WUR Impact Award

AlgaePARC is an internationally leading Open Innovation Centre that translates microalgae research into scalable, sustainable applications. AlgaePARC enables the continuous pilot-scale production and refining of microalgal biomass in an automated and controlled manner. By connecting the entire value chain, from strain improvement and cultivation to biorefinery and economic analysis, AlgaePARC supports WUR research groups, companies and startups with facilities, expertise and training for the development of sustainable proteins, lipids and other ingredients. In doing so, it makes an important contribution to the protein transition and the circular bioeconomy.

Thanks to more than ten years of research by Ingrid van der Meer, duckweed (water lentils) has been developed into a new, sustainable and healthy vegetable for human consumption. Van der Meer succeeded in securing funding for all the research required to obtain approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Through a multidisciplinary approach, a complete Novel Food dossier was submitted to the EFSA in 2020. Following numerous additional questions and requests for further research from the EFSA, European approval was ultimately granted in 2024 and subsequently incorporated into EU legislation and regulations in 2025. This paved the way for broader market introduction and the (international) application of water lentils as a food crop. This breakthrough represents an important stimulus for the protein transition.

The multidisciplinary team behind Taste Lessons, EU-Schoolfruit and EU-Schooldairy translates scientific knowledge into practical programmes that promote healthy and sustainable eating habits among young people. The team supports governments, companies and NGOs in the development and evaluation of effective strategies for nutritious and sustainable food choices. Through Taste Lessons, children learn to make informed food choices by tasting, smelling, feeling and exploring food. By combining research, education and practice, the team has developed an effective and evidence-based programme that now reaches 6,115 primary school locations across the Netherlands (87%). Both Taste Lessons and the EU School Programmes are developed and implemented in close collaboration with a wide range of partners.

The Extreme Wildfire Event Datahub project focuses on extreme wildfires, which are occurring with increasing frequency. Extreme wildfires also have a particularly dangerous characteristic: they create their own weather conditions. As a result, fires can spread rapidly and unpredictably, making it difficult to forecast the direction of their movement. This makes it essential for firefighters to have access to improved forecasting methods and reliable operational tools. For this reason, new predictive instruments have been developed in collaboration with the Catalan, Greek, Norwegian and Dutch fire services, specifically designed for use during extreme wildfire events. These tools provide better insight into fire behaviour and support the assessment of risks and potential fire spread.

Project HighLO is a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The project originated from the observation that raw materials and energy markets are increasingly disrupted by market manipulation. Within this collaboration, CERN’s expertise in big data, data storage, processing and analysis is combined with WUR’s methodological expertise. This has led to the development of new methods capable of detecting anomalies in market data and classifying them as potential market manipulation, with the MSA Lab as a key outcome applying these analytical methods in practice. In addition, funding from Dutch Research Council (NWO) is enabling the global scaling-up of the MSA Lab. The developed matrix is now also being used by courts in rulings concerning market manipulation. The partnership, supported by a broad coalition of collaborators, is distinctive because all parties share a single common objective, which forms the strength of the initiative.