# Blue Hub Halland

> Innovation node for the blue bioeconomy on Sweden's west coast. Blue Hub Halland is a new innovation node in Glommen harbour, Falkenberg, on Sweden's west coast. Four companies in seaweed, seafood and circular flows are part of the hub today – and we now invite startups, researchers and thesis students to rent a place.

Official information from Blue Hub Halland. Website: https://bluehub.se/en/. Last generated 2026-10-19. Svensk version: https://bluehub.se/llms.txt

## About the hub

Blue Hub Halland is a new, physical innovation node in Glommen. Four companies in algae cultivation, marine processing and circular use of residual streams make up the hub today – and there is room for more.

- **A neutral meeting place and testbed:** Right in Glommen's harbour on the Halland coast – among the fishing fleet and the emerging offshore wind that is reshaping the marine economy.
- **A front door to a regional ecosystem:** Research environments, real-world pilot facilities and access to regional and national capital.
- **Focus:** Algae · aquaculture · marine biorefining · circular bioeconomy
- **Supporting projects:** ENVOLVE 2 · Blå Samverkan
- **Status:** Open – we are looking for more tenants
- **Falkenberg · Halland:** Sweden's west coast, between Gothenburg and Copenhagen

### The companies in the hub

KOBB, Upcyclr, Swedish Kelp and Blue Fields are the hub today. Together they span from cultivation at sea to processing and circular flows – and they want more people around them: startups, researchers and thesis students who want to work close to industry.

- **KOBB** (Food from farmed seaweed): Turns farmed sugar kelp into food. In Glommen the seaweed is blanched, processed and packed into products such as seaweed salads, developed together with chef Frida Ronge. https://kobb.nu
- **Upcyclr** (Value from side streams): Puts side streams from food production to use. Patented drying that uses over 90 per cent less energy and gentle milling preserve nutrients, taste and colour. https://www.upcyclr.se
- **Swedish Kelp** (Seaweed farming): Farms seaweed and other cultivable marine resources.
- **Blue Fields** (Seaweed farming permits): Works on permits for seaweed farming at sea off Glommen, where the company has previously farmed sugar kelp as a raw material for climate-smart food. https://www.bluefields.se

## Focus areas

These are the areas where the hub's companies work – and where we want to see more ideas, ventures and research projects take their place.

- **Algae and seaweed** (Cultivation at sea): Sea-based cultivation of seaweed and algae. A raw material for food, and for ingredients in supplements and biostimulants.
- **Aquaculture and seafood** (More food from the sea): More seafood from Swedish waters – from farming and landing to processing, with the whole value chain close to the harbour.
- **Marine biorefining** (More value from the raw material): Refining marine raw materials and side streams into higher-value ingredients and products.
- **Circular bioeconomy** (Industrial symbiosis): Residual streams from the sea and the food industry become resources for new products instead of waste.

## Rent a place in the hub

The hub is new. Four companies are here today, but no startups, researchers or thesis students yet. We want to change that. Rent a place in Glommen harbour and help shape the hub from the start.

### Startups – Build your venture here

For early-stage and scaling ventures in seafood, seaweed and biorefining. Rent a place next to companies that already farm and process, close to the harbour and the sea.

- Ask about a place: [elin.rehn@falkenberg.se](mailto:elin.rehn@falkenberg.se?subject=Blue%20Hub%20Halland%20%E2%80%94%20Renting%20a%20place%20(startup))

### Researchers – Do research close to industry

Rent a workspace in the harbour and try your research in a real industrial setting – together with companies that can put it to use.

- Ask about a workspace: [elin.rehn@falkenberg.se](mailto:elin.rehn@falkenberg.se?subject=Blue%20Hub%20Halland%20%E2%80%94%20Renting%20a%20workspace%20(researcher))

### Thesis students – Write your thesis on site

The companies in the hub have real problems to solve. Rent a desk and write your thesis close to the operations – and get a foot in the door of a growing sector.

- Ask about a desk: [elin.rehn@falkenberg.se](mailto:elin.rehn@falkenberg.se?subject=Blue%20Hub%20Halland%20%E2%80%94%20Renting%20a%20desk%20(thesis))

### What you get close to

- A place in Glommen harbour
- Four companies in seaweed, seafood and circular flows
- Real challenges from industry
- Visibility through the hub's network
- Two projects that connect you to research and funding

## Projects supporting the hub

Blue Hub Halland is where two collaborative projects meet and become tangible. Together they connect Glommen to research, companies and funding along the whole west coast.

### ENVOLVE 2 – The blue and green transformation of Halland

Halland's regional innovation platform for the blue and green bioeconomy. ENVOLVE 2 brings together companies, researchers and public actors who are renewing the region's food and marine sectors with new technology – on land and at sea.

