Linkedin X-twitter Youtube

Privacy Policy

  1. AN OVERVIEW OF DATA PROTECTION

    General
    PROTEUS is much committed to data privacy, that’s why we welcome the latest European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force on 25 May 2018. This new legislation is giving you greater security, transparency, and control of your personal data online.

    We treat your personal data as confidential and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens. Please note that data transmitted via the internet (e.g. via email communication) may be subject to security breaches. Full protection of data against unauthorised access by third parties is not possible.

    Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?
    The data collected on this website are processed by the website operator as stated in the legal notice.

    How do we collect your data?
    Some data are collected when you provide it to us, for example data you enter when joining the stakeholder community. Other data are collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website (statistics).

    What do we use your data for?
    Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Another part is used to build up our community of stakeholders. Other data are used to analyse how visitors use the site.

    What rights do you have regarding your data?
    You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it be corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the legal notice if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. You may also, of course, file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities.

    Analytics and third-party tools
    When visiting our website, statistical analyses may be made of your surfing behavior. This happens primarily using cookies and analytics. The analysis of your surfing behavior is usually anonymous, i.e. we will not be able to identify you from this data. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. Detailed information can be found in the following privacy policy. You can object to this analysis. We will inform you below about how to exercise your options in this regard.

  2. GENERAL INFORMATION AND MANDATORY INFORMATION

    Data protection
    We appreciate your interest in our website. As the operator of these websites, we take the protection of your personal data very seriously and treat these data confidentially and in accordance with statutory legal data protection rules and this privacy statement. For external links to external content, we assume, despite careful control, no liability.

    If you use this website, various pieces of personal data will be collected. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens. This data privacy policy applies only to our web pages. If links on our pages route you to other pages, please inquire there about how your data are handled in such cases.

     

    Inventory Data
    Your personal data, insofar as these are necessary for this contractual relationship (inventory data) in terms of its establishment, organization of content and modifications, are used exclusively for fulfilling the contract. For goods to be delivered, for instance, your name and address must be relayed to the supplier of the goods.

    Without your explicit consent or a legal basis, your personal data are not passed on to third parties outside the scope of fulfilling this contract. After completion of the contract, your data are blocked against further use. After expiry of deadlines as per tax-related and commercial regulations, these data are deleted unless you have expressly consented to their further use.

    Notice concerning the party responsible for this website
    Statutory data protection officer

    Alexander Stückler
    Steinbeis-Stiftung für Wirtschaftsförderung Haus der Wirtschaft
    Willi-Bleicher-Str. 19 | 70174 Stuttgart
    Phone number (Germany): +49 711 1839-5 | E-Mail: Datenschutz@steinbeis.de
    www.steinbeis.de

    The responsible party is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (names, email addresses, etc.).

     

    Revocation of your consent to the processing of your data
    Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

     

    Right to file complaints with regulatory authorities
    If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

     

    Right to data portability
    You have the right to have data which we process based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract automatically delivered to yourself or to a third party in a standard, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

     

    SSL or TLS encryption
    This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser’s address line when it changes from “http://” to “https://” and the lock icon is displayed in your browser’s address bar.
    If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transfer to us cannot be read by third parties.

     

    Information, blocking, deletion
    As permitted by law, you have the right to be provided at any time with information free of charge about any of your personal data that is stored as well as its origin, the recipient and the purpose for which it has been processed. You also have the right to have this data corrected, blocked or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in our imprint if you have further questions on the topic of personal data.

     

    Opposition to promotional emails
    We hereby expressly prohibit the use of contact data published in the context of website legal notice requirements with regard to sending promotional and informational materials not expressly requested. The website operator reserves the right to take specific legal action if unsolicited advertising material, such as email spam, is received.

  3. DATA COLLECTION ON OUR WEBSITE

    Cookies
    Some of our web pages use cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain any viruses. Cookies help make our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

    Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies.” They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain in your device’s memory until you delete them. These cookies make it possible to recognize your browser when you next visit the site.

    You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

    Cookies which are necessary to allow electronic communications or to provide certain functions you wish to use (such as the shopping cart) are stored pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1, letter f of DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure an optimized service provided free of technical errors. If other cookies (such as those used to analyze your surfing behavior) are also stored, they will be treated separately in this privacy policy.

     

    Revoke Cookie Consent

     

    Server log files
    The website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits to us in “server log files”. These are:

    • Browser type and browser version
    • Operating system used
    • Referrer URL
    • Host name of the accessing computer
    • Time of the server request
    • IP address

    These data will not be combined with data from other sources.

    The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.

