Blue-green cluster collaboration receives financial support from Green Platform

– We are very happy to have come through the eye of the needle, and that we are receiving financial support from the Green Platform, says Kristiane Haug Berg, general manager of NCE Heidner Biocluster, a partner in the cluster collaboration.

Profitable and educational cluster cooperation
NCE Heidner Biocluster, NCE Seafood , NCE Blue Legasea and BioTech North are Norway's leading industry clusters within agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, and with their 221 members represent a significant part of the bio-based industries and the strongest R&D environments in Norway.

The pilot project will continue and further develop the cluster collaboration in "Land meets Sea" where the clusters have already collaborated for well over three years.

– The long-standing collaboration has resulted in a large number of ideas, says Haug Berg.

– Together we have identified the need for a joint investment in sustainable feed for salmon and livestock, and we want to exploit the clusters' unique position for innovation and collaboration across companies and industries, she says.

– To achieve this, the pace of innovation in the green and blue sectors must be adjusted upwards. This was the background for the applicant clusters to establish the blue-green meeting place "Land meets Sea" in 2018, continues Haug Berg.

The blue and green value chains are already closely linked, for example, in that insects can eat residual resources from agriculture, and can in turn be turned into insect meal that is fed to salmon. Similarly, marine ingredients such as kelp and algae can be used in livestock feed. There is a need for joint industrial boosts and commercial solutions in order to be able to outcompete imported soy, and increase Norwegian food production in a sustainable way.

The way forward
Of over 400 applications, only 93 have received funding to continue working on applications for this spring's main call.

“Most projects receive 300,000 kroner each, and we have received that too,” says Haug Berg. In the main call, you can apply for support for large projects that last over three years.

– The need for sustainable food and feed is increasing, and now we are starting work to accelerate the scaling of raw material categories that can be used in feed through technology development and industrialization, says Haug Berg.

– Furthermore, we will work to bring both existing and new solutions to the market.
Through the pilot project, we aim to further develop three to five raw material categories, such as krill, insects, redfish, sawdust and kelp, as well as to clarify the needs for R&D, infrastructure and piloting. These are categories that have the potential to create synergy effects across industries, green jobs and strengthen Norwegian competitiveness within global food production, Haug Berg elaborates.

The clusters represent a strong team of actors who together want to contribute to a main project for a green platform.