Dr Ana Queiros, sr. marine ecologist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and an internationally recognised expert on seaweed blue carbon and climate change ecology:

“I am thrilled that Amazon is supporting this project, allowing us the opportunity to deploy the latest scientific tools to investigate the role of seaweed farming as a potential tool in emissions reductions, whilst working alongside one of the most advanced seaweed farming operations in the world. We know seaweed absorbs large quantities of CO2, but the carbon dioxide removal potential of the seaweed industry remains unproven and requires a better understanding of natural processes exporting carbon from seaweed farms, and the ability to locate where this may become stored in the long-term, both the deep ocean and the seafloor. This study will allow us to test whether we can locate such storage sites. The data we will generate will allow us to inform how offshore seaweed farming may in future be scaled up to help reduce carbon emissions.”

Bio: Ana has an extensive track record in the development of nature-based solutions for ocean management, and is leading research within globally distributed programmes that are helping practitioners build climate resilience into marine conservation and restoration (including of blue carbon habitats) as well as to develop better management for the global ocean blue carbon capacity.
Her work has led to the advancement of our understanding of seaweed blue carbon systems.
Ana is a member of the Blue Carbon Initiative, Seascape Carbon Initiative, and the UK Blue Carbon Forum.

E| anqu@pml.ac.uk
W| https://www.pml.ac.uk/science/Earth-Observation-Science-and-Applications  

Press: Dan Jones (Head of Communications)
E| dajo@pml.ac.uk

Steve Crooks, Principal | Wetland Science and Coastal Management:

“Seaweed farming has great potential to contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide down draw by extracting and transferring biomass to long term seabed storage. This project will provide important quantification of this ecosystem service and support methods that enable deployment of climate finance.”

E| steve.crooks@silvestrum.com
W| https://www.silvestrum.com/

Luca van Duren
E: Luca.vanDuren@deltares.nl
W: https://www.deltares.nl/nl/:

“This project is a great opportunity to learn more about the impact of Seaweed cultivation on the carbon cycle and on the functioning of the North Sea. It will provide sound scientific information that can be used to reduce the CO2 footprint of our food value chain, and allow us to develop a sustainable industry that operates within safe ecological boundaries.”

“Seaweed is a potentially valuable new source of food and other resources. Deltares aims to assess the positive and negative impacts of seaweed cultivation using state-of-the-art numerical models. This is one of the tools to gain insight into which scenarios yield societal and environmental benefits and what levels of upscaling may transgress the natural carrying capacity of the North Sea.”

Hugh Kelly Co-Founder & CEO at Simply Blue Group: “

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 recognise 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.”

Rachel Terry, Sustainability Programme Manager, Van Oord: 

"Van Oord’s purpose is to create a better world for future generations by delivering Marine Ingenuity, and this project exemplifies one of the ways we can fully utilise our capabilities to enhance the energy transition while empowering biodiversity. As a market leader in offshore wind, we are excited to work in on this project, bringing our offshore knowledge and engineering expertise to both the seaweed installation itself; and also the necessary operational activities within the offshore wind farm where this project will take place. We have been working with North Sea Farmers for a number of years as we believe that offshore wind and the energy transition should be nature inclusive. This project gives us the opportunity to work in a strong consortium which is critical for us to be able to address the global challenges we face.