Back to search

MAROFF-2-Maritim virksomhet og offsh-2

Value-Chain Innovation towards a Sustainable & Competitive Norwegian Seaweed Industry

Alternative title: Innovasjon i verdikjeden for en bærekraftig konkurransedyktig norsk tareindustri

Awarded: NOK 4.4 mill.

Project Number:

296697

Project Period:

2019 - 2022

Partner countries:

SeaVALUE will drive sustainable value creation in Norway towards disruption of the traditional seaweed value-chain upon socially responsible industrial research and innovation on eco-harvesting, value-added on-board sorting and formalin-free preservation strategies, and full biomass valorisation into integrated multi sectoral product concepts targeting high-value markets, e.g. functional food ingredients, animal feed supplements, premium grade alginate formulations and new recyclable biomaterials. Led by Bremnes Gruppen (Dolmøy House of Seafood) and Nofima, SeaVALUE's consortium includes (inter)national industry/research partners, i.e. Marine Biopolymers and St. Olavs Hospital, and the IMR, with an advisory role. Progress made within the SeaVALUE project during the period 01.12.19-30.11.20 includes: [WP1.1] Coordination: Regular conference calls (every 2 weeks) between the project owner and manager, with focus on project status/plans, cross-disciplinary research/industry cooperation & dissemination. Meetings for coordination within the consortium. Application for project change (partner). Preparation of the 2020 progress/financial reports.' [WP1.2] Dissemination: The project website launched within the company (Bremnesgruppen)s and Nofima website. Minimum 2 scientific articles under preparation. [WP2] Eco-harvesting and sorting technology: Technical designs of the pilot machinery and equipment manufacture/deployment investigated and completed besides market analysis and analysis for product development. Preliminary preparation of a pilot-scale plant was carried out and more detailed studies on seaweed harvesting areas was conducted. Due to the pandemic and subsequent difficulty for seaweed harvesting, landing and sorting of algae in the pilot plant on land has been prioritized and updated machinery design for ground-based facilities proposed towards development of new business models and upscaling. [WP3] Preservation: Experimental trials to assess the potential of traditional and innovative strategies for preservation of the raw material (considering different possibilities for further storage), besides reduction of iodine levels and heavy metals. Preservation: Seaweed samples were treated as follows: Plasma activated water (PAW), tap water & untreated // ultrasound (68 kHz and 500 W) and static conditions // 5 and 30 min // 8 and 50 degC. After treatment, samples were subjected to microbiology (total counts, lactic acid bacteria, spores), colour and texture, including additional trials with EDTA (approved preservative). A scientific article is planned. Reduction of iodine levels and heavy metals: Seaweed samples were treated as follows: EDTA, PAW, pancreatin enzyme, milliQ water (control) // under ultrasound (68 kHz and 500 W) or static conditions (control) // for 5 and 30 min // at 8, 50 and 80 degC, in addition to trials on the effect of vinegar maceration and subsequent freezing/thawing steps. These samples were sent to the University of Zaragoza for analysis of iodine and heavy metals, with the results pending (delayed due to pandemic). A scientific article is planned. [WP4] Product Development: In light of the internal report on potential use of macroalgae towards feed applications, the activity on feed have been discarded due to the limitations for industrial implementation (low protein content for aquaculture feed) and low market value. Upon the company?s request the priority for this year has been given to the activities concerning biomaterials and Fiskball. Biomaterials: Leaves of Laminaria hyperborean were dry milled (Retsch mill of 0.5 mm). Similarly, the side-stream from protein extraction was dry milled in line with the biorefinery concept. Simple proximate characterization was performed on both milled samples. Planned trials with extrusion have been postponed due to the lock down in Bergen and delay in infrastructure acquisition/installation. The resulting powder was sent to Stavanger for optimization (e.g. filler ratio, casting methods) and characterization to be incorporated as filler in alginate/chitosan-based biomaterials (including mechanical, functional, anti-microbial properties). The work is ongoing also as part of a master thesis (UiS, fall 2020-). Fiskball: Based on WP3 (trial on reduction of iodine and heavy metals), new prototype (adaptation of the companys original recipe) of Fiskball with fresh seaweed (thawed and grinded) will be developed in December 2020. The resulting products will be analysed for its nutritional values at St.Olav hospital (planned early spring 2021) and for the iodine and heavy metal content at University of Zaragoza (ES). Further production at Dolmøy and patient trials at St Olavs Hospital are planned. Planned trials with dried seaweed have been postponed because of the lack of available information concerning potential effect of drying on the undesired compounds in Laminaria.

-

Catalysed by socially-responsible value creation, SeaVALUE will shape the future towards the next-generation seaweed industry in Norway, strengthen business competitiveness and lay foundation for new commercial activities in high-quality markets upon sustainable value-chain innovation & resource management and end-product diversification/differentiation. In a joint multi-actor effort, SeaVALUE will drive key bioeconomy challenges towards sustainable disruption, social empowerment & economic thrive of the traditional seaweed value-chain -SeaVALUE will design & validate prototype seaweed harvesting technology with minimum impact on local biodiversity & coastal erosion, including value-added automatised sorting contributing to processing efficiency & end-product standardisation. -SeaVALUE will select & validate (formalin-free) preservation strategies (product-targeted) for kelp components, upon full biomass utilisation, enhanced product stability/quality and economic & environmental sustainability (corporate social responsibility). -Through health/quality-based product differentiation, SeaVALUE will develop a cascade of multi-sectoral applications integrating all key biomass fractions towards safe high-quality food/feed products with healthy attributes, novel biodegradable materials & premium grade alginate for high-value markets. - SeaVALUE will assess the techno-economic feasibility for upscaling towards industrial implementation. Endorsing national priorities, SeaVALUE will contribute to health & wellness promotion, and high-skilled rural job retention/creation in many decentralised coastal areas. Through cutting-edge solutions driving business model innovation & value-chain multiactor engagement, SeaVALUE will contribute to the emerging national bioeconomy, also endorsing European strategies on Blue Growth. This blue bioeconomy will strengthen Norway's role as the leading seafood nation as well as a leading supplier of sustainable marine biomass.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

Funding scheme:

MAROFF-2-Maritim virksomhet og offsh-2