LOCALITY - Nature-positive aLgae-based fOod, agriCulture, AquacuLture and textIle producTs made in North and Baltic Sea ecosYstems

Project Information

LOCALITY

Grant agreement ID: 101112884

DOI

10.3030/101112884

EC signature date 21 May 2023

Start date 1 June 2023

End date 31 May 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 9 738 156,39

EU contribution

€ 8 499 975,01

Coordinated by

NORSK INSTITUTT FOR VANNFORSKNING STI
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LOCALITY (LOCALITY - Nature-positive aLgae-based fOod, agriCulture, AquacuLture and textIle producTs made in North and Baltic Sea ecosYstems)

Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

LOCALITY is working on implementing local, innovative, and sustainable value chains, supporting the interaction of the algae value chain actors with relevant waste stream-producing industries. Three regional ecosystems are strategically being developed in the Baltic and North Sea bordering countries, dealing with greenhouse plant production, aquaculture and fish processing, and textile industries. Biorefinery pipelines are under development for the biomasses produced (several species of microalgae and seaweed), and raw and treated ingredients are currently being tested for their nutritional, functional, and structural activities to integrate formulations aimed at the food, aquafeed, agriculture, and textile markets. An integrative methodology ensures synergies among R&D partners, industry, and SMEs, collectively working in each market sector to develop innovative and sustainable algae-based products. The consumer readiness for the designed products, and significant constraints and legal barriers are being identified for analysis. Those will be integrated into the business model to prepare a successful market implementation and exploitation of the developed products. LOCALITY is designing several algae-based products and solutions that will gain a strong position in the European marketplace in the coming years.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

LOCALITY partners have worked on the characterization of waste streams from three targeted industries: greenhouse plant production, fish production and processing, and textiles industries. The potential for cultivation was demonstrated for all tested waste streams, and the set-ups are now being upscaled. Industrial synergies have been fundamental in establishing the proposed ecosystems.
The industrial ecosystems have been fundamental in side stream utilization and microalgae production. However, other partners have provided an ecosystem service in the Baltic and North Seas while producing seaweed that removes contaminant nutrients from those waters. 123 kg of seaweed were already harvested and sent to the R&D and academic partners for product development.
The partners are currently finalizing screening microalgae and seaweed biomass regarding their nutritional and bioactivities relevant to different markets of application: food with protein alternatives, aquafeed with functional ingredients, agriculture with biostimulants and pest control, and textiles with dyes and anti-bacterial ingredients. The products are entering the development phase and will be validated later.
The economic, legal, and sensorial barriers are being accessed to identify major concerns for each product and market. The consortium is equipped with the tools to overcome those barriers, and recommendations will be drafted and documented.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LOCALITY has done intensive work identifying the industrial side streams suitable for microalgae cultivation and the microalgal strains that can be cultivated on them. This work will be the basis for developing the algae-based industrial ecosystems. Novel biorefinery pipelines were designed and operated to produce algae-based ingredients used for product development.
The developed protein alternative products use novel food-approved algal biomass characterized and integrated into the formulations based on nutritional, functional, and organoleptic characteristics. These products will strongly rely on consumer studies that identify the primary barriers related to the consumption of these types of products. The potential of diverse diatoms as aquafeed was characterised, and a few fractions of Chaetoceros and Skeletonema were identified as promising ingredients. Biocontrol and biostimulant activities are being accessed in extreme stress situations. Several seaweed ingredients were identified with promising activities for the development of products. Finally, in the textile sector, several dye formulations were tested, and LOCALITY partners produced the first pair of jeans dyed with microalgae pigments.
Consumer, legal and market experts are following the product development. The LOCALITY key to success is integrating these factors with scientific development and innovations.