Project description
Growing microalgae for a less hungry planet
The world population is rising, expected to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that food production keeps pace. Not surprisingly, food companies are turning to alternative methods of food production. The EU-funded BioSolar Leaf project is taking a natural approach. It is the first cultivation system to harness microalgae and sunlight to produce healthy, sustainable natural food ingredients. This pilot plant will produce sustainable healthy food additives while purifying the air, producing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment. Its ingredients are vegan, GMO and hormone free, and the technology permits sterile cultivation to eliminate external contamination and produce the cleanest and purest ingredients.
Objective
The global population recently surpassed 7 billion and is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. Food demand
is expected to increase to 3B tons in 2050, an increase of 43% compared to 2009. This in turn will have dramatic
consequences not only on humans’ health that will consume lower quality food produced by means of less capital-intensive
techniques, but also on the earth that will be strained by climate change, increasing drought frequency and severity, soil
depletion and disease, and water pollution. Ensuring sustainable sources of food in light of these issues is of critical
importance for society as well as the environment. Food companies are therefore turning to alternative methods of food
production to meet the growing demands and regularly use artificial food ingredients to provide necessary levels of protein
and nutrients. Arborea has developed the BioSolar Leaf, the world’s first cultivation system which
harnesses microalgae and sunlight to produce healthy, sustainable natural food ingredients. Microalgae has great potential
for cultivation as they contain lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, micronutrients, antioxidants and can be cultivated under harsh
climatic environments. The BioSolar Leaf cultivation system is the only sustainable ground-breaking algae cultivation system that
enables complete control of ideal culturing parameters for production of natural food ingredients. Arborea’s ingredients are
wholly vegan, GMO and hormone free, and the technology permits a sterile cultivation that eliminates external
contamination, to produce the cleanest and purest ingredients. During the feasibility assessment, Arborea will size the
market, establish a go-to-market strategy and a supply chain. BioSolar Leaf will then be validated in collaboration with food
producers to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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.
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-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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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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.
CR77ER THORNTON HEATH
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.