Irish renewable energy developer Simply Blue has joined a North Sea consortium working on a commercial scale seaweed farm located within an offshore wind farm.
The “North Sea Farm 1 Project” involves ten hectares of water off the Netherlands coast, and is billed as the world’s first commercial scale operation of its type.
It aims to become operational this autumn when it will be deployed and seeded, with first harvest anticipated during Spring of 2025.
The project is sponsored by Amazon’s “Right Now” climate fund, and aims to help address climate action targets in Europe by “tapping into the vast, unmet potential of seaweed cultivation”.
Seaweed absorbs nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, and has been identified as part of the solution to climate change and ocean acidification.
It produces a valuable biomass with a wide range of uses from pharmaceuticals to animal feed to fertilisers.
Simply Blue Group says it has a keen interest in multiple use of wind farms, and believes that efficient use of sea space is key to working with the oceans on climate change bringing more local communities and supply chains into the transition to a low carbon economy.
“At Simply Blue Group, we want our marine projects to make a tangible difference, which is why we’re delighted to join this consortium,”Simply Blue chief executive and co-founder, said.
Eef Brouwers, project Manager of the North Sea Farm 1 initiative, welcomed Simply Blue’s involvement and said its expertise in aquaculture and offshore wind "will be valuable in the successful execution of seaweed production in an offshore wind farm for the first time”.
“The North Sea Farm 1 project aims to help the seaweed industry in scaling-up within offshore wind farms and Simply Blue Group’s capabilities in both areas make them an ideal partner,” Brouwers said.
North Sea Farmers (NSF) is an independent and not-for-profit sector organisation for the European seaweed industry. It has a member base of over 100 companies, pioneering start-ups, research institutes, NGOs and other stakeholders.
For North Sea Farm 1, NSF will head up a consortium of partner organisations extending across Europe and involved in the entire seaweed production supply chain.
This includes researchers Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Deltares and Silvestrum Climate Associates, seaweed extract manufacturers Algaia and maritime contractors Van Oord.
Listen to an Afloat podcast on how Seaweed Farming Can Feed The Globe and Capture Carbon