The overarching objective of FutureLakes is to demonstrate innovative solutions needed to transform lake restoration, integrated into lake management. These aim to significantly improve ecological and chemical status of European lakes, restore biodiversity, recover valuable resources, enhance the services that lakes provide and make society more resilient to climate change. FutureLakes aims to deliver this through an integrated framework for lake protection and restoration that demonstrates a range of technical solutions that include innovations in Nature-based Solutions, Circular Blue Economy Solutions and Biodiversity-focused Solutions. Demonstrating integration of these solutions in operational lake management in six large European lakes (Demo Basins) which will deliver a Blueprint for lake protection and restoration. The FutureLakes Blueprint will incorporate a catalogue of innovations and guidance on the enabling environment needed to turn promising technical innovations from niche measures to become mainstream approaches in lake basin management planning. This includes demonstrating more effective and inclusive collaboration in water governance and showcasing innovations in policy implementation and green financing. FutureLakes will also develop a Roadmap for Upscaling European Lake Restoration in support of the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters deployment and upscaling phase. Upscaling of measures across Europe will be tested through activities aimed at replicating the FutureLakes approach in three associated regions. FutureLakes will not only contribute to delivering to the three objectives of the Mission (to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity; to reduce pollution; and to build a sustainable carbon-neutral and circular blue economy) but it includes specific objectives to develop the Mission’s two enablers: creating a European Lakes Digital Innovation Hub and demonstrating innovative approaches to enhancing public engagement.

LOCALITY will implement local, innovative, and sustainable value chains, supporting the interaction of the algae value chain actors with relevant waste stream producing industries. Three regional ecosystems will be strategically developed in key regions considering strong and active business on which circularity and sustainability will be improved by the reutilization of wasted nutrients for algae cultivation. These ecosystems will be positioned in the Baltic and North Sea bordering countries but multi-perspectively supported by other R&D and industrial experienced partners in sustainable algae production. The biomass will be processed using a biorefinery approach and raw and treated ingredients applied in the food, aquafeed, agriculture, and textile markets. An integrative methodology involving R&D partners, industry, and SMEs will work in each market sector to develop innovative and sustainable algae-based products. The consumer readiness for the designed products will be assessed, and significant constraints and legal barriers will be identified. Those will be evaluated and integrated into the business model to prepare a successful market implementation and exploitation of the developed products. A dissemination and communication plan for maximum outreach to all relevant stakeholders will be implemented. The designed products will gain a strong position in the European marketplace in the coming years.

The AlgaeProBANOS project addresses a challenge in the Baltic and North Sea (BANOS) area: how to harmonise economic development with social and environmental goals in line with the Mission Ocean... There is a rising demand for green healthy natural consumer and biobased products, and algae can become the biomass resource of the future, without using fresh water, arable land, or added fertilisers and or pesticides. Both the Baltic and North sea engulf the necessary conditions to scale up production and produce both commodity and sophisticated algae-based products. AlgaeProBanos (APB) brings together 26 experts and industry partners from the BANOS area and beyond, to accelerate product development and market access of sustainable algae solutions. Concretely, APB will support six business pilots, SMEs and startups, to bring eight algae products to the market (TRL7-9) namely in food, feed, nutraceuticals, textiles, cosmetics and plant biostimulants applications. Value chains are based on microalgae and seaweeds, sourced in the Baltic or North Sea or from recycled resources. Innovation takes place in iterative loops with assessments to secure maximum robustness, efficiency, and sustainablesustainability. Furthermore value chains are built with end-users' needs put in the centre, through engaging users in co-creation activities, to ensure maximum uptake. Digital tools are developed to support all actors from biomass producers to consumers. In the end, GoToMarket strategies are tailored to the pilots, providing a trajectory to reach the market. In a meta level, the Algae Accelerator develops new and aggregates existing knowledge, and develops a portfolio of solutions, guidelines and a collaboration and training platform, to benefit the entire algae industry and nourish it into a thriving industry by 2050. The legacy of APB will be deposited to the Ocean Mission BANOS and the EU4Algae.