SEAlgaePower features at the Nordic Photosynthesis Congress and Nordic Algae Symposium 2025

SEAlgaePower is proud to announce that Project Coordinator Cornelia Spetea Wiklund presented the project at the annual Nordic Photosynthesis Congress and Nordic Algae Symposium which took place from 20th-23rd October in Elsinore, Denmark.

As an invited speaker, Cornelia - who was also a member of the event's Scientific Committee, delivered a well-received presentation titled "SEAlgaePower － Sustainable development of microalgae-based ingredients using waste streams from aquaculture and seafood processing industry as feedstock" to a large audience of researchers and specialists in the field.

This conference brings together researchers, professionals, and experts in the field of photosynthesis and algae biotechnology to share their knowledge, insights, and advancements.

This year, the event aimed to provide a dynamic forum that brings together a diverse mix of international and Nordic experts, while also showcasing the innovative research of early-career scientists through numerous presentations.

For more information about the conference, visit the event website

Presentation Abstract

SEAlgaePower － Sustainable development of microalgae-based ingredients using waste streams from aquaculture and seafood processing industry as feedstock

Cornelia Spetea Wiklund

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences,

University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

E-mail: cornelia.spetea.wiklund@bioenv.gu.se

The fast-growing land-based aquaculture and seafood processing industry generate large amounts of nutrient-rich wastewater, posing a high cost for discharge and environmental impact. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for new resources intended for carbon-neutral production of food, material and energy. The ability of microalgae to perform photosynthesis and efficiently convert dissolved nutrients into valuable biomass could contribute to solving this dual problem.

The overall objective of SEAlgaePower is to develop microalgae-based technologies to clean wastewater from the aquaculture and seafood processing industry while simultaneously producing biomass for novel ingredients in a sustainable way.

The specific aims are to:

(i) select suitable microalgae species/strains from the North and the Mediterranean Sea in a lab-scale cultivation system based on the ability to grow in different wastewater types;

(ii) develop pilot-scale algae cultivation protocols and wastewater cleaning;

(iii) develop biorefinery protocols for protein, lipid and carbohydrate recovery from the microalgal biomass;

(iv) develop microalgae-based prototypes and ingredients;

(v) assess environmental and socio-economic aspects associated with the project solutions on wastewater cleaning, microalgae cultivation and biomass valorisation, and

(vi) maximise the project impact, visibility, and legacy.

The SEAlgaePower consortium consists of fourteen partners from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Malta, and Brazil.

SEAlgaePower will contribute to establish a EU climate-neutral, sustainable, resilient blue economy, leveraging microalgae-based technologies which can turn a current cost of seafood producing and processing companies into an income source through valorization of their wastewaters.

Keywords: aquaculture, marine microalgae, microalgae-based products, seafood processing industry, wastewater remediation.

Acknowledgment: 2024 Second Joint Transnational Co-Funded Call of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) under Horizon Europe and the national/regional funding organisations.