The Center for Innovative Services for Biotechnology Companies, located in Santiago de Compostela, hosted today the meeting of the partners that make up BIOCHAINS, an initiative that will promote the blue bioeconomy

Santiago de Compostela. 26/November/2025. The Center for Innovative Services for Biotechnology Companies (CSIEB) at the Sionlla Biopole, in Santiago de Compostela, hosted this morning the initial meeting to design the strategy of the European project BIOCHAINS Atlantic, a European initiative led by the Business Technology Cluster of Life Sciences (Bioga) and financed with 1.86 million euros through the Interreg Atlantic Area program and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Today’s meeting at the Sionlla Biopole brought together the partners of this international consortium and marks the official start of a project aimed at boosting the blue bioeconomy through the optimization of microalgae and macroalgae value chains in the Atlantic region.

BIOCHAINS Atlantic, a strategic project for the Atlantic algae value chain, will work over the next few years to improve and consolidate the production, processing, and utilization chains for microalgae and macroalgae in Spain, Portugal, France, and Ireland. Bioga’s president, Jose Vilariño, points out that this program “will strengthen a key sector for the blue economy and generate new market opportunities.”

Among its lines of work are the mapping of agents in the value chain and the analysis of the main regulatory challenges, the development of digital models for the efficient management of resources and processes, the validation of prototypes applicable to sectors such as food, cosmetics or industrial biotechnology and the improvement of the competitiveness of SMEs, the promotion of innovation and the strengthening of transnational cooperation.

Today’s working meeting at Biopolo Sionlla facilitated the coordination of efforts and the definition of a roadmap by the project partners. Objectives, methodologies, and initial tasks were presented, and the strategic milestones that will guide the project’s implementation were defined. The meeting highlighted the importance of collaboration and knowledge transfer for consolidating a sector with high social and economic potential in the Atlantic region.

In addition to Bioga, which acts as the coordinating partner, BIOCHAINS Atlantic has six other main partners: ANFACO-CYTMA (Spain), GLECEX (Spain), CATAA (Portugal), WeDoTech (Portugal), Biotech Santé Bretagne (France), and Munster Tecnological University (Ireland). Eleven other partners have also joined the project as associate partners: the Marine Research Center (CIM) of the University of Vigo (Spain), DomusVi (Spain), Viratec (Spain), BlueBio Alliance (Portugal), InovCluster (Portugal), Cluster Algues Bretagne (France), Chambre Syndicale des Algues et Végétaux Marins (France), Algolesko (France), BIM Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency (Ireland), Kerry County Council Economic (Ireland), and Nutramara (Ireland).

+ info: www.bioga.org / Bioga Press Office: 679.486.961