Project - Blue Biotech Alliance
Project start March 2016. Expected completion February 2019.
Marine biotechnology has a significant potential to contribute to economic growth, well-being and sustainable development.
The tremendous potential of blue biotechnology in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is however underdeveloped and needs more strategic approaches for a full value chain sector development.
The ALLIANCE project brings 22 partners from BSR blue biotechnology research institutes, biotechnology hubs, business parks and the SUBMARINER network together in order to develop innovative marine bio-based products and a service offer for SMEs.
It aims to empower the participating research institutes, SMEs and business clusters to reach the critical mass required for action and global competitiveness by systematically pooling the region’s national competences and facilities.
The ALLIANCE project will advance sustainable blue growth in the BSR by facilitating a selected number of concrete successful demonstration cases for transnational development of commercial blue biotechnology products in the whole BSR.
Project partners include
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, DE (Lead Partner)
- SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth EEIG, DE
- KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, SE
- Finnish Environment Institute, (SYKE), FI
- University of Gdañsk, PL
- Public institution Coastal Research and Planning Institute, (CORPI), LT
- Klaipeda Science and Technology Park (KSTP), LT
- Cleantech Latvia, LV
- Tartu Biotechnology Park, EE
- Danish Technological Institute
Project partners will closely work together with two main target groups to address their needs:
1) businesses, as the customers and shapers of the ALLIANCE (startups, spinoffs, SMEs, industry) and
2) research institutes, innovation agencies and business parks within the ALLIANCE and beyond.
Project activities will be implemented within four work packages that run in parallel and feed into each other. In order to kick-start the ALLIANCE process and to ensure target group oriented services and related activities from the project start; a number of cases with good prospects to deliver successful blue biotechnology products have already been integrated into the Consortium. Together with case owners, as well as additional clients to be identified on a competitive basis through a series of stakeholder engagement actions, the ALLIANCE will develop and implement optimal transnational pathways, making efficient use of and providing comprehensive access to a variety of facilities, (bio)resources and expertise available within the BSR and beyond.
The cases, as well as knowledge from similar initiatives in other European regions and topical fields, will in turn inform the ALLIANCE partners on how to best refine their common integrated service offer and how to overcome legal and financial barriers in transnational science-business cooperation. The service offer will be combined with joint marketing activities, market surveys, legal and business advice as well as providing recommendations on future research and facility needs within the BSR.
Kick-Off in Kiel: http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/eine-allianz-fuer-innovative-marine-produkte/
SUBMARINER Network: http://www.submariner-network.eu/index.php/projects/balticbluebioalliance
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Participants of the kick-off meeting for the ALLIANCE project. Photo: J. Steffen , GEOMAR
The Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance is a 3-year project (2016-2019) led by Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, in Germany. It is part-funded by the Interreg BSR programme under the ERDF.
