The vision of Vítor Vasconcelos, Chairman of the Board of CIIMAR, a partner in the Hub Azul Leixões 1 consortium.
This interview was conducted with Vítor Vasconcelos, Full Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and Chairman of the Board of CIIMAR, as part of the Blue Compass project, promoted by the Hub Azul Portugal Network, based on insights from the Hub Azul Dealroom, the leading digital matchmaking platform for blue innovation.
What scientific or technological advances are currently driving innovation in Blue Biotechnology?
Innovation in Blue Biotechnology is being driven by a number of scientific and technological advances, including advances in genomics, bioinformatics, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence (AI). The fact that it is faster and cheaper to unravel complete genomes of organisms, combined with AI-assisted tools for gene annotation, is enabling the discovery of new bioactive compounds, the development of innovative bioprocessing techniques and the use of marine organisms for various applications, such as food and feed production, pharmaceuticals, biofertilisers, cosmetics, new materials and the use of whole microorganisms for bioremediation.
There is still a large part of the world’s marine biodiversity to be discovered, especially microorganisms that have rich gene pools responsible for new chemistry in special enzymes with industrial applications. The establishment of Blue Marine Biobanks should be seen as an important scientific advance for Blue Biotechnology, with the collection, filling and storage of millions of specimens that can be used globally to discover new uses in a sustainable way.
These Biobanks can contain live specimens (collections of bacteria, fungi, microalgae), genetic material, preserved samples or extracts. The Portuguese Blue Biobank, which is being established under the PRR (Blue Innovation Pact) programme, is a good example, forming a network of marine biobanks distributed throughout the country to be used by both the scientific community and companies to create value.
Which Blue Biotechnology sub-sectors (e.g. algae-based materials, gene editing, biofuels, marine bioproducts) have the greatest potential for commercialisation?
The commercialisation of new products derived from marine organisms will create new economic opportunities, especially for coastal communities and regions with a strong maritime tradition, providing a higher added value to marine organisms, much greater than products traditionally derived from fishing or the canning industry. The applications that can reach the market most quickly are those in the food and feed sectors, including nutraceuticals that can have higher market prices. These can be used as ingredients that add value to final products. Biofertilisers, biostimulants and bioprotectants, mainly of algal origin, are already being produced by many start-ups and SMEs, mostly using micro and macroalgae produced in sustainable circular systems.
Cosmetics produced from algae are also increasing their market entry, given the fact that they are vegan and have important protective properties compared to non-organic ones. New applications of marine organisms include the textile and footwear industries (e.g. functional pigments such as dyes, fibres from macroalgae, use of discarded nets and collected plastic for shoes), anti-fouling paints (from cyanobacteria and other microorganisms), new materials (e.g. extracellular polysaccharides for packaging and extending the shelf life of fresh produce).
The need for new drugs, especially new antibiotics to fight multidrug-resistant bacteria, is also an opportunity for Blue Biotechnology, with a medium-long production period but high potential for commercialisation.
What are the main challenges – technical, regulatory or financial – that currently limit the scalability of Blue Biotechnology solutions?
These challenges range from factors such as the complexity of marine ecosystems and access to genetic resources, to regulatory obstacles for new technologies, especially gene editing, and difficulties in securing funding for high-risk, long-term projects. The development of the Blue Biotechnology sector still relies heavily on SMEs (spin-offs and start-ups) that struggle to find the technical and financial resources to develop their products, processes and services.
Initial funding is always a problem in a sector that doesn’t provide an immediate return compared to the IT sector. There is a need to establish strong incubators, close to consolidated research centres, which can provide technological support in the early stages of SMEs. The Blue Biotechnology sector usually requires expensive technological resources, which a fledgling SME cannot and should not afford on its own. Funding bodies that support a high-risk, high-potential sector are also needed, since SMEs rely heavily on significant investments in the early stages of their development, which is a serious limitation in Europe.
Simplifying licensing processes is also necessary, as these SMEs cannot wait several years to obtain permits to operate, build facilities or licence new products. Consumer-orientated communication is also a critical action to facilitate the acceptance of a given product or service by the end consumer. This particular action is useful for players throughout the value chain, but is often only economically sustainable for large companies.