9. Emerging blue industries in the Nordics

This chapter describes some of the emerging industries that may have significant growth potential in the future Nordic ocean economy.

9.1 Increased value creation from ocean bioresources

A key lever for a more sustainable ocean economy is to increase the value creation from natural resources. Two primary pathways for emerging industries are: 1) identifying or producing new marine biomaterials for commercial use, such as identifying new species or compounds applicable for biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, or farming new species; and 2) increasing the value creation from existing marine resources, such as upcycling waste and by-products which are currently used for applications found in the lower part of the biomass value hierarchy. Figure 9-1 shows the biomass value hierarchy, from high-volume, low-value applications such as waste and energy to low-volume, high-value applications such as food, pharmaceuticals, and medical uses.

9.1.1 Blue biotechnology and pharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry is well-established and highly profitable. In the biomass value hierarchy (see Figure 9-1), pharmaceuticals along with medical products and cosmetics are the uses with the highest potential value added from upcycling of marine biomass. There are long traditions for pharmaceuticals in the Nordic countries. For example, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk, is Danish and was founded over a 100 years ago. Swedish-British AstraZeneca is another example with major activities in the Nordics (Sweden in particular) and is by revenue an even larger company than Novo Nordisk. Although well-established, they still represent actors that can play a growing role in the blue bioeconomy, given their potential to develop novel pharmaceutical products from the oceans, part of a wider trend to extract and utilize underused resources from the ocean to grow the blue economy in the Nordic countries.

Figure 9-1 The biomass value hierarchy, inspired by Lange and Lindedam (2016)

Several initiatives in the Nordic region focus on the screening of ocean-derived organisms with potentially therapeutic applications. One, Marbio at UiT (The Arctic University of Norway), recently isolated from driftwood a new fungus species exhibiting inhibitory activity against bacteria (Maharjan et al., 2025). Another recent article from Marbio found that a natural compound isolated from an Arctic marine invertebrate could potentially have applications for the development of a therapeutic agent against diabetes (Ullsten et al., 2025). Other leading Nordic research communities in blue biotech are: MATIS (Iceland), VVT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland), RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden (Sweden), DTU Aqua (Denmark), and NORCE (Norway). Ocean Tunicell produces biomedical nano-cellulose from the tunicate Ciona intestinalis. ArcticZymes Technologies produces enzymes derived from the Arctic marine environment for molecular research and diagnostics.

9.1.2 Novel marine bioproducts and value chains

Novel marine bioproducts such as bioplastics, bulk chemicals, and fertilizers, also feature as relatively high value-added in Figure 9-1. We briefly review some key trends in these emerging value chains.

9.1.2.1 Marine bioplastics reaching the market

The need to replace fossil-based polymers and increasing concerns about the effects of plastic pollution in food and ecosystems, are drivers for developing bioplastic. Seaweed contains sugars suitable for producing bioplastics with a range of uses. An example is the edible seaweed water pods provided under the 2019 London Marathon, replacing single-use plastic cups and bottles (Watts, 2024). In addition to providing alternatives to single-use plastic and food wrapping, seaweed is also being used as a novel type of fabric in clothing. For instance, the seaweed fabric Kelsun has been used by clothing brands like Stella McCartney and H&M (Sweet, 2025). Shells of crustaceans such as shrimp, crab and crayfish contain the polymers chitin and chitosan which both hold potential for bioplastics.

9.1.2.2 Increased upcycling of fish by-products

Today, large volumes of fish by-products not used for food are either processed into pet food, aquafeed, or used for biogas production. Figure 9-1 highlights opportunities to increase the value added of these by-products by finding new and innovative ways of processing them, where key learnings can be drawn from examples in Iceland and Norway:

A range of Nordic companies are focusing on nutraceuticals from the ocean. Examples are omega-3 supplements derived from fish trimmings (Möllers, Nutrimar, Hofseth Biocare) and new fisheries resources such as Antarctic krill (Aker Biomarine) and Calanus copepods (Zooca).
Calcium supplements are made from fish bones (Hofseth Biocare), while fish skin rich in collagen is used to develop supplements.
In Iceland, the company Kerecis produces fish skin for medical purposes such as wound care and tissue regeneration.
Fish skin is also making its way into the fashion industry as the Icelandic company Nordic Fish Leather, and the Norwegian companies Norsk Fjordskinn, Norskin and STUDIO EBN, base their leather products on skin from salmon and spotted wolffish.

