Policy Brief and recommendations on sustainable algae biorefinery

In November 2022, the European Commission published its communication “Towards a Strong and Sustainable EU Algae Sector”, also known as the EU Algae Initiative. This initiative outlines how the EU can increase the sustainable production, safe consumption and innovative use of algae and algae-based products. Innovation does not only consist in producing additional biomass and developing new uses. Improving existing uses is also a key parameter for sustainable development. Algae biomass is currently often underexploited, and its efficient utilization is one of the main challenges in current and future EU blue/marine sustainable policies. CIRCALGAE project aims to demonstrate on an industrial scale the transformation of algae biomasses into value added ingredients to be used in specific texturized or vegan foods, health-promoting food ingredients, protein-rich feed, and cosmetic formulations incorporating texturizing or highly bioactive ingredients for topical use. An evaluation of European algae biomass production, uses and side-streams generated has been established within Circalgae project and was recently published: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13375431 In Europe, the algae processing industries process several hundreds of thousands of tons of fresh harvested or imported seaweed to only use a very small amount of the whole biomass while discarding several algae parts, effluents and solid residues, often at best disposed off as fertilizer for soils. In the context of a changing society, aiming towards circular economy practices and eco-sustainability, as brought forward in the European green Deal (Com2019 (640), Fetting, 2020), the valorization of these residual streams is instrumental. However, challenges remain, such as low profitability, international competition and regulatory constraints. This policy brief aims to valorize algae as a whole and facilitate biorefinery and circular economy. This is an overview document, and representatives of the project may be contacted for further detail on any of the points discussed hereunder.