A’Pelago to co-coordinate Finland’s Mission Ocean Hub through BlueMissionBANOS 2030

A’Pelago and the John Nurminen Foundation are joining forces to coordinate Finland’s National Mission Hub for the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” through BlueMissionBANOS 2030.

The EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” brings together European countries and regions around a shared ambition: to restore the health of our oceans and waters by 2030. In the Baltic and North Sea region, BlueMissionBANOS 2030 supports this ambition by connecting national action with the wider European Mission.

What is Mission Ocean?

The EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” focuses on four key objectives:

• Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, including restoring degraded habitats and species.
• Prevent and eliminate pollution, with a particular focus on reducing pollution from land-based activities and tackling marine litter and other contaminants.
• Enable a sustainable, climate-neutral and circular blue economy, supporting solutions and economic activities that reduce pressure on marine and freshwater ecosystems.
• Improve ocean and water literacy and strengthen citizen engagement, enabling people and communities to participate in protecting and restoring our waters.

Achieving these objectives requires more than individual projects or technologies. It requires coordination across public authorities, research, business, finance and civil society, as well as the ability to move proven solutions from pilots into wider use.

A joint National Mission Hub for Finland

At the heart of BlueMissionBANOS 2030 are 12 National Mission Hubs, one in each Baltic and North Sea country. The hubs act as national coordination and mobilisation platforms, bringing together public authorities, funders, research and innovation actors, businesses and civil society to help embed, scale and deploy solutions that contribute to the Mission.

In Finland, the National Mission Hub is co-coordinated by A’Pelago and the John Nurminen Foundation, bringing together two complementary strengths.

A’Pelago brings a strong focus on the blue economy, innovation, entrepreneurship and the scaling of solutions. Through its ecosystem of startups, companies, investors, researchers and other ocean stakeholders, A’Pelago works to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable and regenerative blue economy.

The John Nurminen Foundation brings decades of experience in Baltic Sea protection, concrete environmental action, knowledge and citizen communications. The Foundation has a strong track record of turning knowledge into practical restoration and prevention projects that improve the state of the Baltic Sea.

Together, we connect knowledge, action, innovation and impact across Finland.

From Mission goals to national action

The National Mission Hub is not a separate initiative operating alongside existing work. Its role is to connect and strengthen what is already happening in Finland, while creating new opportunities for collaboration and scaling.

This means bringing actors together around shared challenges, identifying promising solutions, connecting them with the right partners and funding, and helping proven approaches move from individual projects towards wider deployment.

For A’Pelago, this work connects naturally with our mission to accelerate the blue economy transition. We see significant potential in bringing startups and scaleups, established companies, researchers, investors, public actors and civil society into closer dialogue around the EU Mission objectives.

The Hub also creates a bridge between Finnish action and the wider Baltic and North Sea region. Through BlueMissionBANOS 2030, Finnish actors can connect with the other National Mission Hubs and access transnational networks, expertise, funding opportunities and markets.

Turning ambition into outcomes

Restoring our ocean and waters requires more than individual solutions. It requires coordination, investment, collaboration and the ability to move solutions into practice at scale.

Through Finland’s National Mission Hub, A’Pelago and the John Nurminen Foundation aim to contribute to this shift by helping connect the right people, Mission Ocean projects and resources around concrete opportunities for impact.

Our ambition is simple: to help turn the goals of Mission Ocean into action in Finland and to connect Finnish solutions and actors with the wider Baltic and North Sea community.

BlueMissionBANOS 2030 is a 36-month Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action, bringing together 20 partners across 12 Baltic and North Sea countries. The project supports the mapping, deployment, monitoring and scaling of solutions contributing to the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” through 12 National Mission Hubs.

For more information, please contact:

Alina Sippolainen
Investor and Innovation Engagement
alina@apelago.fi