North Sea Farm 1, world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines is now open in the Netherlands

In a recent development, the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm has begun operations off the Dutch coast in the North Sea.

Covering an area of five hectares, the North Sea Farm 1 aims to test and enhance seaweed cultivation techniques while conducting pioneering scientific research to explore the potential of seaweed farms in capturing and storing carbon to combat climate change.

Seaweed cultivation techniques

North Sea Farm 1, led by North Sea Farmers (NSF) and European scientists, received a €1.5M grant from Amazon.

The consortium led by NSF includes researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PLM), Deltares, and Silvestrum Climate Associates, seaweed extract manufacturer Algaia, project developer Simply Blue Group, and maritime contractors Van Oord and Doggerland Offshore.

The grant is part of Amazon’s $100M global fund, the Right Now Climate Fund (RNCF), to support projects that benefit the environment and people.

In 2019, Amazon created the Right Now Climate Fund, a $100M initiative supporting climate resilience and nature conservation.

This fund supports projects that use nature-based solutions to help with climate change, improve biodiversity, and create green spaces in urban areas.

Fund utilisation

The funds will be used to establish North Sea Farm 1 and conduct research on CO2 reduction through seaweed cultivation.

Located within the ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid’ (HKZ) wind farm, approximately 18 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen in the North Sea, the farm has the potential to produce at least 6,000kg of seaweed in the first year.

This can be used to create a wide range of products, including clothing, food, and well-being items.

Eef Brouwers, Managing Director of NSF, says, “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.”

If other seaweed producers follow its example, North Sea Farm 1 could serve as a blueprint for offshore seaweed cultivation worldwide, becoming a catalyst to scale Europe’s nascent seaweed sector.

“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,” says Roeland Donker, Netherlands Country Manager, Amazon.

“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,” adds Donker.

Allocated €20M for Europe

The announcement comes three years after Amazon allocated €20M for nature-based projects across Europe.

This funding will support initiatives including the planting of 450,000 trees in UK towns, restoration of 600,000 square meters of habitat in France, and rehabilitation of 500 hectares of blanket bog in Ireland.

Additionally, the fund will be used to train students to combat climate change in Spain.

Other projects supported by the fund aim to create green corridors in Italy and Spain, regenerate urban areas in Germany, and protect historical woodlands, such as Belgium’s National Park Brabantse Wouden.

“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,” says Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning at the European Commission.

“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 welcome this initiative from North Sea Farmers and Amazon, as it is fully in line with our objectives for a sustainable blue economy,” says Leinemann.