EU funds algae product development applicable to pet food
The co-founded initiative is expected to lead to sustainable solutions in the Baltic and North Sea regions.
The European Union has funded under the Horizon Europe program with €12 million ($13M) the AlgaeProBANOS (APB) project, which, among other industries, will push micro and macroalgae for pet food and aquafeed applications.
It is expected to run 6 business cases across the Baltic and North Sea region and introduce 8 innovative and sustainable algae-based products to the market. The project began in April 2023 and is expected to run for 4 years.
APB aims to accelerate innovative algae-based product development in the BANOS region and provide market solutions by focusing on biomass supply, high production costs, knowledge of markets and consumers, risks and impacts, and fragmented governance framework.
The initiative was launched by Submariner Network, a Baltic marine resource coordinating entity, and aims to meet the market demand for eco-friendly and high-quality bio-based goods.
It directly contributes to the EU’s Blue Mission BANOS lighthouse initiative, which pushes stakeholders to reach carbon neutrality and bring about a circular ocean economy.
Applications in pet food
In the near future, the project may focus on “providing ingredients of high quality and added value to niche feed markets,” says Efthalia Arvaniti, Program Manager at the Submariner Network.
Arvaniti adds, “When relevant, business cases will investigate marketing products or ornamental fish pet food formulations or specialty feed ingredients for juveniles and fish hatcheries.”
APB is expected to increase production scale to bring circular microalgae-based products closer to the commercial market.
Tapping oceanic potential
In addition to APB but under the same Submariner Network, there is BalticMUPPETS, or Baltic Mussel Products for Pet-Foods, a €7.5 million ($8.1M) project that began in December 2022.
With this project, 12 partners from 5 countries are focused on developing new value chains for small mussels (1–3 cm) from the Baltic Sea for pet food and innovating farming, harvesting and processing technologies.
The project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3) of the European Commission to develop a pet food market for alternative marine biomass resources.
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