World’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm between wind turbines inaugurated

North Sea Farm 1, located within the Hollandse Kust Zuid’ (HKZ) wind farm has officially been inaugurated on 24 September 2024. The world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines has now started operation.

North Sea Farm 1 covers five hectares and aims to test and improve seaweed cultivation and pioneer scientific research to explore the potential of seaweed farms to capture and store carbon, helping to combat climate change.

North Sea Farm 1 is led by North Sea Farmers (NSF), together with a consortium of European scientists and research partners. The farm and a year of scientific research into the potential of seaweed to sequester carbon is funded by Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, a $100 million global initiative supporting climate resilience and nature conservation.

Located within the ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid‘ (HKZ) wind farm, approximately 18 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen in the North Sea, the farm will produce at least 6,000 kilograms of seaweed in the first year, which can be used to create a wide range of products, including clothing, food and wellbeing items. If other seaweed producers follow its example, North Sea Farm 1 could also serve as a blueprint for offshore seaweed cultivation worldwide, becoming a catalyst to scale Europe’s nascent seaweed sector.

Eef Brouwers, Managing Director of NSF, said: “North Sea Farm 1 is placed in a previously unused space between wind turbines, allowing the project to expand seaweed cultivation in the otherwise heavily utilised North Sea. If seaweed farming were to expand to occupy the entire space occupied by wind farms, expected to be approximately 1 million hectares by 2040, this could capture and avoid millions of tons of CO2 annually.”

Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning at European Commission said: “The farming of seaweed can contribute to achieving the EU’s objectives in terms of decarbonisation, zero pollution, circularity, the preservation and restoration of biodiversity, the protection of ecosystems and the development of environmental services. This is in line with what the European Commission wishes to promote through the EU Algae Initiative. What is particular about this project is that it models the impacts of large-scale seaweed farming within an offshore wind farm. Hopefully it will prove that multi-use of the limited space at sea is not just a concept, but a reality and can eventually be commercially viable. This is why we very much welcome this initiative from North Sea Farmers and Amazon, as it is fully in line with our objectives for a sustainable blue economy.”

Funding by Amazon

Amazon has made €1.5 million available for the establishment of North Sea Farm 1 and a year of scientific research into CO2 reduction through seaweed cultivation. This investment is part of Amazon’s global Right Now Climate Fund, which totals $100 million globally and is intended to support climate and biodiversity projects that benefit both people and planet.

“This project plays a vital role in Amazon’s broader sustainability story and everything we do to explore and support ways that can restore biodiversity and help fight climate change,” said Roeland Donker, Country Manager, Amazon, Netherlands. “There is still so much to explore and learn from seaweed cultivation and sequestration in our oceans. The fact that we can play a role in this, supporting vital research by North Sea Farmers and their partners – which one day we hope to share with the world – is incredibly exciting.” Source: North Sea Farmers

Input your search keywords and press Enter.