Utilization of existing raw material, such as nutrients sourced from Atlantic salmon (for feeding the same species), and gene editing techniques like CRISPR, are identified as possible impactful ways of improving circularity and environmental impact from the aquaculture feed industry and production, although considered somewhat controversial.

9.1.2.3 Utilization of fish sludge

The large-scale farming of salmon in the Nordics generates substantial amounts of fish sludge (feed spill and faeces). This waste is rich in nutrients, but due to the additional costs and lack of incentive, only a handful of companies are currently collecting and using it. Currently, the main use of collected sludge is in the production of biogas, as well as fertilizer. Other uses are under consideration – for example, as feed for invertebrates. Sele et al. (2024) investigated this use case, finding that the sludge is nutrient-rich but could also contain undesirable substances.

In closed and land-based fish farms, the farmers can collect sludge relatively efficiently, as they control the waterflow in and out of the system. In open-net pens – the most widely used fish farm systems - collection of sludge is more challenging as water is flowing freely through them. However, there has recently been a drive to implement collection systems in these systems as well, which has led to several innovative solutions. In the future, this unutilized resource can become a new source for biogas and fertilizer, to name two examples.

9.2 Seabed mining

Seabed mining, an emerging sector of the ocean economy, refers to the extraction of mineral deposits from the seafloor. Deep seabed ores of relevance typically contain copper, gold, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements (REE). REE are a group of minerals, such as scandium and yttrium, with catalytic and magnetic properties useful in the energy transition. REEs are seen as particularly vulnerable from an availability perspective, since China controls most of the world’s supply.

Seabed mining includes existing activities such as mineral extraction (dredging) in shallow waters, as well as deep-sea mining in deeper waters (e.g. > 400 m depth). Deep-sea mining has not yet moved past the exploration and resource assessment stage, except for test activities in a few technology pilots.

The three main types of deep-sea mining resources are: 1) seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) which are found at hydrothermal vents at oceanic ridges, 2) polymetallic nodules found on sediment surfaces, and 3) ferrometallic crusts accumulated on hard-rock substrates (Solheim et al., 2023). In the Nordics, seafloor massive sulphides feature in, for example, the Norwegian EEZ, between Svalbard and Jan Mayen, far offshore and in deep waters (Solheim et al., 2023). The extraction of nodules has been proposed in the Bothnian Bay, with Scandinavian Ocean Minerals prospecting on two sites east of Skellefteå in Sweden, at depths between 60 and 120 metres (Deep Sea Reporter, 2024).

The energy transition and geopolitics are key drivers for seabed mining activities. The energy transition requires large amounts of metals for applications such as batteries, electric vehicles, and wind turbines. With rising demand, metal prices could rise sufficiently to make seabed mining profitable in the future. With the dominance of a few actors in the metals supply chain, geopolitics is also an argument for extracting seabed minerals. China controls a large fraction of the rare earth elements needed for the energy transition, implying high geopolitical risk. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act is one example of legislation at EU level that aims to secure mineral supplies through increased production in the EU.

Seabed mining offers an opportunity to increase the supply of locally sourced minerals, thereby contributing to resilience in European metals supply chains. Secondly, technology providers in the offshore sector sees this as a new market – for instance, to sell equipment to operators globally. For example, ships for diamond dredging offshore Namibia have been designed and built in Western Norway. Companies delivering subsea technologies for offshore applications in the oil and gas industry see deep-sea mining as a promising new market if activity in offshore oil and gas declines.

The barriers to seabed mining fundamentally relate to the need for a precautionary approach to its environmental impact, due to the limited understanding of ecosystem structure and functioning in the deep ocean. This is explicitly addressed at the EU level, where there is limited willingness to source minerals provided from seabed mining, thereby significantly limiting market access. The EU moratorium on deep-sea mining, which is also supported by the majority opinion in the Nordic Council, is evidence of heavy resistance (Nordic Council, 2024). Similar political disagreement and lack of public acceptance also slow the regulatory timeline in more positively inclined countries (e.g. Norway). This negatively impacts the ability of deep-sea mining firms to access capital, as seen in the recent bankruptcy of Loke Marine Minerals (Bryan, 2025).

