Insights
The accelerator at the heart of Portugal’s marine biotech drive
In March 2023, the InvestEU Blue Economy instrument awarded €28 million for blue economy SMEs and small mid caps, primarily within Portugal and Spain. The funding was a win for the Portuguese government, which has been trying to develop its…
East Africa’s burgeoning circular plastics sector needs more capital
Ethiopian entrepreneur Kidua Asfaw is using the plastic waste crisis to address Africa’s affordable housing shortage. His startup Kubik, founded in 2021 and based between Ethiopia and Kenya, saves plastics from landfills and turns them into bricks for easy-assembly houses.…
The marine mollusc inspiring nature-imitating devices
The eight-armed, double-tentacled cuttlefish is a natural wonder of the deep. This group of intelligent marine creatures are not in fact fish, but rather molluscs that belong to the cephalopod class which include squid and octopus.
Tackling ‘ghost catch’ with circular and bio-based fishing gear
The global fisheries provide us with almost 20% of our animal protein and yet this vital part of our food system has a major plastic problem. As with so many economic sectors, fossil plastics changed the fisheries drastically in the…
Probiotic architecture brings good bacteria to building design
Bacteria can make our buildings healthier. This is according to practitioners of microbial architecture, an emerging area of the bioeconomy at the intersection of architecture and microbiology.
EU bioplastics policy: progress and prospects
40% of all plastics consumed in the EU is for packaging. Without action the region is on track for a further 46% increase in plastic packaging waste.