Gothenburg, Sweden — October 2025 – SEAlgaePower project launches to transform seafood
industry processing water into sustainable blue value
SEAlgaePower, coordinated by Professor Cornelia Spetea Wiklund from University of Gothenburg, brings together leading universities, research institutes, industry partners, and innovation experts to develop microalgae-based technologies that convert nutrient-rich residual water from aquaculture and seafood processing into valuable, sustainable products. SEAlgaePower has officially launched with a kick-off meeting hosted by University of Gothenburg on 6–7 October 2025.
Addressing a dual challenge
The fast-growing aquaculture and seafood processing industry generates large volumes of nutrient-rich residual water, which is costly to discharge. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for new, carbon-neutral sources of food, materials and energy.
SEAlgaePower addresses these challenges by harnessing the natural ability of microalgae to capture and recycle nutrients. The project will design and demonstrate innovative systems that clean residual water while producing biomass for new products such as fish feed, food ingredients, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and medical materials.
“Our goal is to turn a cost into an income,” said Professor Cornelia Spetea Wiklund, coordinator of SEAlgaePower. “By linking aquaculture with algae cultivation, we can reduce environmental impact, recover valuable nutrients, and create new market opportunities for sustainable blue growth.”
Scientific ambition and scope
SEAlgaePower explores two major research questions:
- How can marine microalgae from the North and Mediterranean Seas be used to clean nutrient-rich residual water from aquaculture and seafood processing?
- How can the resulting biomass be transformed into carbon-neutral, bio-based ingredients for multiple industrial sectors?
By combining expertise in marine biotechnology, biorefining, circular value chains, and sustainability assessment, the project will advance the state of the art in blue biotechnology and contribute directly to the EU’s Green Deal and Zero-Waste objectives.
An international partnership
Thirteen partners from seven countries bring expertise across the entire value chain:
- University of Gothenburg – Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (Sweden) (Prof. Cornelia Spetea Wiklund) – Project coordination, lab-scale cultivation in aquaculture and process water, and data management
- NORCE Research AS (Norway) (Dr. Hanna Böpple) – Pilot-scale cultivation at the National Algaepilot Mongstad
- University of Aveiro – Department of Chemistry (Portugal) (Prof. Rosario Domingues) – Biomass characterisation, biorefinery-based extraction of lipids, pigments, and polysaccharides, and bioactivity testing to assess nutraceutical potential
- University of Palermo – Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (Italy) (Dr. Valeria Villanova) – Isolation of new Mediterranean strains and bioactivity testing to assess pharmaceutical potential
- Chalmers University of Technology – Department of Life Sciences (Sweden) (Prof. Ingrid Undeland) – Process-water characterisation, biorefinery-based protein extraction and food applications
- DTI Danish Technological Institute – Division of Food and Production (Denmark) (Dr. Praveen Kumar Ramasamy) – Microalgae-based RAS water nutrient recovery, integration with BioPod system (https://www.biopodcontainer.dk/), lipid and carotenoids extraction, and fish feed prototype development & testing.
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – Division of Materials and Production (Sweden) (Dr. Markus Andersson Trojer) – MedTech materials for wound care and regenerative medicine
- NIBIO Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Norway) (Dr. Astrid Solvåg Nesse) – Evaluation of algae-based fertilisers and nutrient recovery
- NFH NordicFlexHouse ApS (Denmark) (Anders Thomsen, CEO) – BioPod container integration and circular aquaculture systems.
- SITES Sustainable Innovation Technology Services Ltd (Ireland) (Leonardo Piccinetti) – Communication, stakeholder engagement, socio-economic and circularity assessment
- University of São Paulo – Oceanographic Institute (Brazil) (Prof. Mary Gasalla) – Sustainability and social-impact assessment
- Industry partners Klädesholmen Seafood AB (Sweden) (Jonas Lundberg, CEO) and Ragn-Sells Havbruk (Norway) (Ole Arthus Vaage, CEO) – Providing real wasted water streams and validation environments
Expected results
Over the next three years, SEAlgaePower will:
- Identify microalgae species adapted to Nordic and Mediterranean seawaters and suitable for cultivation in aquaculture and process waters
- Demonstrate >90 % nutrient removal and high-yield biomass production
- Develop cascade biorefinery protocols for proteins, omega-3 oils, pigments, and polysaccharides
- Develop prototypes/ingredients for food, feed, fertilisers, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and MedTech applications
- Assess environmental, social, and economic performance to guide responsible scale-up
By closing the loop between, on the one hand primary and secondary seafood production, and the other hand, algae cultivation, SEAlgaePower aims to help establish a climate-neutral, sustainable, and zero-waste blue economy for Europe.
Funding
The SEAlgaePower project partners acknowledge the transnational funding of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) under Horizon Europe and the national/regional funding organisations for research and innovation.
Media contact:
Lesley Tobin
Sustainable Innovation Technology Services (SITES)
Email: lesleytobin.sites@gmail.com