An event that keeps growing

Organised by the Technopôle Brest-Iroise and its Campus Mondial de la Mer team, Sea Tech Week® has brought the international maritime community together for more than 25 years around scientific and technological advances. The 2026 edition welcomed more than 850 participants, over 40 exhibitors and more than 25 workshops and high-level sessions, in a format combining conferences, an exhibition and business meetings.

Plenary sessions to open and frame the debates

Sea Tech Week® opened with an inauguration ceremony attended by Stéphane Roudaut, Mayor of Brest and President of Brest Métropole, Frédéric Laurent, President of the Brest-Iroise Technopole and of the Campus Mondial de la Mer, Emilie Kuchel, Regional Councillor for Brittany, Member of the Education, Guidance and Languages Committee,Fotini Ioannidou, Director of Waterborne Transport at the European Commission, Hugo Palma, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Portugal in France, and Alexandre Ely, Deputy Director for State Action at Sea to the Maritime Prefect for the Atlantic. The ceremony was followed by an official walk through the exhibition, meeting exhibitors at their stands.

Plenary sessions - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Three high-level sessions then punctuated the three days:

• Marine renewable energy, on how offshore wind, tidal and wave technologies are driving the energy transition at sea, with France Énergies Marines, France Renouvelables, WavEC and OW Ocean Winds.

Marine Renewable Energy Conference - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

• Ports of the future, on ports becoming smarter, greener and more resilient hubs, with the Brittany Region, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, CINEA and the Port of Kiel.

Ports of the Future Conference - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

• Seabed exploration, where science, technology and environmental protection meet, with India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences, DG AMPA, Ifremer  and UNU.

Seabed Exploration Conference - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Workshops: the core of the programme

More than 25 workshops, led by over 30 organisations, were grouped into five tracks:

• Ecological transition and maritime decarbonisation
• Climate and ocean observation
• Environmental risks and pollution
• Security, surveillance and advanced maritime technologies
• Territorial attractiveness and maritime policies

One of the 25 workshops - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

A proudly international event

This is probably the event’s most striking feature: Sea Tech Week® speaks every language of the ocean. Research centres, industry players, startups, institutions and investors come from many countries to compare approaches and build joint projects.

This year, Portugal was the country of honour, represented by Fórum Oceano. This spotlight reflects the strength of the Atlantic ties between Brittany and the Iberian Peninsula. The European Interreg Atlantic Area programme also supports this cooperation through the SaferSEA project, whose partners hosted a workshop during the event. Delegations from India, from Kiel, Germany, and from Québec, Rimouski were present at Sea Tech Week®.

Portuguese Pavilion - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

A new step forward for Franco-Indian cooperation

During Sea Tech Week®, the French and Indian partners of the GOAT consortium (Goa Atlantic Cooperation) signed a letter of intent to create a Franco-Indian innovation centre for marine sciences and technologies. It will focus on four areas: marine robotics and instrumentation, marine energy, AI applied to marine sciences, and the marine environment.

GOAT consortium (Goa Atlantic Cooperation) - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

An evening in the heart of Océanopolis’ tropical pavilion

One of the highlights of the week was the evening held at Océanopolis, which welcomed more than 200 participants in the tropical pavilion, inaugurated in July. In this immersive setting, surrounded by marine biodiversity, exhibitors, researchers, investors and international delegations carried on the day’s discussions in a more relaxed atmosphere. The venue reflected the spirit of Sea Tech Week®: putting science and innovation at the service of understanding and protecting the ocean.

Océanopolis’ tropical pavilion - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

The Octo’Pousse awards, a highlight of the week

Myco-Micro, with its project to treat wastewater using fungi, and SmartSkin, with its electronic skin system, won Octo’Pousse 2026, an innovation competition dedicated to ocean tech, co-organised by Ifremer, Technopôle Brest-Iroise and the nine partners of the Blue Box PUI. They were honoured on 6 October in Brest during Sea Tech Week®.

Octo’Pousse awards - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Reaching out to the public and young people

On 8 October, the free-access conference “Living the open sea: inspiring maritime journeys”, held with WISTA, highlighted gender balance in maritime careers through the testimonies of women working in the sector. The same day, secondary school students discovered these careers during an afternoon of activities with CINav, the CMQe Industries de la Mer - Bretagne and the Association La Touline.

Conference “Living the open sea: inspiring maritime journeys” - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Conference “Living the open sea: inspiring maritime journeys” - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Secondary school students - Photo credit: Campus Mondial de la Mer

Thank you to our partners

Sea Tech Week® would not be possible without the commitment of its partners. We warmly thank Exail, AICEP and SWEN Capital Partners, who accompanied this 2026 edition and helped extend its international reach. Their involvement reflects the confidence that leading players in industry, economic cooperation and impact investment place in the event, and their shared determination to advance maritime innovation.

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Stay connected

Once the booths are packed away, the work goes on. The contacts made at Le Quartz, the projects launched in the workshops and the partnerships sketched out over a coffee now have to be turned into reality. To follow the latest news, find photos and videos of the event and prepare for the next edition, visit seatechweek.eu and the Campus Mondial de la Mer LinkedIn page.

Relive Sea Tech Week® 2026 in video

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