Simply Blue Group, a blue economy project developer headquartered in Ireland, has joined the North Sea Farm 1 Project (NSF1) consortium to develop the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located within an offshore windfarm. Positioned off the coast of the Netherlands in the North Sea, the 10 ha farm is planned to become operational in autumn this year when it will be deployed and seeded, with the first harvest expected to be in spring 2025.

Sponsored by Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, the consortium aims to help address climate action targets in Europe by tapping into the vast, unmet potential of seaweed cultivation. Like trees, seaweed absorbs nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, thereby being part of the solution to climate change and ocean acidification. In doing this, it produces a valuable biomass with a wide range of uses from pharmaceuticals to animal feed to fertilizers.

Simply Blue Group is focused on replacing fossil fuels with clean ocean energy, removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and developing sustainable sources of protein, while attracting investment into coastal communities. It has a keen interest in multiple uses of wind farms and believes that efficient use of sea space is key to working with the oceans on climate change and bringing more local communities and supply chains into the transition of a low carbon economy.

Hugh Kelly Co-Founder & CEO at Simply Blue Group said: “At Simply Blue Group, we want our marine projects to make a tangible difference, which is why we’re delighted to join this consortium. We recognize that seaweed cultivation is a valuable tool in tackling climate change and supporting our oceans. We believe that in time offshore wind farms will have multiple uses, with seaweed production being one of them. By joining NSF1 we are making the first step on that journey.”

Eef Brouwers, Project Manager of the North Sea Farm 1 initiative added: “We are delighted that Simply Blue Group has joined the consortium to help deliver this project. Their expertise in aquaculture and offshore wind will be valuable in the successful execution of seaweed production in an offshore wind farm for the first time. The North Sea Farm 1 project aims to help the seaweed industry in scaling up within offshore wind farms and Simply Blue Group’s capabilities in both areas make them an ideal partner.”