Researching circular bio-economy solutions for sustainable aquaculture in Europe
Session 2: Monday 22nd June, 14:00 - 17:15 CEST - Innovations (2)
Introduction & Chair - Dorinde Kleinegris, NORCE Research (INNOAQUA)
Dr. Dorinde Kleinegris is Principal Investigator Microalgae at NORCE and holds a part-time position as associate professor in Marine Biotechnology at the University of Bergen, Norway. She has a background in bioprocess engineering from Wageningen University, the Netherlands. The research of Dr. Kleinegris focusses on microalgae strain selection and improvement, cultivation and process design, as well as techno-economic and life cycle assessment studies of the microalgae production chain. She is the coordinator of the INNOAQUA project.
Presentation 1 (14:20): Considerations for using circular ingredients in aquafeeds. Alex Wan, University of Galway (SAFE)
Dr Alex Wan is a Research Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway. Alex has a key interest in analytical food chemistry, biochemistry, haematology, fish nutrition, marine biology, marine innovation and sustainable aquaculture. He is the team leader for the Aquaculture and Nutrition Research Unit (ANRU) based in the Ryan Institutes Carna Research Station, Connemara and Martin Ryan Annex building on the University’s main campus. The group specialises in engaging with commercial entities through joint collaborations in aquafeed, aquaculture and market research. He has worked with national and international SMEs and LEs on industrial research collaborations to develop sustainable new feed ingredients and validate feed products.
Presentation 2 (14:50): BSF in aquaponic systems. Elena Mente, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AWARE)
Professor Elena Mente has more than 20th years’ experience on research in aquatic animal nutrition and physiology and has co-ordinated and participated in many EU and national research funded projects in the fields of nutrition, organic, sustainable aquaculture and aquaponics. On-going research is related to individualising fish nutrition for maintenance of its optimal metabolism and efficient growth performance in aquaculture, aquaponics and organic aquaculture. She has authored/co-authored/edited six books, more than 120 peer-reviewed papers, ten chapters in books and participated in more than 150 international and national conferences. She is a member of the Organic European Aquaculture (Sub-group-EGTOP) committee. She was elected, re-elected European Governor of the Crustacean Society (2011-2015) and as a member of the Board of the European Aquaculture Society, (EAS) (2012-2018).
Presentation 3 (15:20): Sludge valorization towards micro and macro algae. Sandra Balsells, LEiTaT & Dorinde Kleinegris, NORCE Research (INNOAQUA)
Sandra Balsells Claramunt (Senior Researcher) holds a degree in Biology with a focus on the biomedical field and have completed courses in Biotechnology. She is currently working in the Circular Economy & Decarbonization Department at Leitat Technological Center as a Senior Researcher in the Bioresources & Agrifood Technologies group, with over 20 years of experience in R&D projects. She specializes in the valorisation of agri-food by-products, microalgae, and insects to recover high-value compounds such as polyphenols, antioxidants, and protein hydrolysates rich in bioactive peptides for food, feed, and agricultural biostimulant applications. A key focus of her work is on aquaculture, where she develops innovative projects centred on the valorisation of aquaculture sludge for the recovery of nutrients to support sustainable algal growth and the production of biostimulants, contributing to circular and resource-efficient aquaculture systems.
Presentation 4 (16:00): Biofertilizer from aquaculture sludge. Hallstein Baarset, Waister (SAFE)
Hallstein Baarset is MSc in industrial management and BSc in microelectronics. He is co-founder, CEO and board member of Waister AS developing and supplying technology for transformation of wet substrates into new valuable resources.
His expertise in development and application of technologies enables circular economy value chains related to aquaculture and food production systems. Previous experience from European and Norwegian R&D projects is combined with skills in business development and project management.
Presentation 5 (16:30): SMART-IMTA, seaweed and sole integrated production system with real time monitoring and actuation. Rui Pereira, Centre for Innovation in Macroalgae (INNOAQUA)
Dr Rui Pereira is presently the Director of the Centre for Innovation in Macroalgae at A4F – Algae for Future, a Portuguese company with more than 15 years of experience in the field of algae biotechnology. Academic trained as a Biologist, completed his PhD in 2004, working on the life-cycle of North Atlantic Porphyra and, after a typical research career, he moved from the academic to the business world in 2012, when he co-founded ALGAplus, Rui where he stayed until 2020. As researcher, including also the years within the business field, he accumulates the experience of participation in >20 national and international projects, published several book chapters and >40 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals. Current professional roles also include serving as member of the Portuguese mirror committee for standardization of algae and algae products /CT211 and CENTC454); member of the industrial committee of the European Algae Biomass Association (EABA); leading WP2 of the European project INNOAQUA; serving as board member of the Kelp Ark (non-profit) organization; Scientific coordinator of the European Project BIG-ALGAE.
