The European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) is supporting four new projects to create innovation hubs off the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts focused on sustainable algae production. The EU is investing a total of €5.7 million in the projects.
The EMFAF chose the four following a call for innovative projects focused on Smart Specialization Partnerships across EU sea basins that demonstrate the feasibility and environmental benefits of regenerative ocean farming. The organization said this reflect’s the EU’s broader ambition to drive innovation, circularity and climate neutrality in the blue economy.
Mediterranean Blue Economy Hubs: Maritime Innovation for Smart Specialization (MED-Hubs) will receive roughly €1.5 million. MED-Hubs has created two interconnected innovation hubs — one in Spain, focused on marine renewable energy, and one in Italy, specializing in sustainable aquaculture and fishing.
These hubs will bring together SMEs, startups, investors, research institutions, policymakers and coastal communities, to help promising technologies reach commercial maturity. A key feature is the “Trusted Pilots” approach, designed to rigorously test and validate new solutions, increasing investor confidence and supporting wider adoption. The project will also implement an Expansion Program to encourage replication in other regions.
Atlantic Hubs to boost Marine Algae Land-based Aquaculture and Biotechnology (ATL.A.HUB) is receiving nearly €1.58 million toward programs that address the main bottlenecks in the European value-chain of algae production. The assumption is that Europe can accelerate land-based algae aquaculture by relying on specific hubs that offer shared infrastructure, equipment, services and knowledge about the regulatory framework.
The partners will use two of the largest facilities in Europe for algae cultivation and processing as launch pads for the development of new algae-based products. The facilities are in Pozo Izquierdo (Gran Canaria, Spain) and Vila Franca de Xira (Lisbon, Portugal).
They will also help businesses test, scale up and bring innovations to the market more quickly with specific commercialization strategies. The project will explore replication opportunities in other Atlantic regions, identifying areas with suitable conditions and supportive regulatory frameworks.
OCEAN GARDENS – a scalable and modular approach to open-ocean seaweed aquafarming–will receive nearly €1 million. The project will demonstrate large-scale, environmentally responsible cultivation of native seaweed species.
The first demonstration site, in Gran Canaria (Spain), will test a modular 40,000 m² seaweed farm designed to produce 300 dry tons of sustainable biomass per year. The project will monitor its environmental impact — from carbon capture to biodiversity enhancement — and share the results to encourage wider adoption.
By linking science, policy and public engagement, OCEAN GARDENS aims to show how regenerative aquafarming can contribute to climate action and create new economic opportunities for coastal communities, targeting especially government officials, local fishermen and immigrant communities.
The final, €1.58 million final project is SEAGROW – Seaweed in Ecosystem Enhancing Aquaculture for Growth and Sustainability. This project seeks to demonstrate how large-scale regenerative ocean farming can work as a viable business model. It will test innovative seaweed farming systems in Galway Bay (Ireland), studying their ability to absorb nutrients and carbon while supporting marine life. It will also develop standards and tools — from environmental assessment protocols to eco-labelling systems — that can help expand regenerative ocean farming across Europe, especially the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
