Presentation at the Aquaculture Europe Conference, August 2013 in Trondheim.

1. Economic feasibility of offshore seaweed
production in the North Sea
Sander van den Burg, Paul Bikker, Marinus van Krimpen &
Arie-Pieter van Duijn

2. Increasing interest in seaweeds
 Interest in sustainable marine production
● World population growth
● Environmental pressures of imported feed and food
● Recovery of phosphor
● Alternative to land-based production
 Offshore wind energy
● Large spatial claim (1,000 km2 for projected 6000
MW)
● Resistance from fishing community
● Responsible use of space

3. Against this background: TripleP@sea
 Wageningen UR initiated research project
 On Multi-use platforms in the North sea
 4 year, multi-disciplinary project
 Link to other projects, e.g. FP7 Mermaid
 2012/2013: zooming in on offshore seaweed production
 Our focus: economic research within TripleP@sea

4. Outline
 Basic info on seaweed production in North Sea
 Assess production costs
 Review of seaweed applications and market values
 Prospects for offshore seaweed production

5. 90% of world production from aquaculture

6. Only just started in Netherlands

7. Production in Netherlands
 On-going experiments with
different production techniques
(long-lines, nets)
 Focus on indigenous species:
● Laminaria digitata
● Saccharina latissima
● Palmaria palmata
● Ulva lactuca

8. Experiences with seaweed aquaculture
Group: Brown algae Red algae Green algae
Species: Laminaria digitata,
Saccharina latissima
Palmaria palmata Ulva lactuca
Growth season September-May Summer Summer
Optimal water
temperature
<18 15-20 15-20
Grow speed Up to a daily increase of
DM of 20% under optimal
conditions
Up to daily increase of
35% of DM under optimal
conditions
Up to a daily increase in DM of
50% under optimal conditions
Yield/ha (DM) 15 15-20 20
Vulnerability
diseases
Colonised by several
organisms, thus hindering
its growth during spring
and summer
Unknown It tends to be free floating
under harsh conditions
Production risks Fast degradation in spring
(Saccharina latissima)
Uncertain whether the
plant will recover after
wintertime
Sudden disappearance

9. Estimate production costs
 Analysis of publications on the costs of seaweed
production show great differences:
Technology Invest Lifespan Operational Yield €/ tonne
DM
Source
€ Year €/year Tonnes DM
Ring 1,000
per unit
10 n.a. 0.040 2,500 Buck and Buchholz
(2004)
Long-lines n.a. n.a. n.a. 121-409 Reith, Deurwaarder et al.
(2005)
25,000
per ha
10 n.a. 35 71 Florentinus, Hamelick et
al. (2008)
25,000
per ha
n.a. 750 per ha
+ 104 per
tonne of DM
50 669 Lenstra et al. (2011)
45,615 10 12,155 1.6 10,448 Petrell, Tabrizi et al.
(1993)

10. Estimate production costs
 Based on own experiences
Per ha lifespan
(year)
Per year Per tonne of
DM (20 tonne
yield)
Investment
in systems
Low
scenario
50,000 10 2,500 250
Investment
in systems
High
scenario
150,000 10 7,500 750
Seedlings 13,000 1 13,000 650
Labour 300 1 300 15
Harvesting 104
Total Low 1,019
High 1,519

11. Use of seaweed
 Various applications of seaweed possible:
● Food
● Thickener/Alginates
● Feed
● Production of green chemicals
● Biofuel
● Research on:
● Plant hormones
● Omega-3
● Pharmaceuticals (e.g. Mannitol)

12. Use of seaweed
 Various applications of seaweed possible:
● Food
● Thickener/Alginates
● Feed
● Production of green chemicals
● Biofuel
● Research on:
● Plant hormones
● Omega-3
● Pharmaceuticals (e.g. Mannitol)

13. If only...

14. Food
 Worldwide: largest use of
seaweeds
 Niche market in the
Netherlands
● Import from Asia,
France
● Organic segment
● Restaurants

15. Niche developments

16. And in major supermarket chain

17. Thickener
 Worldwide second-largest
market
 Up 1 million tonne
seaweeds used
 Value dependent on
contents
 Roughly 600 euro per ton
DM
 But alternatives available
(tapioca, potatoes)

18. Feed applications
 Although traditional use, literature review shows
seaweeds are better not fed directly
 Addition to pre-mix of feed is possible
 Calculation using Bestmix:
Value (euro/100 kg
94%DM)
Value (euro/tonne of
DM)
Laminaria digitata 0.00 0.00
Saccharina latissima 4.40 46.64
Palmaria palmate 11.50 121.90
Ulva lactuca 4.60 48.76

19. Use as feed additive

20. Green chemicals
 Production of basic chemicals (aceton, butanol, ethanol)
 High value chemicals
Product Market
value
Production Value
€/tonne Kg/tonne of dry
seaweed
€/tonne of dry seaweed
Acetic acid 570 247 140
Butanol 707 123 87
Lactic acid 235 486 114
Propylene glycol 1,000 133 133
Citric acid 1,414 429 606

21. Prospects
 Human food offers highest value
 Challenge to develop market for seaweed
 Other current applications offer too low values
 Some high value applications are foreseen, but under
development
 How to reduce costs and increase benefits?

22. Conclusion
 Reduce costs
● Improve production system (year round, two
yields?)
● IMTA as alternative?
● Increase yield and control product characteristics
● Examine synergy with offshore wind

23. Multi-use platforms
 Synergy with offshore wind energy in construction
and/or transport?

24. Conclusion
 Reduce costs
● Improve production system (year round, two
yields?)
● IMTA as alternative?
● Increase yield and control product characteristics
● Examine synergy with offshore wind
 Increase benefits:
● Look for combinations: high + low value
● Biorefinery required for high value applications
● And: bringing together different market actors

25. Thank you
For more information:
sander.vandenburg@wur.nl