Increased blooms of blue-green algae in recent years, observed across the UK, is being monitored and tackled in a new £450k initiative launched by the UK Space Agency, with phase one of phase two having already begun.
The Lough Neagh: Blue-Green Algae Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) will monitor Lough Neagh, in Northern Ireland, the largest lake in the UK, which raised alarm bells when it experienced unprecedented blooms in the last couple of years.
Blue-green algae, cyanobacteria, are natural to waterways but a perfect storm of warmer weather caused by climate change and agricultural and wastewater expelled into rivers has caused an increased concentration. The bacteria is toxic to humans and animals.
Phase one of the initiative has awarded five suppliers £450,000 to develop proof of concept solutions for treating blue-green algal blooms; Clear Water Systems; Helix8; Queen’s University Belfast; Varicon Aqua Solutions and Wholeschool Software. The solutions created, DAERA has stated, can be physical, chemical or biological, provided it doesn’t lead to further environmental degradation.
The UK Space Agency is looking to satellite technology to support with monitoring these algal blooms from space, as well as for prediction and detection purposes. It stated its interest in companies that can combine terrestrial data and services such as AI, quantum, machine learning and drones with satellite data and services to provide analysis for insights.
Critical success factors against which solutions will be weighted include demonstrating accuracy at scale; providing accuracy in the range of weather and environmental conditions in Northern Ireland; focusing on Lough Neagh with potential use for other waterways; and working with DAERA and NI Space for financial and wider resource limitations.
Phase one is expected to run through to March 2025, with phase two applications commencing in summer 2025.
In an announcement about the initiative, Minister Andrew Muir said: “I am pleased to announce the launch of Phase one of the Lough Neagh: Blue-Green Algae Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), supported by funding from both my Department and the Department for the Economy.
“We all have a responsibility to work collectively to deliver sustainable solutions to address the issues facing Lough Neagh and to return it to its rightful state as an ecological jewel at the heart of Northern Ireland.”
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