IDENER is a research company on the engineering and scientific computational sector that develops computational tools for the simulation, assessment, optimization and scale-up of processes and products. The biotechnology division, carries out research in the field of systems biology, circular bioprocesses and bio-based materials, finding applications in CO2 valorisation, value chain and logistics, water/waste management, remediation processes, bio-based materials and in bioprocess development and assessment. 

IDENER is VALORISH project coordinator. Moreover, IDENER will also perform tasks in systems biology (enzyme scouting for proteolytic fermentation development support, genome-scale metabolic modelling for bioproduction development support), process systems engineering (process modelling of the core technologies, optimization of the core technologies and conceptual and basic engineering documentation for the scale-up), and technologies assessment (life cycle assessment and technoeconomic assessment of the biorefinery design).

ANFACO-CECOPESCA is a private non-profit business association whose mission is to represent and defend the sectoral interests of the marine and food cluster and to provide high-value services through its Technology Center with the final goal of boosting the competitiveness of the sector. Located in Vigo (Spain), the Technology Center has modern laboratories and the most advanced technologies for the characterisation of new compounds of interest for the food system, the study of the interaction between nutrition and health, research on processing, packaging and food preservation, aquaculture, development of robotics and vision systems, valorisation of by-products, and it also contains a Pilot Plant for the scaling of technological solutions at semi-industrial level and an advanced infrastructure for aquaculture research. 

ANFACO-CECOPESCA leads WP1, in which high value-added products such as Omega 3 and protein hydrolysates are expected to be obtained from fish by-products through biorefining, bioprocess development and upscaling. ANFACO-CECOPESCA also participates in the valorisation of the side-stream biomass from the proteolytic fermentation that will be valorised by anaerobic digestion.

Nofima, the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, is one of Europe’s largest applied research institutes. It conducts industrially relevant research and development for the fisheries, aquaculture, and food industries, with a focus on raw material processing and development, food quality, human health and animal nutrition, production technology, and health and welfare. Nofima’s interdisciplinary research targets the entire value chain of innovations for sustainable growth in the food sector. Over the past decade, Nofima has developed extensive knowledge of downstream processing and further product development from marine sidestream biomasses and has key competencies within chemical, sensory, and bioactivity analyses.

Nofima is the leader of WP3 and will be responsible for the chemical, nutritional, bioactive and safety properties of the products derived from the project. Nofima will also be responsible for the collagen production of fish bones and scales and the traditional oil extraction process. Nofima’s unique infrastructure platforms, including the Aquafeed Technology Centre (ATC), the accredited laboratory facility, BioLab, and professional sensory panel will be utilised in the project.

Blue Synergy has extensive background supporting organisations in addressing the environmental, social and economic impacts of their innovative processes and products. The company works with a wide range of partners, from technology developers to producers and end-users of innovations aimed to increase sustainability and from newcomers to pioneers that are looking for sustainable business models, products and technologies. Blue Synergy’s team has extensive experience in assessing the environmental, economic, and social impacts in the value chain for organisations, and supporting clients in innovations initiatives.

In VALORISH, Blue Synergy leads WP6 and oversees the social impact analysis, the social acceptance and perception studies and the first stages of the environmental impact assessment. Moreover, Blue Synergy oversees clustering and networking activities in WP7, with the objective of creating synergies with similar initiatives, as well as the stakeholder engagement and awareness strategy.

Biotrend is a company offering advanced services in the area of industrial and marine biotechnology, specialised in the development, optimisation and scale-up of bioprocesses, often based on non-conventional microorganisms and industry-relevant renewable raw-materials. Biotrend operates a state-of-the art development lab and a bioprocessing pilot plant and performs the transition of processes to industrially relevant scales. Their advanced bioprocessing know-how has been serving clients from small biotech start-ups to global corporations from all across the world.

Biotrend leads the activities under WP5 devoted to the conceptual engineering design and pilot-scale biorefinery processes validation. Biotrend is a core partner in the scale-up activities of the proteolytic fermentation and downstream. Further, it will contribute to the development of an integrated process model and in the design optimisation.

RINA-CSM is mainly devoted to the R&D sector. RINA-CSM activities are mainly related to the development of new materials, the performance assessment of materials and components in new application windows, the optimization and the development of innovative processes and pilot plants, creating special testing equipment and environmental impacts reduction. RINA-CSM facilities consist of over 200 talented researchers and technicians, 20 laboratories, pilot lines and full-scale testing facilities.

In VALORISH, RINA-CSM will be actively involved in the activities of fishbone side-stream valorisation. Moreover, RINA-CSM will develop process assessment and standardisation activities of VALORISH solutions. The focus will be on the processes and products related to the oil line and side-stream valorisation.

SINTEF is an independent non-profit research organization that performs contract research and development for a wide range of both Norwegian and European industry customers and participates as a research partner in a multitude of publicly funded research projects, both at the national and at the European level. SINTEF has state of the art infrastructure for, and strong expertise in, microbial bioprocess development, biomass valorisation, high-throughput screening and research-based mass spectrometry analyses.

SINTEF Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine leads one of the experimental work packages in VALORISH. SINTEF will take part in selection of microbial strains for bioproducts production, and furthermore be responsible for the cultivation of strains and optimization of process conditions for bioproducts formation using various technology platforms for fermentation. Furthermore, SINTEF will also perform downstream processing to purify and quantify bioproducts, as well as take part in quality analyses.

Pescanova Espana belongs to the Nueva Pescanova Group, which is a leading multinational company specialized in the fishing, farming, processing and commercialization of seafood products. Its business activity is focused on the whole value chain, from the origin to the market. Nueva Pescanova Group operates transversely across the entire fish value chain and maintains an extensive network of contacts both nationally and internationally. This broad reach significantly enhances its engagement potential within the VALORISH project. Pescanova boasts sizeable factories that produce large quantities of biomass, which can be processed in the VALORISH biorefinery. 

Within the VALORISH initiative, Pescanova is responsible for feedstock management, including the analysis and preparation of various feedstock types sourced from their factories and supply chains within the fish industry. Additionally, Pescanova will lead the validation of VALORISH bioproducts, integrating them as end users in real food products from their factories.

KNEIA is a Spanish SME that works with public companies, research institutions, government agencies and investors to provide services on scientific communication and valorisation, including assessment on RRI and Open science principles. KNEIA will be in charge of the communication and dissemination activities as well as project results exploitation and business model. KNEIA is leading the corresponding WP7 (Dissemination, communication and exploitation).