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Launching first large-scale organic seaweed-to-food cultivation and processing in EU

Project description

The first harvest of organic European seaweed

Seaweed production is considered a great solution for future food resources, biofuels, organic fertilisers and an infinite series of sustainable products. Large sea-based farms appear in every part of the planet where the water quality and the technological conditions are favourable. The EU-funded SeaBest project will be the first initiative to close the circle from seaweed spore to a high-quality organic food product using a large-scale and cost-competitive approach in Europe. Having obtained a rich experience in offshore seaweed cultivation, SeaBest will enable low-cost, high-volume, organic seaweed to be produced in Europe, fully traceable, food-grade certified and ready for use as an ingredient on its own or contained in various products.

Objective

"The SeaBest project will be the first to close the circle from seaweed spore to a high quality organic food product using a large-scale and cost-competitive approach in Europe. The project will allow 1,000-14,000t of seaweed to be produced in Europe at up to 56% less cost compared to current practises. Our project will satisfy the high unmet demand of the global market for cultivated organic seaweed worth €9.3bn and of the European organic food market worth €30 billion in 2015. For the first time ever, we will enable low-cost high-volume organic seaweed to be produced in Europe, fully traceable, foodgrade certified and ready for use as an ingredient on its own or in a multitude of products. We are already in talks with over 15 EU food producers and we have Letters of Intent documenting demand for over 3,200t just from 5 large clients who are awaiting the ability to purchase organic European seaweed on a large-scale - so that they can pursue catering to dominant global food outlets such as IKEA and Schouten. We have performed a Phase 1 Feasibility Study funded by Innovation Norway (VIDAN - 2014/104777) that validated our pilot plant at TRL 7 and commercial viability. Over €14 million has been invested in our unique and game-changing solution since 2009 including SEAWEED-STAR Eurostars (#6027) project that verified our offshore farming technology. We are part of the H2020-BG-2016-1 project GENIALG aiming to boost the EU Blue Biotechnology Economy (BBE) by increasing the sustainable production of EU seaweed. Phase 2 funding will allow us to reach full commercial viability through technology maturation, piloting and market maturation activities. SeaBest will generate 30 new FTEs within SES and another 36 in our production partners, and we estimate an accumulated €76.5m in revenues after 5 years. By mechanising seaweed farming and reducing production costs, SeaBest will also open the way to new markets in bioenergy, biopharmaceuticals and animal nutrition."

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

SEAWEED SOLUTIONS AS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 660 881,25
Address
BYNESVEIEN 50C
7018 Trondheim
Norway

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Norge Trøndelag Trøndelag
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 372 687,50
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