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Description
The main objective of the Project is to unlock substantial operational and geographic synergies between seaweed cultivation in Norway and Portugal, by jointly exploiting innovative farming strategies. The specific objectives are:
(i) to enable a new business unit for ALGAplus by getting access to in Kelp (brown seaweed) through in-house seedling production;
(ii) to demonstrate the technical feasibility and assess viability of growing Kelp in Portuguese Atlantic west coast;
(iii) to gain access to a valuable red seaweed with strong market pull but inferior cultivation conditions in Portugal;
(iv) to increase leverage of both Portuguese and Norwegian SME with respect to market access and strategy.
The project focuses on specific actions to unlock the synergies between the two geographic regions Portugal and Norway and know-how of the respective SMEs ALGAplus and SES. Main activities are:
(i) design and implemention of a modular hatchery unit at ALGAplus installations in Ílhavo/Portugal with ability to produce commercially relevant volumes of Kelp (brown seaweed) seedlings;
(ii) growth trials in sheltered and fully exposed waters, including a pilot scale demonstration;
(iii) joint farming operation for Palmaria palmata in Norway, as basis for viability assessment for up-scaling, including in Portugal.
(iv) joint analysis of innovative cultivation strategies with mutual relevance for both geographic ends and their leading SMEs.