Seaweed offers a promising alternative to materials made from fossil resources. It grows quickly, does not compete for land area, and contains a natural polymer called alginate that can be turned into gels, fibres, and scaffolds for biotechnology. However, today’s methods cannot fully control alginate’s properties, limiting its performance in advanced applications.

The NAUTILUS project tackles this by redesigning enzymes that modify alginate. Normally, these either cut alginate or require calcium, which causes it to harden too early for full processing. NAUTILUS will use state-of-the-art imaging techniques to observe how these enzymes function and re-engineer them to do so without calcium.

The outcome will be new enzymes that allow precise, efficient production of high-performance alginate materials. This will open the door to stronger, smarter, and more sustainable materials from seaweed, supporting the transition to a circular, bio-based economy.