About

The I3-4 SEAWEED

The project champions interregional collaboration aimed at scaling, demonstrating, and ensuring market readiness of business ventures within the macroalgae/seaweed sector.

Combining the strengths of innovative SMEs, universities, tech hubs, and industry clusters, the project envisions a transformative, transnational value chain rooted in new sustainable seaweed cultivation techniques and algal biotechnological applications. As an untapped reservoir of potential, seaweed not only embodies the promise of sustainable innovation but also holds the power to reshape regional development, in particular in coastal areas and maritime regions of the EU.

Through the project’s investment cases – spanning the food industry, biofertilizers, and cosmetics – seaweed demonstrates its vast versatility and potential to revolutionize multiple sectors, marking a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable future, from healthier diets to lower CO2 emissions.

Our Goals

  • Develop the value chain for seaweed, promoting the progress of coastal and maritime areas of different regions of the EU.​
  • New seaweed cultivation techniques and algal biotechnological application, into the food, biofertilizers and cosmetics industries.
  • New products and innovative applications​
  • Sustainable regional growth reducing the environmental impact ​
  • New jobs to coastal areas in different EU regions​

The Challenge

Limited access to marine spaces, technology and infrastructure necessary to develop the sector​.

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High cost of cultivation, processing and infrastructure.

Objectives

  1. Analyse cultivation techniques and biotechnological applications

  2. Delivery of a Portfolio of Investment/Business Cases – Sustainable Seaweed Production

  3. Delivery of a Portfolio of Investment/Business Cases – Advanced Biotechnological Applications of Seaweed

  4. Diversify Seaweed Applications Across Key Sectors

  5. Go-to-Market Support and Advisory

  6. Building Ecosystem, Training and Networking Opportunities

  7. Promotion, Branding, and Consumer Education

I3-4 SEAWEED Pillars

Pillar 1
Preparatory actions: specifications and state of the art analysis of the seaweed sector
Pillar 2
Implementation of a portfolio of investment/business cases across the whole seaweed value chain
Pillar 3
Design and implementation of a third-party funding programme to support SMEs with needs across the seaweed value chain and access to technical, business, financial and innovation advisory.
Pillar 4
Seaweed-food innovation: Training and guidelines on nutritional, techno-functional and sensorial properties of seaweed towards wide market adoption.
Pillar 5
Development of a market entry strategy in the supply of frozen and dried seaweeds for the food industry.
Pillar 6
Development of a Seaweed Food Innovation Network Center.

Investment case interlinkages and targeted geographies

Seaweed production

Seaweed pigment extraction

Irish Seaweed Consultancy / NIOZ 

Seaweed-based applications

in the food sector

Pittman Seafoods / KU Leuven and Vives, Revi Food/KU Leuven and Vives

Seaweed-based applications

in the food sector

The Seaweed Company/KU Leuven and Vives

Seaweed-based applications

biofertilizers sector

Ficosterra

Seaweed-based applications

cosmetics sector

AlgaPlus

Learn more about the case studies

I3-4-SEAWEED Partners

Meet all participants

Project Timeline

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