Sustainable use of marine resources for high value end products

The maritime industry has been identified as a growth sector in EU as well as in Sweden. There are also strategic plans to develop the fisheries and aquaculture sector into more innovative and resource-efficient value chains. Today, the seafood processing in Sweden is generating 26 000 tonnes of residual raw materials where the majority goes to feed, biogas, or destruction. However, there is a large untapped potential to use this renewable marine feedstock for the development of more sustainable products for the growing population.

The technological key that enables what is today considered residual streams or waste to be converted into high value products is the biorefinery. In MAREFINE, we will evaluate the processing potential of residual streams from salmon, herring, ulva (green algae), sugar kelp, diatoms and shrimp. The benefits of a blue biorefinery will be maximized - both from a sustainability and economic perspective - by utilizing the entire biomass and extracting as many valuable components as possible to create high-value end products. In MAREFINE, an experienced team of researchers together with actors along the value chain from side stream generation to end product use, will create a basis for a blue biorefinery. The project will also focus heavily on identifying and removing obstacles and developing a business plan for the establishment of a blue biorefinery.