[ PROJECTS ] Holistic solutions are key to a sustainable and resilient economy
Unlocking the potential of aquatic bioresources New bio-based products and services are being brought to the market thanks to the work of the 49 projects funded by H2020 Blue Bioeconomy ERA-Net COFUND, creating value in the blue bioeconomy.
T
he blue bioeconomy is an essential factor in our sustainable future, but we are still just scratching the surface of what is possible in the aquatic domain. It is widely recognized that to achieve fully circular aquaculture, fisheries, and blue bioeconomy overall, we need to both valorise waste and side streams, and incorporate novel ingredients.
To have true impact, research and innovation must be funded all through the value chain. It is not only about resource management and broodstock, feed development and sensor technology, but also
about improving supply systems, logistics, product development and market research. The funded projects must run in an integrated manner, where they are international, cross-sectorial, and include both research and industry partners, thereby increasing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and covering multiple parts of the blue bioeconomy value chain. Running such a project is complex, but from the complexity comes novel solutions. The 39 research and innovation projects funded by BlueBio cover all aspects of the blue bioeconomy, all parts of the value chain and TRLs up to pilot scale, leading to numerous biobased products and services that will be or are being brought to the market. One of the most promising avenues in the blue bioeconomy is algae. Macroalgae, better know as seaweed, and microalgae are a diverse group of aquatic organisms that hold a wealth of opportunities.
The green future of the blue bioeconomy BlueBio has funded projects that work with both micro– and macroalgae, from the wild and from aquaculture. The project MINERVA (Coordinator: Dagmar Stengel, National University of Ireland, Galway) has developed novel algal extracts for food fibres (binding, gelling), food ingredients, seaweed-based cosmetics, antifouling agents, and flavour extracts from knotted kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum) and sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima). There are new extraction methods aiding purification of bioactives and new enzymes, in addition to protocols and tests for brown and red seaweed fibres in food applications. Two products are prototyped, an antioxidant and anti-enzymatic cream with seaweed and 3D printable ink for algal hydrogel InEval
The level of ambition in the EU Green Deal is high. In Europe we wish to increase and better utilise bioresources while conserving biodiversity, ensuring resilient ecosystems, providing nutritious and healthy food, and tackling climate change. It is generally recognised that a systemic approach to finding solutions is needed, as value chains across sectors are intertwined and optimising one or a few elements may cause unwanted outcomes in other areas. With the development of
integrated value webs that use interconnected rather than linear processes, the economy will be more circular, sustainable, and secure, with more regional employment. To identify new and to improve existing ways of bringing bio-based products and services to the market and to find new ways of creating value in the blue bioeconomy 49 research and innovation projects have been funded for EUR43 million since 2018. With a range of ministries and funding agencies from 17 European countries as partners, the EU Horizon 2020 ERA-Net COFUND Blue Bioeconomy (BlueBio) has worked to strengthen Europe’s position in the blue bioeconomy.
In the InEval project coordinated by the Alfred Wegener Institute commercial quantities of sea stars were dried and converted to a meal that could be used to substitute fishmeal in fish feed. EUROFISH Magazine 6 / 2023
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