Ireland-headquartered Simply Blue Group has joined the North Sea Farm 1 (NSF1) project consortium to develop the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located within an offshore wind farm.
Located off the coast of the Netherlands in the North Sea, the 10-hectare farm is planned to become operational in autumn 2024 when it will be deployed and seeded, with the first harvest expected to be in spring 2025.
The project is managed by a consortium of scientific researchers and partners from the seaweed industry, led by the non-profit organisation North Sea Farmers (NSF). The organisation is also joined by Van Oord and Algaia on the North Sea Farm 1 project.
Sponsored by Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, the consortium aims to help address climate action targets in Europe by tapping into the vast potential of seaweed cultivation.
“Their 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,” said Eef Brouwers , Project Manager of the North Sea Farm 1 initiative.
Like trees, seaweed absorbs nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, thereby being part of the solution to climate change and ocean acidification. In doing this, it produces valuable biomass with a wide range of uses from pharmaceuticals to animal feed to fertilisers, according to Simply Blue Group.
“We recognise that seaweed cultivation is a valuable tool in tackling climate change and supporting our oceans. We believe that in time offshore wind farms will have multiple uses, with seaweed production being one of them. By joining NSF1 we are making the first step on that journey,” said Hugh Kelly , Co-Founder and CEO at Simply Blue Group.