Amazon is funding the what it says is the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines.
The project, known as North Sea Farm 1, will be located in a wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands.
It has been designed to test and improve methods of seaweed farming, while researching the potential of seaweed to sequester carbon.
By locating the farm in previously empty space between turbines, the project is able to expand seaweed cultivation in the otherwise heavily used 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, it could reduce millions of tonnes of CO2 annually.
The project is managed by a consortium of scientific researchers and partners from the seaweed industry, led by non-profit organisation North Sea Farmers (NSF), and is expected to become operational by the end of this year.
The consortium hopes that North Sea Farm 1 will evolve into a blueprint for offshore seaweed farming the world over.
Amazon is granting €1.5m to create this first-of-its-kind seaweed farm and carry out a year’s scientific research into carbon reduction through seaweed farming.
The funding comes from its $100 million global Right Now Climate Fund – Amazon’s commitment to support nature-based solutions, which is in addition to the work the company is doing to decarbonise its business.
Through this fund, Amazon has committed €20m to projects across Europe to enhance biodiversity and conserve, restore and improve nature in communities where Amazon operates.
Amazon Netherlands country manager Roeland Donker said:”Like trees, as seaweed grows it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere, and it can be used to create biodegradable packaging, as well as food and fashion products.
“We’re hugely excited to be investing in such an important project off the coast of the Netherlands, which could significantly boost Europe’s seaweed sector.”