Ireland-headquartered Simply Blue Group and Norwegian seaweed farming company, Arctic Seaweed, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will jointly explore solutions for co-locating seaweed farms and offshore wind farms.
Arctic Seaweed has developed a unique farming method that enables cost-efficient and sustainable cultivation and harvesting of seaweed with minimal impact on the environment, according to Simply Blue.
The Norwegian company already has seaweed farms installed around Bergen, Ålesund and Greenland.
For the offshore wind developer, the partnership will unlock technology from Arctic Seaweed which offers a state-of-the-art production line from direct seeding to harvesting and processing, which can be installed on support vessels currently used within offshore wind farms.
“From the start, Arctic Seaweed has focused on building a technology platform with the aim to industrialize seaweed cultivation, both from a hardware and an operational perspective. This strategy enables us to cater specifically for offshore wind and seaweed farm integration in various locations around the world. With Simply Blue Group, we have found an excellent partner to explore the necessary steps into combining these promising technologies for a more sustainable future” , Kim Kristensen , CEO of Arctic Seaweed, said.
Simply Blue Group is looking to first develop prototype seaweed farms and explore larger-scale solutions within offshore wind farms. This will require seeding and harvesting processes scaled to levels that allow for time-critical and safe operations offshore, the company says.
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“At Simply Blue Group we are committed to working with the oceans to help tackle climate change and we believe large scale seaweed farming has an important role to play”, said Sam Roch Perks , Simply Blue Group Co-Founder and Group CEO.
“In Europe, seaweed farming has not been developed to its full potential, due to the small scale of the enterprises, the limited number of seaweed species and traditional growing techniques however we recognise the potential for strong growth in seaweed production. We’re delighted to partner with Arctic Seaweed to help progress this opportunity”.
Simply Blue Group currently has a pipeline of 10 GW of floating and offshore wind projects in Ireland, the UK, the EU, and the US.