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Algae are a large group of simple aquatic organisms that have long been grown and harvested for many different uses.
They can be found in a variety of food and beauty products on the supermarket shelves, but exciting scientific developments in recent years have also revealed their bioenergy potential. As fossil fuel resources continue to decline around the globe, it is vital that new sources of fuel are identified and developed.
The EnAlgae project has received funding to develop algal bioenergy technologies at nine pilot facilities and to advance the emerging marketplace in North West Europe.
An INTERREG IVB North West Strategic Initiative
EnAlgae is a four-year Strategic Initiative of the INTERREG IVB North West Europe programme. It brings together 19 partners and 14 observers across 7 EU Member States with the aim of developing sustainable technologies for algal biomass production.
Click to find out more about EnAlgae
Staff Spotlight
Shaun Richardson
Project Co-ordinator
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What’s your role within the EnAlgae Project?
I’m the full-time EnAlgae project manager, based in Swansea University.
How does your work benefit the project?
It is my responsibility to ensure that all the different components of the EnAlgae project are delivered successfully. Although coordinating across 19 partner organisations is somewhat of a challenge, I am lucky to be working with a group of talented and dedicated people.
What were you doing before you joined the project?
I’ve spent the last 15 years developing, delivering and managing projects covering a broad range of environmental topics. These have given me some wonderfully diverse experiences: from working on hazardous glaciers at 5,000m in the high Himalaya to boat-based surveys along the beautiful Afon Dyfi in mid-Wales.
What are you working on at the moment?
At Swansea University we continue to upgrade our algae production facilities that form part of the project’s North West Europe pilot network. In addition, autumn is one of the busier time of the year for project administration and I will be spending a lot of my time overseeing project finances and reporting back to our sponsors, INTERREG IVB NWE.
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
With two children under five years old, down time is at a premium to say the least! I escape the madness at home with coastal runs on the nearby Gower peninsula and mountain bike trips in South Wales’ excellent forest parks.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Lions Midget Gems!
