MAB4

The MAB4 project focus on cultivating seaweed on a large scale and using it for food and skin products.

While running out of farmland, new opportunities show up for growing sea-crops in the oceans. Many seaweed species are highly nutritious and rich in bioactive substances, those can serve as ingredients for food and cosmetics.

In Far East, longlines of seaweed – also known as macroalgae – is a common sight at the surface of the sea, however, seaweed cultivation is still at a modest level in Denmark and in Europe..

The MAB4 project which is financed by “Innovation Fund Denmark” aims at cultivating seaweed – in particular brown seaweeds – in Danish and Faroese waters. Brown seaweeds contain various valuable substances such as antioxidants, protein, polysaccharides and minerals that may be used as functional ingredients in feed, food products and skin lotions. For example, the sugar component laminarin has proven antitumor, anticoagulative, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation effects.

MAB4 is a project with a consortium of national and international experts on algea cultivation and biorefinery from universities, GTS institutes, small and medium-sized businesses as well as relevant industrial end-users. The results from MAB4 will be a beacon for industry stakeholders and future seaweed cultivation.

Project Partners

Danish Technological Institute,  Aarhus University Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University Department of Environmental Science,  University of Copenhagen Department of Veterinary Clinical and Animal Sciences, DTU Department of Chemical Engineering, DTU National Institute of Aquatic Resources, DTU National Food Institute, FermentationExperts, AT~SEA Technologies, Kattegatcentret, Hoejmark Group – BHJ A/S, Mellisa Naturkosmetik ApS,  Nordisk Tang by Endelave Seaweed,  Nordisk Tang by Endelave Seaweed

Funding

The MAB4 project which is financed by Innovation Fund Denmark