Note: This project was undertaken when Below280 was part of Decerna
Below280 provided microalgae circular economy LCA services to AlgaCycle, an innovative project utilising microalgae to improve the sustainability of agriculture and aquaculture.
Specifically, AlgaCycle focuses on repurposing nutrient-rich discharge water from soilless crop cultivation to grow microalgae. This approach transforms the water into microalgal biomass, which producers can process further into aquafeeds and bio stimulants for crops.
In particular, a key part of the project is assessing its environmental footprint. To assess the ecological implications of the AlgaCycle system against a baseline, Below280 conducted a detailed ISO 14040 compliant LCA. The assessment covered the full environmental profile. This included not just embodied carbon, but also toxicity, ozone depletion and eutrophication. Beyond evaluation, Below280 provided insights on reducing environmental impacts. The team also compared results against Business as Usual practices for food production.
Situated in the vibrant locale of Olhão, Portugal, the project finds its home within the premises of Necton, the largest microalgae producer in Europe, with other partners spread across Spain, Portugal and Norway.
The results and recommendations from this project are being fed into the REALM project.
Further Information: AlgaCycle Microalgae Circular Economy Project
Find out more at https://www.algacycle.com
The AlgaCycle project is lead by Necton, and the other project partners are; Nord University, University of Algarve (UALG), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, HUBEL Verde – Engenharia Agronómica, S.A., FULGUR IT Lda.
Additional support within the project is from;
The project is funded under the EEA Grants 2014-2021 scheme.
