Algae farms between offshore wind turbines, the latest to eliminate C02

Computer recreation of how algae would grow in the networks located between the wind infrastructure / Amazon

A consortium of companies and institutions from the Netherlands will implant these crops on the country’s coasts, the first on a commercial scale in the world

Algae are a food, an important source of basic protein for the food industry and even a valid material for bioconstruction. Its potential as a natural resource was noticed years ago by a group of researchers and members of the Dutch seaweed industry, represented and led by the non-profit organization North Sea Farmers. Now, after almost a decade, they plan to open by the end of the year the first commercial-scale algae farm located between wind turbines in the world, with which, in addition, they will capture tens of tons of C02 emissions from the atmosphere.

The project called North Sea Farm 1, has obtained the financial support of Amazon, which will allocate 1.5 million euros for the construction of these marine farms, an action that is part of its Right Now Climate Fund program, for the promotion of companies with innovative ideas for the green transformation of the economy.

In addition to this private contribution, the project has the support of the European Union, which has selected the project as a beneficiary of the Innovation Fund.

The projected installation would occupy the spaces that remain between the offshore wind farms located off the coast of the Netherlands, taking advantage of these infrastructures to connect networks under the sea, on which the algae would grow. In the first phase, and with the contribution of Amazon, a 10-hectare farm will be built with the capacity to produce six tons of fresh seaweed in its first year of operation.

What is its real potential to clean the air?

During this time, the project will have aspirations beyond the commercial ones. The investments will also cover research into the ability of these marine organisms to sequester C02 from the atmosphere during their growth.

“If seaweed acreage were to spread across the entire North Sea, occupying the million hectares of available space that exists in wind farms, it could potentially remove millions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year between now and 2040”, say the promoters of the project.

The ability of algae to capture this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere is well known to the world of science. In Spain there are projects such as that of the Andalusian company AlgaEnergy, whose microalgae plant for the production of biomass located in Arcos de la Frontera (Cádiz) has shown to capture some 200 tons of CO2 per year. Some thirty populated hectares with some 26,000 trees would be needed to fix the same amount.

The Dutch consortium, aware of the difficulty in extending the cultivation of this product on the high seas, also intends to demonstrate the potential that it would have to take advantage of those spaces that remain between the turbines of the offshore wind farms projected off the country’s coasts.

On the other hand, the scientists and researchers involved in the aforementioned consortium will be able to analyze with this first model the consequences of large-scale cultivation of algae. They hope, they say from Amazon, that the conclusions of these studies contribute to developing the industry.

Currently, its cultivation is on a very small scale in Europe, but the agents involved in this niche maintain that the versatility of this product deserves its use in more areas.

Fashion, the manufacture of biodegradable packaging that replaces plastic, food itself and the industry of new sustainable materials for construction are some of the areas in which they may have a greater impact.

New Materials

Blueblock entrepreneurs are an example of these possibilities that new algae-based materials have. They develop a 100% natural, compostable and chemical-free fiberboard made from brown seaweed that can be used as a building material, for interior design products and acoustic wall panels, as a more natural alternative to plasterboard. , wall finishing or even for decoration.

The industrial designer behind
this company, Marjanne Cuypers, began to investigate the residues left by algae after being treated to obtain protein by the food industry. “Algae are useful for making very strong materials, without adding resins or strong glues,” she explains. Thus, “it will not only minimize emissions, but it will go one step further and eliminate existing CO2 in the atmosphere.”