Tomorrow, March 22, the first MAKEathon of the Green Entrepreneurs of the Future (GFF) project out of three, will take place at Árskóli in Sauðárkrókur. The other two MAKEathon will take place before Easter at Bolungarvík Primary School and Nesskóli in Neskaupstaður. The MAKEathon project is an innovation competition that lasts for two days
In this first MAKEathoni, 31 students in the ninth grade participate. They work together in teams competing to present a solution to the challenge:
How can we reduce the use of plastic when packing fish and shrimp?
They try to create a kind of prototype, among other things in collaboration with FabLab Íslands 'workshop in each place, in addition to which Matís' staff will be on site to assist.
Students saw the challenge when they received visits from the fisheries companies Dögun and FISK Seafood and were educated about their activities, which was one part of the GFF project. In addition, they gained insight into possible challenges in terms of the effects of climate change on the ocean and their immediate environment, which was part of one of the project's workshops, Studio 4.
All GFF material will be made available after the project is completed.
The Green Entrepreneurs of the Future project started in schools in September 2021 and MAKEathonin is the last part of the project. The national competition between the three schools will take place in May and its results will be announced in the Innovation Week, on 20 May. The project is funded by the Climate Fund.
This winter, the television station N4 has recorded material for a television show about the project, and the filmmakers will be from them on site. The show will be shown on the television station this autumn, where the project will be presented in its entirety.
For more information, please contact the project manager Justine Vanhalst via email Justine@matis.is. Schools that want to participate in the future are especially encouraged to get in touch.
Birgir Örn Smárason, environmental and resource scientist and specialist manager at Matís in Akureyri, was a guest on Channel 2's Morgunútvarp this week together with Jón Bjarki Bentsson, Íslandsbanki's chief economist.
Their topic of discussion was the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the economy and the food industry in Iceland so far, as well as their prediction of the long-term impact.
Birgir said that the war would in all likelihood have a major impact on global food supply and prices because at this time there is a very important time in food production in the northern hemisphere. He refers to the period of spring labor in agriculture, which conditions in Russia and Ukraine inevitably have a negative effect on. Both Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest exporters of various agricultural products such as food, such as cereals, maize, rice and vegetable oil, but also fertilizers. The two countries are also large exporters of oil, gas and more, which is important for goods to get between countries. Due to the invasion and the subsequent trade sanctions, it can be assumed that food prices will rise considerably in the coming months.
Jón Bjarki and Birgir also discussed that although Icelandic food production is in many respects still dependent on imported products such as fertilizers, oil and wheat, there are also various opportunities and opportunities to make domestic food production more sustainable. Birgir mentioned examples of projects that have been carried out at Matís in recent months and years, such as development of organic, environmentally friendly fertilizers from underutilized resources and production of insects, unicellular proteins from by-products of Icelandic forests and algae. In addition, he pointed out that there were still various opportunities in the cultivation of vegetables and grains and the utilization of seaweed and kelp.
The interview can be listened to in its entirety on Channel 2's website here: The morning radio. The interview with Birgur and Jón Bjarki starts at 01:07:00
AVS recently completed the project "rapeseed meal in feed for salmon 2". The aim of the project was to investigate the effect of the incorporation of rapeseed meal into feed on the growth, feed utilization and chemical content of salmon fillets.
Experiments were made with 5 types of feed with different proportions of mixed rapeseed meal and then standard feed for comparison. The initial weight of the fish was 350 grams and the experiment lasted for eight months, during which time the fish quadrupled in weight. The results of the project were numerous, but it stands to reason that the incorporation of rapeseed meal into salmon growth feed for salmon does not appear to have a measurable negative effect on the growth, feed utilization or meat quality of small salmon.
The final report of the project will be treated as confidential until 1 January 2024, after which time it will be possible to access the report on Matís' website.
For further information, contact Birgir Örn Smárason at Matís birgir@matis.is and Ólafur Ingi Sigurgeirsson at Hólar University olisig@holar.is.
How can we increase the supply of food and boost food production without depleting resources in an unsustainable way? How can we use by-products to create value within the life cycle economy? What are the environmental impacts of food?
Matís works systematically to increase sustainability and value creation in food production to strengthen Icelandic products and the economy, and now we are looking for a specialist who can help us answer these questions.
If you have a keen interest and knowledge of sustainability and a desire to be involved in shaping our sustainable food production policy, you may be the right person. The job includes work on innovation and research projects as well as consulting and customer service regarding sustainable food production; environmental impact analysis, carbon footprint, resource utilization within a circular economy to name a few.
