II - Cultivating the benefits of algae
Hidden beneath the water’s surface, the huge potential of algae is easily overlooked. Both microalgae and macroalgae can serve as a sustainable and nutritious source of food for humans, livestock and fish, as well as fertiliser for crops, and can clean our wastewater. As a natural carbon sink, algae can even help mitigate climate change. To leverage all these benefits, the EU is working intensively to scale algae farming. It does this both through strategic guidelines such as the EU Algae Initiative(opens in new window), as well as by funding innovative research projects, seven of which are highlighted in this chapter. One of those projects is OCEAN GARDENS. The project aims to build a 40 000 m² floating seaweed farm in Gran Canaria capable of producing 300 tonnes of dry biomass per year at a lower cost than traditional line-based methods.
Finding space to scale up production
The floating farm concept serves as a model for scalable aquafarming, and demonstrates the importance of maritime spatial planning for scaling up seaweed production. Despite the size of oceans and seas, suitable space can be a limited commodity with many competing demands. That’s why projects OLAMUR and ULTFARMS are working to integrate algae farming into existing offshore wind farms. By co-locating what could be seen as competing interests, the projects show a single site can provide emission-free energy and sustainable seafood.
Bringing regenerative ocean farming to Europe
Another innovative approach to sustainably increasing algae production is regenerative ocean farming (ROF). ROF is a nature-based approach to aquaculture that cultivates unfed, low-trophic species such as seaweeds and bivalves. These organisms are cultivated not just for harvest but for the ecosystem services they provide: seaweeds absorb excess nutrients and carbon dioxide, while shellfish filter water. In helping to remediate environmental conditions, they embed conservation benefits within aquaculture practices. Two projects working to position ROF as a model for the large-scale production of seaweed are SEAGROW and COOL BLUE BALTIC. The former is building a farm designed to produce 5 000 tonnes of seaweed annually in Ireland’s Galway Bay, while the latter is bringing the benefits of ROF to Baltic farmers, fishers and coastal communities.
Linking up the algae value chain
But growing more algae isn’t enough to increase production. It also requires a streamlining of the entire value chain, from production to processing and marketing towards end consumers. Projects ATL.A.HUB and EU4ALGAE are building platforms where algae researchers, farmers, producers, entrepreneurs, investors and public authorities can come together to engage, build community and share resources. By uniting EU algae stakeholders, the two projects are driving scalable and sustainable production and increasing European competitiveness while also taking full advantage of algae’s many climate benefits.