From left: Ole Jacob Broch, Silje Forbord, Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland, Jorunn Skjermo, Minister of Digitalisation and Public Administration Karianne Tung and SINTEF Oceans Director Vegar Johansen.
Photo: SINTEF
Norwegian independent research organisation SINTEF has been awarded funding to establish a new Centre for Research-based Innovation focused on kelp cultivation, one of eight such "SFI" centres announced by the Research Council of Norway this week.
The new centre, described as a "centre of gravity" for seaweed innovation, will receive support for up to eight years and carry out research in collaboration with industry partners, with the aim of addressing challenges facing the cultivated kelp sector and supporting its commercial development.
“Kelp cultivation and other macroalgae can contribute biomass for the production of a wide range of products and climate-friendly solutions, and play an important role in the green transition of the global economy,” said Jorunn Skjermo, senior researcher at SINTEF and project leader for the centre, via a press release.
“We will use the SFI to strengthen all parts of the value chain and act as a centre of gravity that attracts collaboration in research and innovation, not only in Norway but globally. We are therefore very grateful for this award,” Skjermo added.
According to SINTEF Ocean, which announced the news as marking "a joyous day for Norwegian kelp research," existing research groups in Trondheim have built up expertise across the full kelp value chain over several years, from cultivation techniques to processing and end products.
The organisation says the new SFI will be used to consolidate and further develop this work, with research institutes, universities and industry players working together to address bottlenecks in the cultivated kelp industry. Particular attention will be given to market development for macroalgae-based products, alongside research spanning the entire value chain, SINTEF said.
The centre will be led by SINTEF Ocean, with researchers from SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Energy, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research also taking part. Non-research partners in the Centre will include two municipalities or county authorities, 13 Norwegian companies and two international industry partners.
The SFI scheme is designed to support long-term collaboration industry and researchers, and to "develop knowledge that increases Norwegian competitiveness," according to the Research Council of Norway.
"If we are to take Norway forward, we must develop new knowledge, put new technology into use and strengthen cooperation between research and business," said Norway's Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland, in a separate news announcement by the Research Council of Norway.
"Commercialization and use of research are central elements in the government's Plan for Norway. The new SFIs will be very important in this work in the coming years," Aasland added.
Each centre will receive up to NOK 96 million from the Research Council, with a minimum of 50% co-financing to be secured from partners in industry and the public sector.
