#83 - Venture Spotlight: Blue Eco Line

Buongiorno!

I first came across Blue Eco Line through the NOA2 programme and recently had the chance to speak with Lorenzo Lubrano Lavadera (Founder/CEO) and Paolo Monesi (Sales lead). Both came across as highly capable and focused on tackling plastic pollution where it matters most: at the river source.

Blue Eco Line develops AI monitoring and automated interception systems to stop plastic before it reaches the sea.

In this spotlight, we’ll look at the scale of the problem, how their technology works, and what’s next as they raise funding and prepare to scale.

Enjoy! And I wish them all the success possible.

The Problem

Plastic pollution in the ocean begins far upstream. Rivers act as the main arteries, carrying waste from cities and communities directly into the sea. Once there, plastics fragment into microplastics that are nearly impossible to recover.

Key dimensions of the problem:

• Scale: Every year, 500,000 tonnes of plastic enter the sea, with 80% coming from rivers.

• Economic damage: The Mediterranean alone suffers around $700 million in annual losses to the blue economy from marine litter.

• Operational pain points:

  - Widespread pollution overwhelms local authorities.

  - Inefficient monitoring means cities don’t know the scale or source of waste.

  - Expensive collection systems are hard to maintain.

• Fragmented responsibility: Municipalities, utilities, and regional authorities all hold part of the mandate, but slow coordination and diluted accountability leave critical leakage points unaddressed.

• Italian context: Rivers such as the Po, Arno, and Tiber are major conduits of waste into the Mediterranean, where plastic directly impacts ecosystems, fisheries, and tourism.

The Solution

Blue Eco Line tackles the problem at source, combining AI monitoring with automated collection in a system designed for utilities and municipalities. Their two flagship solutions include:

1) River Eye: AI-powered monitoring & classification of floating waste; high-res video to cloud; neural network distinguishes plastic vs. organics; predictive analytics for planning.

2) River Cleaner: bank-mounted, automated plant that intercepts waste and conveys it to street-level containers for standard collection/disposal.

End-to-end: not just collection — monitoring → interception → removal/disposal.

Business model:

• Based on "installation and annual fees" that can be offered to Businesses (who want to generate positive impacts or offset programs) or to Governmental Agencies (under their mandate to reduce plastic pollution and marine litter).

The Team & Partnerships

Blue Eco Line brings together a multidisciplinary team blending engineering, data science, and marine expertise:

• Lorenzo Lubrano – CEO & Co-Founder, Mechanical Engineer, ideator of the River Cleaner system.

• Michael Mugnai – CTO, PhD in Robotics.

• Camilla Cantiani – Information Technician.

• Umberto Fazio – Information Engineer.

• Alessandro Zanoli – Data Scientist.

• Paolo Monesi – Sales lead.

• Federica Lenzi – Social Media & Communications.

• Jacopo Sponchiado – Marine Scientist.

This mix of technical, commercial, and environmental expertise underpins their ability to design, implement, and scale practical river-cleaning infrastructure.

Partnerships and recognition:

• Collaborations with Selma S.r.l., Centro Style, IOC-UNESCO.

• Participation in the PR FESR Toscana “SINTESI” project, focused on AI/IoT for environmental monitoring.

• Coverage in major outlets such as Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, and La Stampa.

• River Eye monitoring in collaboration with the University of Padova under the Italian Salvamare Law measures

• River Eye Veneto project financed by Regione Veneto comparing 3 rivers for 18 months

• River Cleaner in Grosseto deployed with contribution of the multiservice company ESTRA

Together, the team and partners provide both credibility and momentum as Blue Eco Line moves from pilot projects to larger-scale deployments.

Traction & Impact

Blue Eco Line is still early stage but has already built a credible base of projects, technology, and revenue:

Pilots & pipeline:

• 1 River Cleaner currently being installed in Grosseto.

• 1 additional plant in the pipeline with municipal partners.

R&D & technology base:

• Over 4 years of research and development.

• 800,000+ hours of video analysed through their AI system.

• 30+ monitoring cameras installed along rivers.

Commercial traction:

• More than €200k revenue already generated.

• Initial contracts with municipalities and utilities.

Impact targets:

• Aim to deploy 8 River Cleaner installations by 2026.

• Each unit intercepts and removes tonnes of plastic waste annually before it reaches the sea.

• Monitoring data provides actionable insights for policymaking, regulatory compliance, and citizen awareness.

Challenges & Future Possibilities

Like many CleanTech ventures, Blue Eco Line faces a mix of practical and structural barriers:

Fundraising: closing their current €700k round is critical to scaling deployments.

Bureaucracy: navigating municipal permitting and regulatory processes can delay installation timelines.

Despite these hurdles, the potential for scale is significant:

• Italy first: rivers such as the Po, Arno, and Tiber represent key testing grounds with strong relevance to Mediterranean pollution.

• European expansion: opportunity to replicate the model across major EU river basins under tightening environmental regulations.

• Global hotspots: the technology is well-suited to regions where riverine plastic leakage into seas is acute, from Southeast Asia to Latin America.

• Beyond rivers: their AI environmental monitoring stack has wider applications in animal wellbeing, fire detection, hydrogeological and greenhouse monitoring, and occupational safety — opening future market verticals.

Closing Remarks

From my first conversations with Lorenzo and Paolo, I came away impressed by their clarity of vision and competence. Blue Eco Line has already put in the hard work of R&D, secured early projects, and built credible traction, proof that this is more than just an idea on paper.

With one plant now being installed, another in the pipeline, and a target of eight systems by 2026, they’re at an exciting inflection point. Their challenge is scale, closing the current €700k raise and navigating (classic Italian) bureaucracy to unlock wider deployment.

I believe strongly in their competence and in the relevance of what they’re building. I’ll be cheering them on! If their work resonates with you, I encourage you to get in touch with the team.

OTI

H