Category: News

On June 5, Matís, together with Austurbrú, held a workshop organized by the European project NATALIE in Reyðarfjörður. At the end of last year, the European project began NATALIE, which Matís and East Bridge are participants in. The main focus of the project is to develop so-called nature-based solutions (NBS). These solutions are intended to respond to the problems caused by climate change. These include the increased risk of landslides, rising sea levels, algae blooms and more.

The goal of the workshop was to introduce the project to the main stakeholders in the area and get their perspective on the possibilities offered by the project. In the case of NATALIE, the stakeholders are all those who have to deal with some kind of challenges related to climate change, and it is therefore a diverse group that comes to the project. There were 11 participants in the workshop and they came from municipalities, companies and institutions in the region. The project NATALIE was introduced to the participants and group work then took place according to the project's standard work method. Work was done on climate challenges, possible nature-based solutions and obstacles that could stand in the way of their implementation. A key point is to get the perspective of stakeholders before starting to implement nature-based solutions. They are experts when it comes to the problems the area is facing and can therefore contribute knowledge that is not obvious to outsiders, for example about the status of operations, proposed solutions and the importance of certain infrastructure.

The workshop went well and it was gratifying to see how active the participants were and willing to contribute so that NATALIE's goals are achieved. The region's economic operators are already aware of the climate-related challenges facing the East and want to increase the region's resilience in relation to them. This great interest in climate and environmental issues among stakeholders in East Iceland is valuable for the NATALIE project, and Matís and Austurbrú look forward to further cooperation.

NATALIE is a five-year project and there are a total of 43 participants, from all over Europe, from Romania to Iceland. The challenges these regions face are different, but they all have one thing in common to do with the water cycle. The project is extensive, but Matís is in charge of research area 7 (i.e. Case study 7) which covers the Arctic. Matís and Austurbrú will, in good cooperation with stakeholders in the region, participate in the development of new NBS solutions in the region. The solutions are developed in collaboration with experts at Exeter University and the Arctic University of Tromsø (UiT).

The project NATALIE is financed by the Horizon Europe program of the European Union under grant N° 101112859.

On the 22nd-23rd In May, the opening meeting of the European research and innovation project took place in Copenhagen BioProtect, which is led by Matís and the Norwegian Marine Research Institute. The project will last for the next 4 years, bringing together 18 companies and institutions from around Europe with the aim of developing solutions to deal with climate change and the human threat to marine biodiversity. The project has received 8 million euros of support from Horizon Europe Europe's framework program for research and innovation and is therefore among the largest projects that Icelandic parties have managed within the framework programs of Europe.

This initial meeting was attended by about 40 key representatives of the participants, together with representatives of the European Union and external advisors. There was a particularly positive atmosphere at the meeting, where everyone involved is excited about the upcoming projects, and among other things, used the meeting to plan the work that will take place in the coming semesters.

In the main role at the meeting were Sophie Jensen from Matís, who manages the project (e. coordinator), and Julian Burgos from Hafró, who is the scientific leader of the project (e. scientific manager), but together they form an excellent management team for this interesting and necessary project.

Matís recently received an invitation to visit the premises of the European Union delegation and present Matís' projects that have received funding from the EU, with a special emphasis on the project BioProtect, which recently received funding from the Horizon Europe program.

The EU ambassador, Lucie Samcová-Hall Allen, and the staff of the delegation welcomed the group made up of Matís' project managers and department heads together with Julian Burgos, a marine ecologist at the Norwegian Marine Research Institute who is the scientific leader of the BioProtect project.

During the visit, there was an opportunity to discuss the diverse research and innovation projects that have been funded by the European Union and that Matís has worked on over the years. Lucie also told about the delegation's main projects and the development of their work in Iceland in recent years.

However, the main focus of the visit was the presentation of the research project BioProtect, which officially started yesterday, on May 1, 2024. Sophie Jensen, project manager at Matís leads the project and Julian Burgos is its scientific leader, and they presented their plans for the work of the next four years.

The project is about developing methodologies and technical solutions to facilitate decision-making about resource utilization or the protection of ocean areas. Emphasis is placed on good cooperation with economic partners, which are, for example, shipping companies and fisheries associations, local authorities and especially fishing communities, national and international governments, nature conservation organizations, researchers, policy makers and experts.

The biological diversity of the sea will be monitored so that it will be possible to account for its status and predict possible changes. There will also be extensive mapping of the use and impact of humans on individual sea areas and species in the sea. An action plan for the prioritization of conservation and restoration measures will also be prepared, as well as an assessment of the ecological, social and economic effects of these conservation measures in five ocean areas, ie by Iceland, Norway, Ireland, Portugal and the Azores.

We thank you very much for the wonderful welcome and hope for continued good relations with the EU delegation in Iceland.

You are invited to participate in a research project on local food systems carried out within the European project Cities2030. Cities2030 is funded by the European Union's Horizon2020 programme. It has 41 participants who share a similar vision of how to improve food systems. The survey is developed by the Cities2030 project and coordinated by Ca' Foscari University in Venice (more information can be found at: www.cities2030.eu).

Purpose

The survey aims to identify obstacles and weaknesses of local food systems using a city-region food system approach. As part of this research, we are collecting the opinions of people in many European countries and their experiences with local food systems. The data will be used by the Cities2030 project to develop future recommendations through in-depth research.

Participation

The survey is electronic and completely anonymous. Your participation in the survey is voluntary and should take about 10 minutes to complete. You can refuse to participate in the survey or withdraw from it at any time (without penalty). Answering each question is a requirement.

Click here to join.

Matís' annual report for 2023 is now available on the website.

Matís's research has always played a key role in the development of Icelandic food production and biotechnology, and it has formed an important bridge between science and industry that connects research and innovation to the needs of the industry.

Matís's research also serves to meet both opportunities and challenges, both in the present and in the future. Especially when considering increased sustainability, value creation and food security. If we want to continue producing food for our own consumption and participate in promoting food production internationally, we need to maintain the relationship between research and industry that Matís has built. These relationships are therefore not only important for current production, but they lay the foundation for how we will produce and consume food in the future.

The annual report can be accessed here.

Matís' fish farming team visited Stolt Sea Farm in April and we thank you for the warm welcome. The majority of Icelanders are probably not well informed about this cool company located at the far end of Reykjanes.

It is an international company, with headquarters in Spain, which produces sand isomer (turbot) and Senegal sole, but last year the company's production was about 6,900 tons of sand isomer and 1,700 tons of Senegal sole. Stolt is proud to have production in 16 locations worldwide, but here in Iceland only Senegal flour is produced and last year's production was around 250 tons. The flounder is a warm-water fish, and the company uses cooling water from HS Orku's power plant, which is located next to the fish farm, to keep the fish at an ideal temperature of around 23°C.

Stolt plans to increase production in the coming years. That increase will probably not take place in this country, but the company has been expanding its infrastructure in Spain and Portugal in recent seasons. As you can see in the graph below, the company has a goal of tripling its production in the next 10 years.

As for the production of Senegal flour, Stolt aims to increase its production from 1,700 tons to 4,700 tons by 2028, as can be seen in the picture below.

Solt Sea Farm is a progressive company that invested 10.7% of its income in Research and Development, which is a ratio that we at Matís appreciate. Matís wishes this cool company good luck in the coming years and expects that the cooperation between the companies will grow and prosper.