Giant Seaweed Farm in the Middle of the Ocean Aims to Be a Global Carbon Sink

by Isabella O'Malley (The Weather Network) ... One concept from Seafields Solutions looks to utilize some unlikely real estate by developing a giant seaweed farm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean capable of capturing a gigatonne of carbon dioxide annually.

This England-founded company aims to be on the frontlines of the “ocean-based agricultural revolution” by scaling the farm to 94,000-square-kilometres within the North Atlantic gyre, where it will swirl around and largely stay in place.

In an interview with The Weather Network, John Auckland, Director and Co-Founder of Seafields Solutions, explained that not only is removing carbon from the atmosphere an urgent issue to mitigate severe impacts from climate change, but the seaweed can be used to create sustainable products like biofuel and bioplastic.

Once the sargassum is grown to a certain size it will be harvested and compressed into bales that are destined for the bottom of the ocean. Seafields Solutions refers to these bales as “carbon batteries” because once they are sunk, the carbon that is trapped within them will remain at the bottom of the ocean and out of the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Auckland says that the Sargassum can be used to make sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based products, such as biofuel, bioplastics, and emulsifiers.

“The cosmetics industry is absolutely dependent on oil because they need emulsifiers, which make oil mix with water. It’s absolutely essential in a lot of cosmetic products and our food,” Auckland explained. READ MORE