time oil detection technology that is ready for deployment. BlueArray is laying the deeper scientific groundwork that will one day allow us to connect, monitor and understand the ocean at a scale never before possible. Together, they show how EIC-banked innovation can contribute to a future where we are truly capable of becoming guardians of the ocean.