Project: Introduction of next generation antifouling paint.
Transportation is a necessity for all business and while most of the focus is at land or air transportation, the CO volume, over 90%, is transported over the seas by bulk (container) carriers. However, environmental issues are connected with sea transportation as well. Due to increased trading and therefore goods transportation, the environmental aspects of sea transportation are becoming more and more of general interest. A key problem is to protect the ship hull from growth of a vast range of marine organisms; biofouling. A hull that has become rough due to growth of algae and barnacles will increase the fuel consumption up to 40% and consequently increasing greenhouse gases emissions as well as put strain on both construction and manoeuvrability. Also, marine organisms attached to a hull, travelling from sea to sea, is a risk in becoming invasive species that may alter the ecology of sensitive marine areas. It is therefore of the highest importance to prohibit organism growth on hulls (antifouling), both regarding environmental issues as well as trading economy. _x000D__x000D_Today's solution is a paint with 30-50% biocide content, where copper is the CO component and 2-5% are co-biocides. These biocides are released to prevent attachment and growth of marine organisms. Coppe has been used for centuries but it is questioned whether it is a sustainable way of using natural resources in the marine environment with no possibility of recycling. Therefore, new innovations and products are needed to phase out old antifouling technology. I-Tech holds the key to the future copper free antifouling paint: Medetomidine._x000D__x000D_This application is a follow up from a previous application to Eurostars named 3C Paint, submitted in 2008 where we applied for resources to develop an European yacht paint. That specific market area has been licensed out to Volvo Penta who will market the paint in year 2011. That part of our business plan is now fully financed by Volvo Technology Transfer and other finance institutions. Further, a full dossier has been submitted to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in UK according the Biocide Product Directive (BPD). The evaluation of the submitted dossier is now under way. In this new application we apply for resources to explore the rest of the market, the commercial vessels, which is 90% of the total marine paint market. The market connection is secured through Jotun's participation as the world second largest paint manufacturer._x000D__x000D_Copper toxicity is constantly debated within both the industry as well as within the scientific society. The pros and cons usually end up with the conclusion that there is no other alternatives. Not protecting vessels from fouling is environmentally worse because of fuel consumption and risk of spreading alien species. In this project we will commercially develop a low-copper/copper free paint and scientifically investigate the risk with Medetomidine in comparison with copper. At the end of the project, society, European industry and scientific community will have more knowledge to be added into a new product._x000D__x000D_The key for innovations to become new products in SMEs with limited resources is based on collaboration between parties, industrial as well as research institute, with different expertise but same goal. An innovation based company as I-Tech has knowledge in marine sciences, innovation strategies including regulatory competence, but lack large scale production competence, paint formulation expertise, market distribution network and research facilities. In this consortium represented in this application, we have brought together needed competence into a specific well defined project (work packages) benefitting all parties._x000D__x000D_There will be five specific workpackages. _x000D_1. Large scale production of Medetomidine to ensure that there is production capacity for a global product launch. _x000D_2. Ecotoxicology and risk assessment to compare the risks between antifouling substances._x000D_3. Development of controlled release systems which will optimize the use of biocides within the marine paint._x000D_4. Paint formulation and field testing, mostly in warmer seas such as the Mediterranean. During the years, we have gained a substantial knowledge regarding the use of Medetomidine in the North Sea._x000D_5. Management and Administrative work package. This includes the overall project management to ensure the interaction between the different parties. It will also include responsibility for the consortium documentation.
| Acronym | JoSeaFine (Reference Number: 5214) |
| Duration | 01/04/2010 - 31/03/2013 |
| Project Topic | The project aims to develop a marine antifouling paint with reduced biocidal content. The products on the market today contain 30-50% biocides, were copper is the CO component. The project aim to develop Medetomidine as an alternative to copper. |
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Project Results (after finalisation) |
The JoSeaFine project aims were to evaluate the risks incurred by the use of antifouling paints based on a new active ingredient, Medetominine (Med), substituting for copper the traditional biocide currently used. Our team was in charge of WP2 and investigated the comparative effects of Met and Cu on sea bass (D. labrax) at different stages of development and in the adult. We studied, in larvae the locomotor activity, in juveniles locomotor activity, basic physiological parameters (skin pigmentation, growth) and the structure of the liver, gills and spleen. In adults we investigated the pituitary transcriptome in vitro. _x000D__x000D_1) Technical achievements: To achieve our goals we set up an indoors closed system for rearing and treating larvae and juveniles, allowing the use of low amounts of the compounds tested without contaminating the environment. This system is now suitable and is currently being used for other toxicological studies. We also set up a video-recording system with an appropriate data analysis software to investigate behavioral parameters (locomotor activity, speed, exploring capacities, etc...) simultaneously on different sets of larvae._x000D__x000D_2) Scientific achievements: _x000D_2.1: Survival, growth and anatomy: Med delays hatching, reduces larval survival and alters pigmentation development in a lesser degree than observed with Cu. Met does not effect larval growth during the first 20 days of development. _x000D_2.2: Med induced disturbances in the hepatic parenchyma (detoxification organ) at high concentration (100 nM) only. No cytological or structural difference was seen at the lowest concentration (0.1 nM) or in controls. _x000D_2.3: Impact on pituitary gene expression on larvae qPCR: 6 genes were studied POMC, PRL, GH, SL & TSH for the pituitary and CRF for the hypothalamus, during 3 successive years. Only GH expression was significantly affected by Med. But the data suggest individual susceptibility to Med from an individual to another._x000D_2.4: Impact on behavioral development: In larvae (dph 11/15) and juveniles (dph 100). Med induced a reduction of both the distance traveled during 20 min as well as the average but not the maximal speed. These effects were reduced but not abolished by the use of a Med antagonist._x000D_2.5: A reference transcriptome of adult sea bass pituitary has been obtained and published (Magnanou et al, 2014). This tool is now being used to help analyzing the expression genes after the pituitaries had been challenged with various concentrations of Med or Cu. More than 28,000 pituitary contigs displayed significant changes in expression after the Cu challenge while only ~200 genes were significantly affected in the presence of Med. These candidate genes group in 15 clusters for Cu and 10 for Med, often displaying biphasic responses. _x000D_ |
| Network | Eurostars |
| Call | Eurostars Cut-Off 3 |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | I-Tech AB | Coordinator | Sweden |
| 3 | Jotun A/S | Partner | Norway |
| 3 | Laboratoire Arago - Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur Mer | Partner | France |