There is great potential for the EU’s seaweed industry, currently limited mainly to small-scale producers growing single species in sheltered bays. Most of Europe’s seaweed supply is imported from Asian countries where production carried out by large scale, technologically modern, multi- species-oriented operations. With an ever-increasing number of Aquaculture Fund, a 1.4-hectare project called AlgaeDemo has been recently launched in the North Sea waters of the Netherlands. The goal is to understand the conditions for the viability of a large-scale, economically, and environmentally sustainable seaweed farm.
Not every seaweed species grows everywhere, so the right one had seaweed uses—from human food and animal feed to biomaterials and bioenergy—demand for seaweed can only grow, giving hope for a new large-scale European industry. With support from the European Maritime Fisheries and to be found for the chosen site. Then, a “technical textile,” or artificial fabric, was developed for the plants to grow on. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) carries out the anchoring, cleaning, seeding, and harvesting processes.
Through all this, attention is paid to the environmental impacts, both negative (human and seaweed interaction with the larger ecosystem) and positive (capturing CO2, phosphates and nitrates). Not to mention the direct and indirect job creation, and the benefits for a wide range of industries and consumers. With the right tweaks and twists of the operation developed in this Dutch project, this kind of undertaking can work in waters all around the EU.