Moreover, advances in existing metals supply chains and land-based mining can also reduce the need for new mining activities. Circular metal supply chains have the potential to reduce the need for new minerals in the market, exemplified by LKAB’s plans for processing critical minerals from iron ore mining waste streams close to Gällivare in Sweden (LKAB, 2024). Land-based ores across the Nordics (e.g. in Finland, Greenland, Norway, and Sweden) are candidates for development, also reducing the need for developing a seabed mining value chain.

9.3 Technology for ocean observation, data, and analytics

Technologies for ocean observation, data, and analytics support a plethora of applications across the Nordic ocean industries. These advancements are driven by rising demand for the collection and analysis of ocean data, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. The potential for drawing benefits from these technologies is enormous – for instance, by automating remote observations and operations, understanding the human impact on the ocean, monitoring changes in the ocean environment and in infrastructure at sea, meteorological forecasting, and climate tracking. The OECD (2025) recently argued that the ocean economy has been relatively slow to take advantage of digital technologies, and this is an area where the Nordics are well-positioned. With an increasing need for maritime security – for instance, to protect critical infrastructure at sea – surveillance applications also become a big driver of demand. Key digital technologies, several of which can operate together as part of an observational pyramid, and as enablers for ‘digital twins’ of the ocean, include:

Satellite monitoring: The growing capabilities, availability, and cost-effectiveness of satellite technology – combined with advances in AI and big data – have made satellite data increasingly more actionable. Platforms are delivering ever more accessible and consolidated information products based on earth observation. These are increasingly fit for purpose in environmental monitoring programmes (e.g. Ocean Monitoring Indicators) (EU Copernicus Marine Service, 2025) and are becoming essential for ocean industries, such as their application in detection of algal blooms that harm fish farming (Hommedal, 2024). The Esrange Space Center in Kiruna and Andøya Spaceport are examples of how the Nordics are playing a key role in the development of European satellite launch capabilities (Ahlander, 2025).
Unmanned and autonomous vehicles. These collect in-situ ocean data, in some cases on a continuous basis. Some of these vehicles are part of offshore operations, such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), based on innovations often anchored in offshore technology. Another example is dedicated ocean science infrastructure, like floaters following ocean currents coordinated under the Global Ocean Observing System, and its European and Arctic components (Euro Argo, 2025). This monitoring system delivers in-situ accounts of ocean conditions, enabling early detection of anomalous conditions such as marine heatwaves, contamination, and hypoxia.
Ship- and structure-mounted sensor systems: These are essential for decision-support during operations in maritime, offshore energy, and seafood, but increasingly also serve additional functions (‘dual use’) such as military surveillance and biodiversity monitoring. One example, cameras for bird detection and tracking, are in operation at the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm (Spoor, 2023). With Nordic shipowners owning and operating a large share of the world fleet, this also represents a key opportunity to utilize these assets as a resource for data collection across vast, little-explored ocean areas (Danish Ship Finance, 2025; Wallenius Wilhelmsen, 2025).
Marine analytics capabilities are rapidly expanding as computational power becomes cheaper and large-scale data centres are developed. Aker, a Norway-based investment company with large interests across ocean industries, owns the major offshore Internet-of-Things actor Cognite, whose technology forms the backbone of HUB Ocean’s ocean analytics platform (Cognite, 2024).
Computing infrastructure: This is essential for the rapid scaling of digital technologies in the ocean economy. Data centres are believed to be one of the largest new drivers of energy demand on the global scale, and with ample access to cold seawater for cooling, the Nordics could have an edge in this sector. As an example of the integration of the nascent data centre sector and the ocean economy, Aker recently partnered with NScale and Open AI to establish a large-scale data centre in Northern Norway (Nscale, 2025). This step secures priority access to the growing Nordic AI industry, which serves many ocean-related use cases.