Technological and commercial readiness

 

Seaweed and microalgae has been used as a food source and in supplements for many years in the EU and are considered to be at TRL 8-9 for these applications, with well-established harvesting, processing, and consumption patterns. This was confirmed in a study of 223 European-based start-ups and SMEs, which found that 85% of them had a TRL of 8 or 9, already generating revenues, with most of them involved in food and feed production.[1]

 

Algae as a food source has reached CRI 4. Seaweed is a traditional food source in many cultures and has a well-established market in the EU, particularly as a specialty food item. There is also growing interest in seaweed as a health food, leading to increased commercialisation. Similarly, microalgae such as Spirulina and Chlorella are widely available in the EU as dietary supplements and are increasingly being used as ingredients in health food products due to their high protein content and nutritional quality.

 

Algae as a feed source has reached CRI 3-4. Algae-based feeds, especially for aquaculture, are commercially available and used as a source of essential nutrients. The EU has several producers of algae-based aquaculture feed, reflecting a maturing market  (CRI 4). While there is significant interest in using microalgae as a feed for livestock, this market is not as developed as the aquaculture feed market. There are operational trials and some commercial activity, but it is not yet fully mainstream (CRI 3).

 

 

Industrial capability

 

The population of industrial players in European algae production is rapidly growing. Data on the size of the sector is inconsistent, however, with low and high estimates varying by an order of 10.[2] There is apparent consensus on the lack of processing capacity across the sector, largely due to the high capital investment costs required. “Landing facilities for the processing of cultivated seaweed biomass”[3] and “biorefineries”[4] are called for to expand processing capacity in the EU, and thus achieve both scale and the ability to generate numerous applications for food, feed, and beyond.

 

A large share of algae production in the EU relies on wild harvesting, whereas globally aquaculture dominates by far: EU aquaculture production represented 0.001% of global seaweed aquaculture in 2021.[5] Seaweed aquaculture is developing in Europe, while the sustainability of wild harvesting has been questioned.[6]

 

Challenges

 

The EU Joint Research Centre has concluded in 2023 that for algae production to really take off in Europe, many knowledge gaps in technology, biology and markets need to be tackled first. This applies to aquaculture in particular, including the development of durable structures for large scale production in the Northern Atlantic.[7] Mechanisation and automation of several stages, including harvest, could also improve the economic outlook for large-scale seaweed cultivation.[8]

 

The algae sector in Europe has been called “immature”,[9] operating currently with high production costs and at a limited scale. More generally, these issues were recognised in the Roadmap for the Blue Economy published in 2020, and again in the  report on the future of the EU algae sector.[10]