     

    Registration to our stakeholders community
    You can register to our stakeholders community via our contact form in order to receive project information and invitations to project events. We only use the data you enter into this form to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties. The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full. Otherwise, we will reject your registration.
    We will retain the data you provide in the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request or after the official end of the PROTEUS project). Any mandatory statutory provisions, especially those regarding mandatory data retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision. You may request data deletion or revoke your consent to data storage at any time with future effect. An informal e-mail to us making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

     

    Information related to Newsletter Subscription
    If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require a valid email address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and that you agree to receive this newsletter. The required fields are used for personal address and personalized provision of content. No additional data is collected or is only collected on a voluntary basis. We only use this data to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

    We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke consent to the storage of your data and email address as well as their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. through the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

    The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription when said data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members area) remain unaffected.

  4. PLUGINS AND TOOLS

    X plugin
    Functions of the X service have been integrated into our website and app. These features are offered by X Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. When you use X and the “Repost” function, the websites you visit are connected to your X account and made known to other users. In doing so, data will also be transferred to X. We would like to point out that, as the provider of these pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted or how it will be used by X. For more information on X’s privacy policy, please go to https://x.com/privacy.

    Your privacy preferences with X can be modified in your account settings at https://x.com/account/settings.

     

    LinkedIn plugin
    Our site uses functions from the LinkedIn network. The service is provided by LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

    Each time one of our pages containing LinkedIn features is accessed, your browser establishes a direct connection to the LinkedIn servers. LinkedIn is informed that you have visited our web pages from your IP address. If you use the LinkedIn “Recommend” button and are logged into your LinkedIn account, it is possible for LinkedIn to associate your visit to our website to your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of these pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted or how it will be used by LinkedIn.

    More information can be found in the LinkedIn privacy policy at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

     

    YouTube
    Our website uses plugins from YouTube, which is operated by Google. The operator of the pages is YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA.

    If you visit one of our pages featuring a YouTube plugin, a connection to the YouTube servers is established. Here the YouTube server is informed about which of our pages you have visited.

    If you’re logged in to your YouTube account, YouTube allows you to associate your browsing behavior directly with your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

    YouTube is used to help make our website appealing. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

    Further information about handling user data, can be found in the data protection declaration of YouTube under https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy.

    If you do not want X, LinkedIn or YouTube to connect data concerning your visit to our website with the profile or account you have with them, please log off Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube account before entering our websites.

     

    Matomo
    This website uses the open source web analytics service Matomo. A web analytics platform is used for collecting and analyzing data linked to the behaviour of website visitors to the purpose of optimizing the website and making it more user-friendly.

    Matomo uses so-called “cookies”. These are text files that are stored on your computer and that allow an analysis of the use of the website by you. For this purpose, the information generated by the cookie about the use of this website is stored on our server. The IP address is anonymized before it is stored. Matomo cookies remain on your device until you delete them.

    The storage of Matomo cookies is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior to optimise both its website and its advertising. The information generated by the cookies about your use of this website will not be disclosed to third parties.

    You can prevent these cookies being stored by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. In this case, an opt-out cookie will be stored in your browser to prevent Matomo from storing your usage data. However, we wish to point out that doing so may mean you will not be able to enjoy the full functionality of this website. If you delete your cookies, this will mean that the opt-out cookie will also be deleted. You will then need to reactivate it when you return to our site if you wish your activity not to be tracked.

    If you do not agree with the storage and use of your data, you can disable this feature here:

    You may choose to prevent this website from aggregating and analyzing the actions you take here. Doing so will protect your privacy, but will also prevent the owner from learning from your actions and creating a better experience for you and other users.

    Further information and Matomo’s privacy policy can be found at https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/.

     

    Google Web Fonts
    For uniform representation of fonts, this page uses web fonts provided by Google. When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly.

    When you call up a page of our website that contains a social plugin, your browser makes a direct connection with Google servers. Google thus becomes aware that our web page was accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web fonts is done in the interest of a uniform and attractive presentation of our website. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

    If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font is used by your computer.

    Further information about handling user data, can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Alginor ASA

Alginor is a fully integrated B2B biomarine ingredients company developing sustainable, high-value ingredients from brown macroalgae for uses in the medical, personal care, food, feed and agricultural industries. The company is developing an integrated value chain consisting of two primary businesses, including offshore harvesting of wild-caught raw materials through its own operated vessels, and valorisation of ingredients through biorefining. Alginor’s vision is to expand the availability and use of sustainably sourced ingredients based on Laminaria hyperborea – a self-renewable resource growing in abundance in Norway and Europe – through utilisation of all components in the biomass without using any harmful chemicals.

Main role in the project

Alginor plays a key role in the PROTEUS project as the project coordinator, overseeing the flagship biorefinery development from 2024 to 2028. Alginor is responsible for key aspects, including the sustainable harvesting of Laminaria hyperborea, biorefinery process innovations, and the commercialization of kelp-based product ingredients. Their focus is on converting bio-based side streams into valuable products, with the goal of minimizing waste and enhancing resource utilization. Through their leadership in various work packages, Alginor ensures the project’s alignment with industrial, environmental, and regulatory standards.

BORREGAARD AS

Borregaard operates one of the world’s most advanced and sustainable biorefineries. By using natural, renewable raw materials, we produce advanced and environmentally friendly biochemicals that can replace oil-based products. 
Utilising the different components of wood, we produce biopolymers, speciality cellulose, biovanillin, cellulose fibrils and bioethanol for a variety of applications in sectors such as agriculture and aquaculture, construction, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, foodstuffs, batteries and biofuels. We employ 1100 man-years in plants and sales offices in 13 countries throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Strong innovation efforts is one of Borregaard’s strategic priorities. Long-standing research and development have resulted in solutions that respond to important long-term global challenges. Our sustainable products and solutions can play an important role in addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges: Population growth and climate change. 

Main role in the project

Borregaard will investigate fibrillation of cellulose derived from L.hyperborea to make microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) for use as a replacement for synthetic additives e.g., coatings, adhesives, surfactants and detergents.
Objective: To achieve a TRL of 7-8 in kelp-based ingredients into bio-based materials for industry applications.
Key performance targets include achieving an energy-efficient fibrillation process, maintaining or improving MFC quality compared to wood-based MFC, ensuring microbiological stability, increasing dry matter content, introducing unique MFC properties, and exceeding application performance achieved with wood-based MFC in selected applications.

NORSUS-Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research

NORSUS is a private not-for-profit research institute, established in 1988. We work with assessing environmental and resource efficiency and are one of Europes leading institutes in applying the life cycle approach on a wide variety of sectors.
NORSUS is leading WP 5 that will assess the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the value chains developed in the project.

INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESEARCH

The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is one of the largest marine research institutes in Europe, with about 1,050 employees. Our main activities are research, advisory work and monitoring for our Government and Parliament regarding national and international waters.
Our head office is in Bergen, Norway. We also have an office in Tromsø and research stations in Matre, Austevoll and Flødevigen. Our Research Vessel Department has ownership responsibility for the research vessels, which are our most important tools for collecting marine data, in addition to unmanned sea drones and installations. IMR also has several laboratories that analyze all types of physical and biological parameters in the samples taken by IMR’s monitoring and research programs.
Through its research and advice, IMR is contributing with eco system knowledge and advice for sustainable stock-, shellfish and kelp harvesting, and for kelp restauration, for a more sustainable aquaculture industry, and for safe, heathy and nutritious food.
We are a neutral knowledge provider, and we publish our research results in international science journals as well in report for stakeholder and the public as well as for local, national and international media.
The IMR is affiliated to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, which provides around 50% of our funding. The rest of our funding comes from external research grants.

Our vision: Knowledge and advice for rich and clean oceans and coast zone.

Our ambition: We will be an international leader in marine research and advisory services.

Our values: All our work must be based on integrity, creativity, collaboration and respect.

Our social mission: Institute of Marine Research will be a leading supplier of knowledge relating to the sustainable management of the resources in our marine ecosystems and the whole food chain from the sea to the table.

ALGINOR BIOREFINERY AS (ABR), AVALDSNES (Norway)

ALGINOR BIOREFINERY AS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alginor ASA. It operates all downstream activities related to biorefining, including further development of all portfolio ingredients and the optimization of all process lines.

Main role in the project

ALGINOR Biorefinery operates the flexible biorefinery pilot plant, playing a central role in scaling up biorefinery processes and refining manufacturing methods to extract ingredients from kelp biomass.

HYPOMAR AS (Hypomar AS), HAUGESUND (Norway)

HYPOMAR AS specializes in sustainable marine harvesting and is responsible for organising and implementing harvesting and upstream operations. It has expertise in developing innovative techniques for seaweed harvesting. Hypomar AS is a 100% owned subsidiary of Alginor ASA.

Main role in the project

Hypomar’s primary role is to lead the harvesting activities within the project. They provide the essential kelp harvesting vessels and equipment, ensuring a consistent and high-quality supply of biomass for the biorefinery process.

PROTEUS-Partners in Norway

ALGINOR ASA (Alginor), HAUGESUND (Norway)

read more

BORREGAARD AS (BORREGAARD), SARPSBORG (Norway)

read more

NORSUS NORSK INSTITUTT FOR BAEREKRAFTSFORSKNING AS (NORSUS), KRAKEROY (Norway)

read more

INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESEARCH (IMR), BERGEN (Norway)

read more

ALGINOR BIOREFINERY AS (ABR), AVALDSNES (Norway)

read more

HYPOMAR AS (Hypomar AS), HAUGESUND (Norway)

read more

CLIC Innovation Ltd

CLIC Innovation Ltd is a non-profit company based on public-private-partnership model.

Our mission is to build and manage open innovation collaboration between companies, academia and other relevant stakeholder qroups in bioeconomy, energy and circular economy themes. We address systemic challenges, that arise from the scarcity of natural resources and drive green system transition. Our aim is to create additional value to our partners by building, coordinating, and managing R&D&I projects to construct systemic solutions, which are beyond the resources of individual operators.

We are experts in open innovation facilitation and boosting communication, dissemination, exploitation and impact for RDI activities. We drive the transition with our open innovation ecosystems and projects with quadruple helix approach.

We contribute to developing a more favourable innovation environment in EU.

CLIC is leading the work package WP6 – Commercialisation Strategy & Exploitation. The objective is to enhance the successful market uptake and replication of the PROTEUS biorefinery concept across Europe and the commercialization of the bio-based products derived from this process. The main activities include:

  • Assessment of the techno-economic viability of the biorefinery concept and its products.
  • Implementing strategies to protect and commercially exploit the foreground knowledge generated during PROTEUS.
  • Designing an Exploitation, Business and Commercialization Plans for the seaweed biorefinery and its products.
  • Developing commercial scenarios and value chains for the technologies developed.

CLIC is also participating in the work packages WP5 and WP7.

STEINBEIS INNOVATION GGMBH

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (SEZ) is an independent economic entity within the Steinbeis Foundation. It was founded in March 1990 as the operational unit of the Commissioner for Europe of Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economics. SEZ’s core activity is to promote European Research and Technology Development programmes and to support cross-border technology transfer.
SEZ supports small and medium-sized enterprises on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing of Baden-Württemberg. At the same time, it supports Universities of Applied Sciences on behalf of the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg.
Moreover, SEZ is involved in several EU-funded projects (more than 70 in 2023) as either partner or coordinator, taking over tasks related to dissemination, communication, exploitation or financial and administrative project management.

Main role in the project

SEZ is project partner and leader of work package 5 Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation of Results. In this context, SEZ is responsible for
Design strategic communication of the project objectives and actions and engagement strategy to achieve optimal visibility activities increasing awareness, engagement, acceptance and fostering uptake of the MULTICLIMACT results, facilitating knowledge transfer and sustainability at Europeans and local level.
Design the D&C tools needed to initiate and implement the strategy. Establishment of activities to the community and dissemination strategy.
Clarification of expected project results, their use beyond the project and partners’ contributions, as well as IP management (such as ownership protection and access rights) throughout the project.

ESSITY HYGIENE AND HEALTH AB

Essity Hygiene and Health AB is a global, leading hygiene and health company. Essity develop, produce and sell products and solutions within the Business Areas Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene.

Main role in the project

Essity´s role in the project is to evaluate the performance of newly developed super absorbing algae-based materials from Alginor

OLMIX

Olmix was created in 1995, in Bréhan, at the heart of Brittany, from the desire to provide natural alternatives to agricultural additives. From the start, Olmix Group has innovated in transforming by-products into high-value ingredients, from raw materials such as trace elements and opportunist seaweed species. It is today a global company specialized in developing, producing and distributing high-value biosourced solutions for livestock and crop farming in more than 100 countries across the world.

Main role in the project

Olmix will evaluate the regulatory compliance of the biorefinery products developed from the brown alga Laminaria hyperborea by Alginor for use in the feed sector. The compatible products will be screened on in vitro models to determine their potential applications and used as ingredients for the development of products aiming to reinforce animal health and performance. The Proteus project gives us the opportunity to evaluate a new seaweed resource complementary to our red and green seaweed actives from our biorefinery in Bréhan, France.

Vaess, Dutch food engineers

Vaess is a pioneering Dutch company in the food industry, dedicated to innovation and quality since 1946. As food engineers, we specialize in developing cutting-edge solutions across a wide range of categories, including meat, seafood, bakery products, plant-based alternatives, and pet food. Our expertise lies in creating products that not only meet the highest standards of taste and texture but also prioritize sustainability and operational efficiency.
Through close collaboration with our customers and partners, we strive to enhance product quality, optimize production processes, and minimize food waste. Our commitment to innovation drives us to continually explore new concepts and technologies, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the evolving food landscape. At Vaess, we believe in shaping the future of food, delivering solutions that are both delicious and responsible.

We are responsible for assessing the by-products generated from the sustainable cultivation and harvesting of seaweed, focusing on their suitability for food applications. This includes a thorough analysis of the functionality and organoleptic properties of these by-products. Additionally, we evaluate the route to market, potential sales channels, and regulatory applicability to ensure that the products meet all relevant requirements and standards.