Marine Minister Creed has welcomed the announcement of over €5 million in funding for marine and agri-food projects under the Government’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

The inaugural funding call, announced yesterday (Monday 10 December) by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Innovation Minister Heather Humphreys, will see Ireland’s leading research performing organisations including the Marine Institute, Teagasc, universities and institutes of higher education share in the €75 million funding pot along with successful agri-food and marine companies.

Minister Creed said: “This is a huge boost for the agri-food and marine sector and highlights the innovation potential that exists in our SMEs and research-performing organisations, particularly when working together in close collaboration.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the applicants on their success in what was a highly competitive funding call.”

Minister Creed added that he recognised the “importance and significant role” the agri-food and marine sector “plays in maintaining rural economies and communities”.

“I have been particularly encouraged by the participation and success of rural-based SMEs under this call. These industries are vital to the economic stability of the country as a whole and the opportunity for SMEs to collaborate with some of our leading academic institutions will be of enormous benefit in the safeguarding and future growth of the economy, jobs and rural communities.”

Among the total of 27 projects that will received funding in this inaugural round are three with a marine focus.

HYDRO-fish — a consortium including NUI Galway, Bio-Marine Ingredients Ireland, Teagasc and the Marine Institute — will received €2 million over three years to combine targeted nutraceuticals and traceability technology for a smarter and sustainable Irish fish aquaculture industry.

HYDRO-fish is a multi-disciplinary research programme, specifically designed to employ current technologies from other sectors to disrupt and enhance current fish farming practices. The project entails reinforcing the supply chain of Irish salmon production, in particular for organic salmon farming.

In Cork, Allihies Seafood, Carbery Group and the University of Limerick will receive €1.8 million over the same period for the optimised commercial-scale cultivation of protein-rich biomass from Palmaria palmata.

This project aims to sustainably generate plant-based proteinaceous ingredients for exploitation as a source of high-quality protein and contribute to meeting the growing global demand for plant-based protein for animal and human consumption.

And in Dublin, Techworks Marine Ltd and DCU will get €1.1 million towards developing an advanced environmental decision support system for coastal areas.

This project will address issues such as coastal pollution and flooding. Such a system will provide enhanced insights to coastal industries, local authorities, government agencies and will ultimately benefit Irish society.