This week, the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm situated between offshore wind turbines in the North Sea has officially begun operations off the Dutch coast. Named North Sea Farm 1, the initiative is led by North Sea Farmers (NSF) in collaboration with a consortium of European scientists and research partners.
Amazon has contributed €1.5 million ($1.66 million) to fund the establishment of the farm and support a year of scientific research on the potential for seaweed cultivation to reduce CO2 emissions. This funding comes from Amazon’s $100 million global Right Now Climate Fund (RNCF), which backs climate and biodiversity projects with a positive impact on both people and the planet.
Located within the ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid’ (HKZ) wind farm, about 18 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen, North Sea Farm 1 is expected to yield at least 6,000 kg of seaweed in its first year. This seaweed can be used in various products, including food, clothing, and wellness items.
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.”
The farm aims to set an example for offshore seaweed farming worldwide, offering a potential model to scale Europe’s growing seaweed industry.
“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,” said Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning at the European Commission.
Leinmann added, “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.”
Roeland Donker, Netherlands Country Manager, Amazon said, “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. There is still so much to explore and learn from seaweed cultivation and sequestration in our oceans.”
