The BIOCHAINS Atlantic project held its second partner meeting on 7 July in Porto (Portugal). The meeting provided an opportunity to advance the planning of the project’s next phases and share the first results of the work carried out so far.

Organised by WEDOTECH, this gathering brought together representatives from the consortium’s partner organisations from Galicia, Portugal, France and Ireland, with the aim of sharing progress, aligning next steps and strengthening collaboration among the different partners.

Participants included Ángela Iglesias Sánchez and Daniel Álvarez, representing BIOGA; Ruben Jorge, from WEDOTECH; Stéphane Tarrade and Gorenka Bojadzija Savic, from Biotech Santé Bretagne; Mário Cristóvão, from CATAA – Centro de Apoio Tecnológico Agro-Alimentar; Paula Iglesias González, from ANFACO-CYTMA; and Helena McMahon, from Munster Technological University (MTU). The meeting also included Andrés Pichel, from EuroFunding, providing technical support for the project under the Atlantic Area Programme. The BIOCHAINS Atlantic consortium additionally features GLECEX (Galicia Green Chemistry Excellence), which remains actively involved in the project and contributes to its work towards strengthening sustainable algae biomass value chains across the Atlantic Area.

In addition, Elisabete da Costa participated on behalf of BlueBio Alliance, a collaboration partner of the project, bringing the organisation’s perspective and connections with Portugal’s blue biotechnology ecosystem. This international representation provided an opportunity to share different perspectives on the development of algae biomass value chains and jointly advance the project’s upcoming activities.

One of the main areas of work was the presentation of the first results of Work Package 1, focused on analysing the macroalgae and microalgae biomass ecosystem across the Atlantic Area. This work aims to identify the main stakeholders, resources and existing capabilities, as well as to detect opportunities to strengthen algae biomass value chains and support their sustainable development.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the project’s upcoming activities and advance the definition of actions aimed at improving connections between the different stakeholders involved in these value chains, from research and innovation to the business sector.

Visit to CIIMAR

The meeting also included a visit to the facilities of CIIMAR – Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, in Porto. During the visit, participants had the opportunity to learn first-hand about its scientific and technological capabilities and explore potential opportunities for collaboration and synergies in the fields of biotechnology and marine resources.

This second meeting marks another step forward in the development of BIOCHAINS Atlantic, which will continue working to identify and harness the potential of algae biomass, optimise its value chains and contribute to more sustainable economic growth across the Atlantic Area.

The project is co-funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme.