Horizon 2020 is a Europe 2020 flagship initiative that aims to secure Europe's global competitiveness, implementing the financial aims of the Innovation Union.

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever created, with nearly €80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020), in addition to private investment that it will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.

With the aim of driving economic growth and creating jobs, Horizon 2020 has the political backing of Europe's leaders and Members of the European Parliament. With the research acting as an investment in our future, it is at the heart of the EU's blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.

Mowi Feed is delighted to be part of three significant projects including Oleaf4value.

What is Oleaf4value?

Today, olive leaves are large untapped biomass from the olive oil industry. Oleaf4value hopes to find new ways to use the leaves, such as adding them to salmon feed.

4.5 million tonnes of olive leaves are produced annually worldwide by the olive oil industry. These olive leaves contain so-called bioactive components, which are substances that can strengthen, for example, the immune system.

However, this biomass is underexploited; being burnt in fields, given to cattle, or, in some cases, burned to produce energy.

As part of the project, which has just commenced, researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (Havforskningsinstituttet) will investigate whether extract from olive leaves can affect resistance and/or support the immune response against relevant viral diseases in salmon. The olive leaves' bioactive extract, containing a mixture of triterpenic acid and polyphenols bioactive components, will be added to salmon feed and the fish's resistance will be tested in the research facilities of the IMR in Bergen.

Mowi Feed is acting as advisors on the salmon trials conducted by the Institute of Marine Research; participating actively on the design of the trials and ensuring the trial diets follow commercial standards. Mowi Feed will then be involved in discussions and conclusions around the results of these trials.

It is hoped that the project will give a use to olive leaves, solving the problem of their removal from fields while obtaining high added value bioactive compounds with high-market potential. Mowi Feed's participation could be key in the success of the trials and updates will be given in due course.

The AquaIMPACT and NextGen Proteins projects are also well underway - please click the links to find out more about Mowi Feed's involvement.

The Oleaf4value project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101023256.