MULTIPLY

Multiplying feasible microalgae-derived products at scale

A4F ALGAFUEL SA, Green Aqua Póvoa, S.A., SWEDISH ALGAE FACTORY AB, ALGIECEL APS, FUNDACION CENTRO GALLEGO DE INVESTIGACIONES, FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANG, UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA, INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA EXPERIMENTAL E TECNOLOGICA, GRA NUTRA PORTUGAL, S.A., Edonia, OLEON NV, NOVAMONT, AIMPLAS, NOFIMA AS, AALBORG UNIVERSITET, LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SUBMARINER NETWORK FOR BLUE GROWTH EWIV

Objectives

Microalgae biomass holds a great potential to become the reference source of sustainable ingredients for a broad range of bio-based industries. However, it is still an underexploited feedstock in Europe, mostly used to produce low volume/high value products, due to lack of cost-competitive technological solutions for cultivation and biorefinery processes. MULTIPLY aims to demonstrate economically feasible and environmentally sustainable microalgae cultivation and biorefinery processes, for the provision of valuable algal ingredients, suited for the formulation of mid-price products for the food, feed, biomaterials, lubricants and cosmetics sectors. By enhancing and upscaling efficient, innovative and green technologies for the main steps of microalgae cultivation and downstream processing, implementing circular economy approaches and incorporating advanced monitoring and digital tools, MULTIPLY will increase productivity, reduce the use of resources and associated costs and improve the environmental performance of the processes. Based on 5 microalgae species, MULTIPLY will deliver 10 products of improved environmental impact, meeting market requirements. Led by the industry and backed up on institutes and universities of excellence, MULTIPLY brings together microalgae primary producers from southern and northern Europe, technology developers, researchers and industrial end-users of algae ingredients. A strong dissemination, communication and exploitation strategy will ensure an effective uptake of the project results, enabled by a better understanding of the social acceptance drivers and stimulating the enhanced public acceptance for algae-based products and processes. MULTIPLY will create new value chains, paving the way for the deployment of a sustainable, circular and digital microalgae industry in Europe.

Topic: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2024-IA-02

HORIZON.2.6 – Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Description

Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic organisms encountered in aquatic environments such as oceans, lakes and rivers. Emerging evidence indicates that apart from their role in ecosystems, they can be harnessed as a sustainable source of ingredients for food, cosmetics and other industrial applications. Despite their potential, the utilisation of microalgae in Europe remains limited, primarily due to high production costs and the absence of scalable processing technologies. To address this issue, the EU-funded MULTIPLY project proposes to develop environmentally friendly and economically viable methods for cultivating and processing microalgae. By exploring different production and extraction methods for different microalgae and using digital tools and circular approaches, the consortium hopes to pave the way for competitive and sustainable microalgae for different industry fields in Europe.