PROJECT OVERVIEW
SALINA is a four-year Horizon Europe project supported by CBE-JU bridging the gap between industrial ocean engineering and premium end-market applications, transforming seaweed into cutting-edge food, cosmetic, and material solutions.
Core focus
To broaden and diversify the spectrum of scalable seaweed cultivation technologies and subsequent biomass processing paths, ultimately affording circular, sustainable and resource-efficient products for food, cosmetics and biomaterials sectors.
Partners
A 22-partner consortium from 11 countries, bringing together marine ecologists, engineering firms, tech providers, and commercial manufacturers.
Coordination
Asociación de Investigación de Industrias Cárnicas del Principado de Asturias (ASINCAR).
Programme
Supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members and funded by the European Union.
The challenge
While global macroalgae production reaches 32.4 million tonnes per year, Europe accounts for less than 1% of this total and relies heavily on wild harvesting. This creates a critical supply gap: the EU remains deeply dependent on imports, even as regional demand across the food, cosmetic, and material sectors is projected to skyrocket to €9.3 billion by 2030.
Global Macroalgae Prodution
99%
32.4 Million tones per year
CULTIVATION 97%
HARVESTING 3%
European Macroalgae Prodution
1%
300 Kilo tones per year
CULTIVATION 97%
HARVESTING 3%
As global supply chains shift, securing raw material independence is critical for Europe’s industrial competitiveness and sustainable future.
The mission
SALINA aims to demonstrate the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of diversified, low-carbon seaweed value chains across multiple European marine regions. By connecting advanced cultivation systems with optimised biomass processing (and validating their footprint through comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments), the project delivers resilient, resource-efficient alternatives for both business-to-business (B2B) industrial components and consumer-facing (B2C) products in food and sports nutrition, skincare cosmetics, and bio-based construction materials.
To achieve that, SALINA is following a six-pillar approach:
The goals
Feedstock selection & characterisation
Select and validate native green, brown, and red macroalgae species based on their ecological benefits and biotechnology potential.
Scalable cultivation demonstration
Design and test on-shore and off-shore cultivation systems across diverse EU marine environments, optimized for maximum resource and energy efficiency.
High-efficiency biorefining
Upscale sustainable, cost-efficient biomass processing and conditioning at demo-level, targeting optimization paths for maximum resource recovery.
Commercial product validation
Formulate and validate three B2B ingredients and two B2C consumer products through strict functionality, regulatory, and customer testing.
Comprehensive sustainability audit
Evaluate the environmental, social, and safety impacts of the project’s value chains using integrated LCSAs, biodiversity analysis, and safety monitoring.
Sector replication & value chains
Drive the transferability of project innovations across European regions through tailored business models, co-creation, and cross-sector stakeholder engagement.
Blue bioeconomy integration
Contribute to the European marine ecosystem by clustering with sister initiatives and sharing datasets and best practices in open-access platforms.
The process
Demonstration Sites
To validate these advanced value chains under real-world conditions, SALINA coordinates a flexible processing framework across three custom-built demonstration sites tailored to the distinct marine environments of the Atlantic, Baltic, and Mediterranean, as well as an onshore demonstration site in the west coast of Ireland.
Explore our Demonstration Sites
