Work Packages - GENIALG

Work Package 1 – Ethics requirements

To ensure compliance with the 'ethics requirements' set out in this work package.

To collect, genetically characterise and biobank wild strains and strains currently used for industrial production.
To Implement classical breeding strategies for strain improvement.
To integrate new genetic approaches into breeding programmes and exploitation of genomic resources.

To validate and optimise yield and chemical composition for geographic coverage area.
To validate existing means of biomass stabilisation and transport for large-scale production.
To develop mechanised cultivation/harvest devices for offshore farms and energy-efficient and mechanised pond cultivation system, including large-scale harvest demonstration.

To find a technical pathway for the valorisation of the whole mass of the feedstock within its multiple compounds.
To develop a comprehensive inventory of the major components of potential commercial value present in Saccharina and Ulva biomass.
To develop new environmentally benign processes for the extraction and processing of existing commercial products, based on the use of enzymes and environmentally sustainable chemicals and solvents.
To assess a range of algal extracts and products for new industrial applications.
To develop and scale up integrated processes giving rise to a range of new and existing product ranges and to prepare at small scale (laboratory) selected purified components for chemical, biochemical, microbiological, and physical characterisation.

To assess if the algae-based products from biorefinery are ready for the market.
To identify key markets.
To check compliance of algae-based products to existing public and private standards, and existing patents.
To identify the environmental performance of algae-based products.
To confirm the technical efficiency and the economic value of the products in the applications.

Lead Partner: Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR)
Coordinator: Isabel Sousa Pinto
Contact details: ispinto@ciimar.up.pt

To maximise socio-environmental benefits and social acceptance of seaweed farming.

Specific objectives are:

To assess and monitor the potential biotic and abiotic impacts of farms on surrounding ecosystems.
To model the carrying capacity of the seaweed farming sites, and assess the benefits of seaweed cultivation.
To act upon acquired knowledge to stimulate the social licensing process for seaweed aquaculture and develop best socio-economic-environmental management practices.

To ensure effective external communication, dissemination, knowledge transfer, and promotion of GENIALG results and applications leading to optimal exploitation of its research outputs and products, through the use of a range of suitable communication and dissemination tools.
To promote the project activities and results beyond the consortium to the scientific community, industrial stakeholders and general public.
To capture key messages and outcomes for active knowledge transfer through training and communication tools.
To identify and ensure efficient exchanges with targeted stakeholder groups.
To address societal acceptability issues by carrying out targeted communication actions to policy makers and the general public.

To manage the GENIALG project’s efficiency and productivity from administrative and technical point of view.

Specific Objectives:

To ensure efficient communication between partners and with European Commission.
To manage resource allocation and budget.
To ensure timely delivery of projects results and deliverables inside project constraints.
To support risk identification and conflict resolution.