New report: The microalgae sector in the Mediterranean
Kelly ROBIN
The Mediterranean region faces various constraints that represent a great challenge: climate change jeopardising crop levels and increasing health risks, severe environmental degradation, high social gaps, economic competitiveness threatened by international competition, etc.
In this regard, it is necessary to reflect upon and implement innovative solutions so that the Mediterranean cities and territories confronted with environmental, economic, social and political crises can adapt. The Mediterranean region has a great number of assets such as a broad maritime and land space, great biodiversity, high-level solar power, economic growth potential, extraordinary heritage based on ancient expertise and culture.
A huge effort must be made in terms of technological and organisational innovation in order to highlight this potential. Exploiting the biomass - and microalgae in particular, as they are a major component of the biomass - is a path that must be explored. Microalgae have many assets, but the technological and economic models to promote are still unclear.
This is why IPEMED decided to carry out an exploratory study on this topic and present the main applications of microalgae as well as the technologies that could be used in the Mediterranean, in the pursuit of sustainable development. The study carried out by Louis RASTOIN - Professor Emeritus at Montpellier SupAgro, Scientific Advisor of the Unesco chair in World Food Systems - and coordinated by Kelly Robin - project officer - provides a comprehensive overview of the development potential of the sector in the North and in the South of the Mediterranean, according to the types of applications and to the preferred economic models. It offers operational recommendations in order to increase the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in this sector.