MARMADE
MARine bioMass valorizAtion for fooD and fEed innovation
Project details
- Type of project
- Research & Innovation Action
- Project focus
- Food, feed & cosmetics
- Feedstock origin
- Aquatic
- Feedstock type
- Fishery by-productMicro/macro algae
- Project period
- 1 September 2025 - 31 August 2029
- Status
- Upcoming
- CBE JU Contribution
- € 3 499 985,00
- Call identifier
- HORIZON-JU-CBE-2024
Summary
With the global population expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, managing the planet's limited resources is becoming increasingly urgent. Despite significant advancements in sourcing alternative protein, fibres, and carbohydrates to reduce the environmental pressures on food and feed systems, finding sustainably sourced bio-based food and feed ingredients remains critical.
MARMADE seeks to tackle this challenge with pioneering food and feed ingredients. The project will convert locally sourced EU crustacean waste and macroalgae biomass into high-value ingredients, including vitamins, peptides, oligosaccharides, prebiotics, postbiotics, fats, emulsifiers, and digestibility enhancers.
The project will promote sustainability and ensure rigorous safety standards for both human and animal health, thereby paving the way for future market acceptance. It aims to harness the potential of marine biomass, transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for sustainable development while advancing the circular economy across Europe.
- Transform locally sourced EU crustacean waste and macroalgae biomass into innovative, high-value food and feed ingredients.
- Create an integrated plan for sustainable macroalgae biomass sourcing and use, including new methods to optimise harvesting, storage, and transportation, while maximising quality and yield.
- Optimise extraction technologies to ensure the highest sustainability, quality, and yield of ingredients.
- Assess the nutritional value, health benefits, safety, and regulatory compliance of food and feed ingredients, identifying potentially harmful by-products and allergens.
- Improve the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the project’s solutions.
- Share results, engage stakeholders, and encourage the food and feed industry to implement these sustainable solutions.
- Increase the availability of 10 new marine-derived bio-based ingredients for food and feed.
- Achieve a 30% improvement in the nutritional profiles of food and feed products, incorporating bio-based ingredients.
- Eliminate 100% of allergenic ingredients (e.g. soy lecithin and gelatine) from products, replacing them with allergen-free alternatives.
- Reduce crustacean waste of the partner producers by 95% and cut carbon emissions from transportation through low-carbon extraction processes, circular economy practices, and zero-waste strategies.
- Create new business opportunities, resulting in 45 direct jobs and boosting economic activity in regions where marine biomass is sourced or processed.
- Improve taste, texture, colour and palatability of the new ingredients, with 50 to 75% consumer acceptance.
- Increase research and innovation capacity in marine biomass-based applications, focusing on sustainable development and interdisciplinary research.
- Strengthen the competitiveness of the EU’s bio-based industry, reducing dependence on imported ingredients and ensuring the EU’s strategic autonomy.
Consortium map
Project coordination
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAMERINO Camerino, Italy
Consortium
- ENA SYMVOULOI ANAPTYXIS G P XANTHI, Greece
- AGENZIA PER LA PROMOZIONE DELLA RICERCA EUROPEA Roma, Italy
- FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV Munchen, Germany
- UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA Granada, Spain
- SYDDANSK UNIVERSITET Odense M, Denmark
- ALGAE SCOPE LTD LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY, United Kingdom
- FUNDACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO ACUICULTURA DE ANDALUCIA El Puerto De Santa Maria Cadiz, Spain
- WUNDERFISH GMBH BERLIN, Germany
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK - NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK Cork, Ireland
- BIOCHICA SRL Fermo, Italy
