Pacto da BIOECONOMIA AZUL | WP5 Algae Vertical & WP9 Portuguese Blue Biobank

Defending a new sustainable, innovative and decarbonizing paradigm, which finds in the sea an answer to the challenge of the global scarcity of land resources, and bringing together various national industries, the Pacto da Bioeconomia Azul (Blue Bioeconomy Pact) plans to develop new products, processes and services resulting from the incorporation of goods from the blue bioeconomy in new or existing value chains, with a positive impact on the environment, on consumers’ lives and on national exports. It will invest in 7 sectors – through: application of biomaterials; new paradigm for shellfish production; marine-based textiles; sustainability in the food sector; increased algae production; circular feeding solutions; bioinformatics for the fisheries sector -, and in 3 transversal initiatives aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of products and services in the sector – the Portuguese Blue Biobanks network, a digital platform for the valorization of marine co-products, and in the promotion of growth and internationalization of companies and SMEs.

Thus, the planned investment aims to (i) Boost the development of a cutting-edge industrial economic sector, based on the application of marine bioresources to multiple industries; (ii) Be the first large sample of the transversal and ecological potential of marine biotechnology solutions; (iii) Contribute to positioning Portugal in the global context, as a pioneer in a sector that is estimated to reach €200 billion globally in 2030; (iv) Materialize the great opportunity for growth and innovation in sea industries (aquaculture, fisheries, canning) and to differentiate traditional Portuguese industries that are now far from the sea (textiles, cork, fertilizers, human health).

The Blue Biobank of CIIMAR is part of the Portuguese Blue Biobank, a network of national marine biological collections with the ultimate goal of positioning Portugal in the forefront of knowledge and conservation of marine biodiversity, taking into account its economic value.

The Blue Biobank of CIIMAR, through its distinct collections, is developing cutting-edge research at the level of taxonomy and the study of the biotechnological potential that it explores within the biodiversity it preserves. Alongside, it provides services to the scientific community and the industry that go from the identification of species to the isolation of Cyanobacteria cultures, availability of different types of samples and deposition of samples at their collections.