REALM

Start date: 1 July, 2022

End date: 31 June, 2026

Code: HORIZON EUROPE FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME (HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01)

Proyect Cordintator: NECTON-OMPANHIA PORTUGUESA DE CULTURAS MARINHAS SA (NECTON).

Beneficiaries:

• BIORIZON BIOTECH SOCIEDAD LIMITADA (BZN).
• WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY (WU).
• ASSOCIACAO OCEANO VERDE LABORATORIO COLABORATIVO PARA O
  DESENVOLVIMENTO DE TECNOLOGIAS E PRODUTOS VERDES DO OCEANO
  (GCLab).
• UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE (UT).
• EUROPEAN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE (ESCI) GGMBH (ESCI).
• UNIVERSIDAD DE CADIZ (UCA).
• S2 AQUA - LABORAToRIO COLABORATIVO ASSOCIACAO PARA UMA AQUACULTURA SUSTENTAVEL E INTELIGENTE (S2).
• UNIVERSIDAD DE ALMERIA (UAL).
• INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUM (IMEC).
• HUBEL VERDE - ENGENHARIA AGRONOMICA SA (HUBEL).
• STICHTING IMEC NEDERLAND (OP).
• GRUPO EMPRESARIAL LA CANA (GLCana).

UAL Contact:

• José Luis Gúzman Sánchez (joguzman@ual.es)

Funding: HORIZON EUROPE.

Status: In progress.

ABSTRACT:

The overall objective of REALM is to develop an innovative, sustainable, and highly efficient strategy for microalgae biomass production and processing, applicable to all European countries. This will be achieved by using a waste product, the drain water from soilless agriculture, rich in nutrients required for microalgal growth, combined with a continuous microalgae production mode, applied for the first time at industrial scale: the turbidostat mode. This cultivation mode allows microalgae to grow at maximum productivity, with continuous biomass harvesting and culture medium addition. Microalgal cultivation facilities will be installed next to greenhouses that will supply the drain water, whereas centralized processing facilities will upgrade the microalgal biomass into products. Our ambition is to demonstrate this concept and to develop a business model to take it to next level in the near future: the creation of a network of multiple microalgae production facilities using drain water all over Europe, supplying local centralized processing facilities to decrease costs through an economy of scale. Such a network of soilless greenhouses and highly efficient microalgae production & processing facilities would definitively unlock the potential of microalgae for a thriving European blue bioeconomy.

Website: https://realmalgae.eu