In this job you take part in:
Work on and shape innovative and research projects in the field of sustainable food production
Analyze the environmental impact of food production; from fisheries and agriculture to insects and algae
Further shape the company's environmental policy and support its implementation
Competence and experience:
University education that is useful in work, eg environmental science, resource science, environmental engineering
Knowledge and experience of concepts and methodologies such as life cycle analysis (LCA), carbon footprint, circular economy
Good communication skills and willingness to work in a team
Good command of Icelandic and English, in speech and writing
Initiative, organized and independent work methods
The employment rate is 100%
The job is without a location, but Matís' offices are in Reykjavík, Neskaupstaður, Vestmannaeyjar, Akureyri and Ísafjörður.
With reference to Matís' gender equality policy, all genders are encouraged to apply. Applications must be accompanied by a detailed CV and cover letter outlining the applicant's qualifications for the job in question.
How can we increase the supply of food and strengthen food production without depleting resources in an unstustainable way? How can we use by-products to create value within the circulareconomy? What are the environmental impacts of food?
Matís works systematically on increasing sustainability and value creation in food production to strengthen Icelandic products and the economy, and now we are looking for a specialist who can help us answer these questions.
If you have a keen interest and knowledge of sustainability and a desire to be involved in shaping our sustainable food production policy, you may be the right person. The job includes work on innovation and research projects as well as consulting and customer service regarding sustainable food production; environmental impact analysis, carbon footprint, resource utilization within a circular economy to name a few.
In this job you will participate in the following:
Work on and shape innovative and research projects in the field of sustainable food production
Analyze the environmental impact of food production; from fisheries and agriculture to insects and algae
Formulate further the company's environmental policy and support its implementation
Competence and experience:
University degree that is useful for this work, eg environmental science, resource science, environmental engineering
Knowledge and experience of concepts and methodologies such as life cycle analysis (LCA), carbon footprint, circular economy
Good communication skills and willingness to work in a team
Good command English, in speech and writing. Icelandic proficiency is an advantage.
Initiative, organized and independent work methods
The job is without location, but Matis is located in: Reykjavík, Neskaupstaður, Vestmannaeyjar, Ísafjörður and Akureyri.
With reference to Matís' gender equality policy, all genders are encouraged to apply. Applications must be accompanied by a detailed CV and a cover letter outlining the applicant's qualifications for the job in question.
A workshop on salmon farming was held in Ölfus Cluster's premises in Þorlákshöfn on 27 October 2021. The topics of the meeting were issues that are important to salmon farming in the sea and an attempt was made to identify all the main and latest solutions in those areas.
Discussions included preventive measures against salmon lice, innovations in feed production where the utilization of feed is maximized compared to the environment of aquaculture in the sea, and juvenile farming in controlled conditions on land; so-called Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). Scholars and experts in these fields from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Denmark and Finland gave presentations on the latest trends and trends in the meeting's topics. The project was funded by AG Fisk, a Nordic grant fund, and led by the following scientists, experts and farmers from all the Nordic countries.
Gunnar Thordarson, project manager, Matís, Ísafjörður, Iceland
Björgolfur Hávardsson, NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster AS Norway
Gunnvør á Norði and Jóhanna Lava Kötlum, Fiskaaling, Faroe Islands
Kurt Buchmann, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Henrik Henriksen, The Danish Aquaculture Organization, Aarhus, Denmark
Marko Koivuenva, Finnish Fish Farmers' Association, Helsinki, Finland.
About 60 people attended the meeting, which began early in the morning and lasted until the middle of the day. The presentations of the performers who informed the participants about all the latest things that are happening with these important issues in fires in sea cages were very well received. There was great satisfaction with the performers and the presentations that were made, and a lot of questions and comments to them.
The workshop was held in connection with Lagarlíf, which is a conference on aquaculture and breeding in Iceland, which was held on 28-29 October. It was almost possible to hold the workshop and conference due to disease control measures, but a short window was formed during this time to hold these meetings. As usual, people got off the train who were supposed to be on duty due to quarantine, but in time they managed to get other specialists in to fill the gap.
The project was linked to Matís' website, where you can access all the issues of the meeting. The page is accessible here: Nordic Salmon.
Following the meeting, a report was written on the performers' presentations and an introduction to the relevant parties: Nordic Salmon - Report.
