Seaweed cultivation

In the project EFRO (European Fund for Regional Development) we investigate the ecophysiology of seaweeds and select the most suitable seaweed species for cultivation at the North Sea.

An attractive source of biomass

Seaweeds are an attractive source of biomass from the sea. They do not need precious freshwater, no claims on agricultural soils are made, they grow on available nutrients in the sea (even reducing eutrophication) and they do not need application of pesticides. This makes seaweeds a very suitable source of biomass for energy (polysaccharides), food and feed (proteins) and high added value bio-active products. All this is done while the seaweeds fix the greenhouse gas CO2, and under the production of oxygen. In these processes seaweeds can give a substantial boost to the development of a bio-based economy.

The work is part of the project Port4Innovation which targets innovation, valorisation, and support for starting companies and collaboration.