The main objective is to develop novel products and applications by upgrading and modifying polysaccharides from cultivated brown algae and wild harvested brown and red algae. This will be achieved through the following sub-goals:
- Characterization of the selected brown and red algal seaweed biomasses (Laminaria hyperborea, Saccharina latissima, Alaria esculenta and Chondrus crispus)
- Isolation of high-quality polysaccharides (alginates, cellulose, fucoidans, carrageenans, laminarins) through biorefinery processes
- In-depth structural characterization of polysaccharides from the different species
- Chemoenzymatic upgrading and functional characterization of all five groups of polysaccharides
- Production and characterization of test quantities of selected functionalized oligo- and polysaccharide-based novel "blue" biomaterials
- Development of novel products targeting multiple industry sectors
- Market exploitation
Applications for the new products could be:
- Food and feed supplements
- Neutraceuticals
- Prebiotics
- Cosmetics
- Biomedical
- Regenerative medicine
- 3D-printing
- Industrial applications like; coatings, composites, hydrogekls, filma and barrieres, nanopapers, textiles and novel applications
A consortium with extensive infrastructure and competence in seaweed and marine polysaccharide research and innovations has been established consisting of:
- SES
- DuPont
- Tallinn University
- The Royal Institute of technology
- The Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- SINTEF
- University of Trieste
- University of Bremen
The project is financed through the first call of the ERA-BlueBio Co-fund (https://bluebioeconomy.eu/)