The economics of large-scale seaweed cultivation. Ir. Patrice Vandendaele. AT~SEA Technologies, Belgium

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2 The economics of large-scale seaweed cultivation Ir. Patrice Vandendaele AT~SEA Technologies, Belgium

3 AT~SEA Technologies, spin-off of AT~SEA project 1. Cultivation of Seaweed 2. Seaweed- Feedstock of the future 3. Focus on the following current & potential Markets 4. Environmental impact 5. The AT~SEA farm 6. SWOT analysis 7. AT~SEA Technologies 8. Questions

4 1. Cultivation of seaweed

5 Which seaweed? Brown seaweed (Kelp) Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp, Kombu) Laminaria digitata (sea girdles or sea tangle) The fastest growing plants in the world, producing large amount of biomass. prefer the growth conditions of the cold-temperate and arctic zones, which in Europe stretch from northern Portugal to northern Norway small red & green species will not be part of this business plan at the present time From brown seaweeds only alginates can be extracted

6 2. Seaweed- Feedstock of the future

7 Seaweed - Feedstock of the future Industrial hydrocolloids (alginates) Human consumption Animal feed (ingredients and supplements) Chemicals (biorefinery) Cosmetics IMTA Fertilisers Biofuels

8 3. Focus on the following current & potential Markets

9 Current & potential Markets: Human food High prices for end consumer seaweed ( 30,000/ton dried seaweed) Marketing campaign can stimulate consumption Low volume market in Europe High margin market Potential for export of high quality seaweeds to Japan

10 Current & potential market: Food additives Mainly alginates High volume market Existing market High price for seaweed ( 1,150-1,750/ton dried seaweed) Using wild harvested seaweeds Environmental impact Limited source Unreliable quality Price fluctuation Growing demand for seaweed

11 Current & potential Market : Bioremediation Fish farmers operating in low margin market but a lot of benefits regarding the fish quality Huge volume market potential Legislation driven demand but also market driven Big push from the NGO s Non-existing market but highly promising

12 Current & potential Market : Bioremediation (Potential) benefits of IMTA Maximum use of uneaten fish feed Productive use of waste produced by the fishes (faeces) Improve the bio diversity(shelter for other organisms Higher seaweed yield Source for marine fish feed Reduction of sea lice Reduction of licence cost («Bio-farm»)

13 Current & potential market : Feed Aquaculture (fish, abalones, urchins) Agriculture (fertilizers) Protein source for animals (cow, broilers, piglets, ) Low price for seaweed ( 280/ton dried seaweed) as protein Real added value when considering the functional properties and health benefits (added value of 250 up to 950 /ton dried seaweed

14 Current & potential market : biorefinery High price for seaweed / high added value Huge potential for cosmetics, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals Medium volume market Non-existing but very promising market

15 Current & potential markets : conclusions 1. IMTA in conjunction with fish farms 2. Food additives (alginates) 3. Human food 4. Feed additives 5. Biorefinery

16 4. Environmental impact

17 Environmental impact Workshop with NGO s World Wildlife Foundation Greenpeace Coastwatch Europe The Crown Estate Seaweeds farms are very well perceived

18 5. The AT~SEA farm

19 The AT~SEA farm A typical farm 32 Ha Yearly production of T / year WW (670 T dried) Investment of : from 3,0 up to 4,0 M depending of infrastructure on shore (dryer, warehouse, etc Cost price of the seaweeds ( 250 /T and 300 /T)

20 The AT~SEA farm Challenges Mechanized seeding Mechanized harvesting (target 1Ha/day) Drying operations Storage of the seaweeds Modularity of the seeding & harvesting equipment Two harvest / year

21 7. SWOT Analysis

22 SWOT Analysis Strength Unique business model (One stop shopping + services) Better yield/m² The structure is designed in function of mechanization No competitor Good balanced consortium

23 SWOT Analysis Weakness Currently slightly more expensive than wild harvest Designed for brown seaweeds One harvest/year

24 SWOT Analysis Opportunities (1) Hydrocolloid industry wants cultivated material Long European sea coast with high quality water Get the support of the authorities & NGO s Same technology can be used for the red seaweeds Market opportunities in South America, Africa and Asia IMTA, bioremediation IMTA well developed in Asia Wild harvest has limits Pollution of the Chinese and Japanese seas Asian interest in European products

25 SWOT Analysis Opportunities (2) Growing demand for seaweed ( renewable biomass, bio components, nutrients) Surf on the Blue Growth (H2020) Societal interest in cooking, new ingredients, functional foods, healthy products, nutraceuticals, etc. Raising food market in Europe Cultivated macroalgae is considered one of the largest un-exploited global biomass resources for a sustainable production of food and replacement of fossil resources Neutral carbon footprint Climate change

26 SWOT Analysis Threads Low cost of fossil resources Low cost of fossil based chemicals

27 7. AT~SEA Technologies

28 The investors Devan Chemicals (B) Eurofilet (Fr) Hortimare (NL) MTI (NL) Ocean Fuel (Irl) Sioen (B) Technored (Sp) Centexbel (B) SAMS (UK) AT~SEA Technologies

29 AT~SEA Technologies To propose turnkey seaweeds farms Selection of the site Design and deployment of the mooring system Fully equipped farms using patented and award winning 2D textile cultivation substrates Equipment (seeding & harvesting) Juveniles Monitoring, servicing, harvesting, One-stop shopping

30 Schedule Installation of the Park in Norway in Sept 2015 The Park 1ha 5,000 m² effective (70T ww) 5 different designed including long rope for benchmarking : engineering to obtain optimized cultivation system Mid 2017: start of commercialisation

31 8. Questions?

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