The Krakkakropp project was nominated for the President of Iceland's Innovation Award. The project was funded by the Student Innovation Fund and was carried out in connection with the project "Improved quality, shelf life and less waste in the vegetable value chain" at Matís. Krakkakropp is ready-made baby food made from Icelandic vegetables.
The project was carried out by Arnkel Arason, Sigrún Anna Magnúsdóttir and Vaka Mar Valsdóttir, students in food science at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Iceland. The supervisor was Ólafur Reykdal, project manager at Matís.
The President of Iceland's Innovation Award is given annually to those students who have done outstanding work in solving a project that was funded by the Student Innovation Fund the previous summer.
Krakkakropp was among 6 projects nominated for the award and received special recognition. This is considered a very good result as a number of projects were considered. Following the project, students have now founded the company Sifmar ehf. The company has also received additional grants, students have participated in business and marketing accelerations and Landsvirkjun has invested in the company.
Vaka Mar Valsdóttir, Sigrún Anna Magnúsdóttir and Arnkell Arason receive awards for the outstanding project "Krakkakropp." Photo / Arnar Valdimarsson.
Further information about the project:
Krakkakreistur and Krakkakropp: Icelandic baby food.
The project was carried out by Vaka Mar Valsdóttir, Sigrún Anna Magnúsdóttir and Arnkel Arason, students in food science at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Iceland. The supervisor was Ólafur Reykdal, project manager at Matís. The trigger for the project was a big hole in the market, but at the moment no ready-made Icelandic baby food is available. At the same time, imports of foreign baby food increase by hundreds of tonnes annually.
Iceland has green energy, sustainable production, clean water, excellent raw materials and the negligible use of pesticides in vegetable production. Therefore, we in Iceland have full capacity to produce good and healthy baby food for our children.
The students' ideal was to use their learning experience to develop prototypes of Icelandic baby food that could be produced responsibly with environmental considerations and hygiene in the forefront. Children's public health is an urgent problem, but approx. a quarter of Icelandic children measure their ideal weight. It is therefore important to respond with healthy and suitable solutions for families with children. Food waste has a huge impact on climate change, but about 45% of the world's vegetables are considered to be wasted. In collaboration with Sölufélag garðyrkjumanna, the students developed baby food from, among other things, vegetables that are either too small, too big, curved or broken. Such vegetables would not be useful in traditional sale products but are otherwise of perfect quality and therefore ideal for the production of mashed and dried baby food.
At the end of the project, five prototypes remained Kids' circles - suitable baby food in bags and three prototypes of Kids body - pediatric nasal congestion.
Following the project, students have now founded the company Sifmar ehf. The company has also received additional grants, students have participated in business and marketing accelerations and Landsvirkjun has invested in the company. During the day at Sifmar ehf. is an ongoing financing process so that safer and more environmentally friendly production can be offered in this country.
It can therefore be said with truth that Icelandic production, sustainability, children's public health, combating food waste, positive environmental impact, agriculture and technological development are all issues that affect the project and go hand in hand with the United Nations' global goals.
Matís' network is down at the moment due to a malfunction in the equipment when electricity went out last night due to bad weather. Repairs are being carried out, but we would like to point out that e-mails can be sent to the following e-mail addresses:
Matis@matis.is
Mottaka@matis.is
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Matís, Reykhóla prefecture and Þörungaverksmiðjan have signed a letter of intent for collaboration in research under the auspices of the newly established Icelandic Algae Center in Reykhólar.
Today, Ingibjörg Birna Erlingsdóttir, the mayor of Reykhóla prefecture, and Finnur Árnason, the manager of Þörungaverksmiðjan hf. on behalf of Þörungamiðstöð Íslands on the one hand, and Oddur Már Gunnarsson, CEO of Matís, on the other hand under a declaration of intent for co-operation in research and monitoring in connection with Þörungamiðstöð Íslands in Reykhólar in order to increase knowledge, employment and value creation from seaweed and kelp through research, education , innovation and product development.
Þörungamiðstöð Íslands is intended to be a public limited company domiciled in Reykhóla prefecture owned by Þörungaverksmiðjan hf. and Reykhóla prefecture as well as other parties. According to the draft memorandum of association, the purpose of the company is, among other things, to promote increased knowledge and gather in a knowledge bank on the acquisition and utilization of marine algae in Iceland, both farmed and wild, conduct research with an emphasis on marine algae, collaborate with research institutes and companies, provide services to research institutes and companies take part in education and research, promote algae cultivation and develop products from them to increase value creation from this seafood while promoting more diverse employment in Reykhóla prefecture.
