BlueBlocks, our newest North Sea Farmer

2021-03-29

Who is BlueBlocks?

BlueBlocks is a cleantech start-up that develops new biobased materials for circular applications. The company is based in Rotterdam in BlueCity, where we do research in the lab and have a small production space. As sourcing material we use residual streams from various food chains. The company is founded by industrial design engineer Marjanne Cuypers. With BlueBlocks she combines her love for nature, materials and technology with the aim to help create zero waste systems. As building and disseminating knowledge is seen as a key activity to support the next generation, twenty percent of our time is dedicated to education via lectures, student projects and collaboration with research groups.

What is your relation with seaweed?

As many others we see the potential of seaweed to restore balanced and future proof eco-systems around topics as food, pharma and energy. With BlueBlocks not bering a food producer ourselves, but having food as the main focal application in mind, we do extensive research into the usage of the solid residu after extraction of proteins. Through a process of green chemistry combined with a mechanical forming process, we found a way to use the residual matter to make pressed fibre board materials. The first application is meant for the (interior) building sector. We gave it the name “SeaWood Materials - clean green building material from the sea”. With biobased building as target area, we aim to contribute to a carbon free construction industry.

What makes you a North Sea Farmer?

We see the North Sea Farmers as as a community of cooperative and complementary organisations that want to make a regional seaweed economy happen together. And as all North Sea Farmers do, we also foster collaborative relationships for a healthy blue economy that is sustainable from an economic and ecologic viewpoint. We strongly believe in the power of multiple interconnected (food) chains to create zero waste networks, in a similar way how things work in natural food webs.

Imagine 400km2 of seaweed farms in the North Sea, what will your role be in this?

With 400km2 of seaweed farms in the North Sea, we would love to take on a role in a bigger system, to close the loop with a material that stores the captured CO2 for a long time, while serving a purpose to literally build beautiful waste free living environments.

What could other North Sea Farmers approach you for?

We hope to contribute to the community with our knowledge about seaweed from a materials perspective. If other North Sea Farmers would like to know more about how we see a possible cascaded use of seaweed, see a link in general or in relation to proteins for example, our doors are open. Please find more information via www.blueblocks.nl or contact Marjanne directly via marjanne@blueblocks.nl or Marjanne Cuypers-Henderson on Linked In. We are looking forward to be part of the community!