- **Period:** October 2024 – March 2027
- **Led by:** Falkenberg Municipality
- **Funded by:** Region Halland
- **What the project does:**
  - Connects companies, academia, municipalities and investors who would not otherwise have found each other.
  - Builds pilot and demo environments where new technology can be tried before investing.
  - Shares knowledge through workshops, hackathons and Envolve Dialogues during Halland Tech Week.
- **How it connects to the hub:** The Blue Hub Halland concept was developed within ENVOLVE 2. The hub is the project's physical node for the blue sectors.
- [envolve.earth](https://envolve.earth)

### Blå Samverkan – Blue Collaboration – joining forces for aquaculture in West Sweden

A West Sweden collaboration that strengthens the blue bioeconomy. The project drives innovation and skills development, builds networks across the aquaculture value chain and coordinates the actors in the collaboration platform for biomarine industries – in Västra Götaland and Halland.

- **Period:** February 2025 – January 2028
- **Led by:** Innovatum Science Park
- **Funded by:** The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, among others
- **Partners:** Including Chalmers, the University of Gothenburg, RISE, Sjömatsfrämjandet, Sotenäs Municipality and Falkenberg Municipality
- **What the project does:**
  - Network meetings, study visits, workshops and matchmaking based on what companies need.
  - Guides companies to the right expertise, innovation support and funding.
  - Helps new companies and establishments fill gaps in the aquaculture value chain.
- **How it connects to the hub:** Blue Hub Halland is a work package of its own in Blå Samverkan. From here, Halland's blue companies are connected to research and to actors along the whole west coast.
- [The project at Chalmers Research](https://research.chalmers.se/project/12204)

### So far

- May 2025: Workshop in Glommen on scaling up the seaweed industry in Sweden
- March 2026: Blue Hub Halland takes part in the Nordic Seafood Summit
- June 2026: Letter of intent signed between Falkenberg Municipality and the companies in the hub
- June 2026: Blue Hub Halland exhibits at Seagriculture EU in Gothenburg

## In the media

- **Sveriges Radio · Klotet, 14 October 2026:** [Smaken är kung när folk väljer ny havsmat](https://www.sverigesradio.se/play/avsnitt/2887288#1365). Sveriges Radio's climate programme Klotet on making better use of the sea's food resources, with a report from a seafood theme day in Glommen. Elin Rehn of Falkenberg Municipality talks about seaweed farming. In Swedish.
- **SVT Nyheter Halland, 1 October 2026:** [Superlokal sjömat serverades i Glommen – ”Underutnyttjad resurs”](https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/superlokal-sjomat-serverades-i-glommen-underutnyttjad-resurs). SVT Halland at the seafood theme day in Glommen: crab, greater weever and seaweed salad. Food from the sea off the Halland coast is an under-used resource, and Falkenberg's business community wants to change that. In Swedish.
- **SVT Nyheter Halland, 12 May 2026:** [Tång och kräftor på menyn i Långåsskolan – se barnens reaktioner](https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/tang-och-kraftor-pa-menyn-i-langasskolan-se-barnens-reaktioner). Young pupils at Långås School in Falkenberg try seaweed salad and langoustines. The initiative aims to bring more local seafood from Glommen into the municipality's school kitchens while strengthening local food preparedness. In Swedish.
- **Circular Gastronomy, 11 March 2026:** [Tång som nytt livsmedel – Cajsa Torell, Kobb, Glommen](https://circulargastronomy.se/case/tang-som-nytt-livsmedel-cajsa-torell-kobb-glommen/). A profile of KOBB, which since 2023 has been processing farmed sugar kelp in Glommen into ready-to-use seaweed products for restaurants and home cooks. In Swedish.
- **Landsbygdsnätverket, 9 May 2025:** [Sockertång med mindre jod – en väg framåt för svensk tångindustri](https://landsbygdsnatverket.se/nyheterochartiklar/nyhetsarkiv/sockertangmedmindrejodenvagframatforsvensktangindustri.5.d2af131196a047ce9915978.html). Together with the research institute RISE, KOBB is developing a process that lowers the iodine content of sugar kelp, so that seaweed can take a bigger place on the plate. The project is supported by the Swedish Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme. In Swedish.
- **Livets Goda, 28 May 2024:** [Halländska Blue Fields satsar på ätbara tångprodukter](https://www.livetsgoda.se/hallandska-blue-fields-satsar-pa-atbara-tangprodukter/). Blue Fields harvests its sugar kelp 1,200 metres off Glommen harbour and takes the next step towards edible seaweed products. In Swedish.
- **SVT Nyheter Halland, 20 May 2024:** [Se första skörden av tången utanför Falkenberg: ”Det blänker”](https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/se-forsta-skorden-av-tangen-utanfor-falkenberg-det-blanker). The first sugar kelp is harvested off Glommen harbour, in a pilot that started in autumn 2023 after Blue Fields was permitted to expand its farm. In Swedish.

## Contact

Want to rent a place in the hub as a startup, researcher or thesis student? Tell us who you are and what you need, and we will get back to you about premises and terms.

- **Elin Rehn**, Business Developer, Falkenberg Municipality – [elin.rehn@falkenberg.se](mailto:elin.rehn@falkenberg.se)
- **David Andersson**, Project Lead, ENVOLVE 2, Falkenberg Municipality – [david.andersson@falkenberg.se](mailto:david.andersson@falkenberg.se)
- **Where to find us:** Blue Hub Halland, Glommen harbour, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Hosted by Falkenberg Municipality. An initiative within ENVOLVE 2 and Blå Samverkan. Financed by Region Halland.