Dr. Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, will shape the operations of the Icelandic Algae Center. Hólmfríður led the development of research activities around the fishing industry at Verin in Sauðárkrókur, where Matís' office in Sauðárkrókur was important, so that the start-up company Protis was launched. Hólmfríður was the creator of the Protis Fish Protein production. Protis was the first company in Iceland to set up a production process for dried fish protein and fish collagen, which is made from by-products of fish processing and sold under the Protis Fish Protein brand.
The history of algae processing in Reykhólar is over 50 years old and local knowledge of the resource has accumulated. The search is on for a suitable place in the country for research activities and practical product development for marine algae. At Breiðafjörður, about a quarter of Iceland's coastline and growing conditions are unique. Until now, Þörungaverksmiðjan has supported research in the fjord by offering vehicles, experienced seafarers and safety equipment to carry out research. Extensive knowledge has been built up of the production process within the Algae Factory. By participating in the establishment of the Icelandic Algae Center, Þörungaverksmiðjan hf. strengthen support for research on the resource and new processing methods, as Reykhólahreppur is its home ground and the residents are the basis of the operation. The algae factory produces and sells high quality dried and ground seaweed and horse kelp from Breiðafjörður. The algae meal is certified as an unmixed organic product and a sustainable crop. With increased technological development, enormous opportunities have been created for more diverse utilization of algae and the processing of valuable substances in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, with associated value and job creation.
The Icelandic Algae Center in collaboration with the business community, universities and research institutes is precisely intended to promote sustainable utilization based on research results, increase knowledge, provide education, increase employment opportunities and the value of products made from seaweed and kelp.
Reykhóla prefecture aims to support a more diverse economy, better utilization of the area's resources, a broader human life in the municipality with increased research and development activities and good facilities for new residents and those who are already there.
The signing today is an important step in the development of research and development activities in Reykhólar, as Matís has extensive knowledge and experience in research on algae, where emphasis has been placed on scientific innovation and practical knowledge and added value.
The declaration of intent states that the common goal of the parties to the agreement is to strengthen research and development activities in connection with the sustainable utilization of algae and thus promote increased knowledge, value creation and job creation in the field of marine algae.
An introductory meeting was held today in the project Cycle Economy of Meat Production. This is an exciting collaborative project between Matís and Kjarnafæði / Norðlenska that deals with the utilization of by-products from meat production.
The meeting of course took into account the current disease control rules and took place through teleconferencing equipment, as can be seen in the attached picture.
The aim of the project is to improve the production and handling of raw materials by identifying opportunities for the utilization of by-products from slaughter. Based on the results of an analysis that has already taken place on by-products at Kjarnafæði / Norðlenska, it is proposed to study two main options in the project; on the one hand, to investigate the possibility of utilization and processing of animal blood and, on the other hand, the utilization of general slaughter waste as a raw material for pet food production. A life cycle analysis will also be performed on current processes and the new processes that will be analyzed. The novelty of the project is the use of known solutions to improve domestic utilization and production and to develop products that are new in Iceland.
The recognized protective genotype against scrapie in sheep, ARR, has now been found for the first time in an Icelandic sheep. This is a great meeting because this is a genotype that is internationally recognized as a protector and has been worked on in many parts of Europe to eradicate horseradish with good results.
The genotype has never before been found in sheep in Iceland, despite extensive searches. Matís has been offering scrub gene analysis since 2004. Matís has traditionally sequenced the scraping gene in about 3,500 sheep and never before found this variability. Specialists at the University of Iceland Laboratory of Pathology at Keldur have also conducted a systematic search for this genotype for years.
Matís received samples for analysis from an extensive research project carried out by RML, the University of Iceland Laboratory of Pathology at Keldur and Karólína Elísabetardóttir, a sheep farmer in Hvammshlíð. The analyzes confirmed the previous result, but at the same time four additional related artefacts were found on the farm that carry this genotype.
Matís is currently working in collaboration with Stefanía Þorgeirsdóttir, a specialist at the University of Iceland's Experimental Center for Pathology at Keldur, on the introduction of new methods for diagnosing the scraping gene. The aim of the study is twofold. First, to add more genetic sites to the regular analysis, including the newly discovered protective genotype (site 171) and possibly more variable sites within the scraping gene. Secondly, ways will be sought to increase the efficiency and capacity of scrapie analyzes, with the aim of reducing the cost of analyzes so that it will be possible to reduce the price of analyzes to farmers.
