THE INNOVATION IS SPREADING

Futurefeed has partnered with companies across the world to expand the use of Asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed as a feed ingredient to cut down on methane emissions.

Volta Greentech, a Stockholmbased startup, is working to grow the red seaweed sustainably, in vertical bioreactors. The company is currently building its second factory, which is slated to become the world’s largest red seaweed factory. It recently announced the results of a pilot project on a commercial cattle farm. In line with some of Kinley’s early testing, the red seaweed feed supplement reduced methane emissions by 80 per cent.

The Hawaiian startup Symbrosia is currently using a red seaweed supplement commercially on three farms—one in New York state, one in Washington state, and one in Hawaii—and has seen a 90 per cent reduction in methane emissions. It is one of three companies recently awarded the Blue Climate Initiative’s $1 million Ocean Innovation Prize.

Late last year, Blue Ocean Barns released the findings of the first commercial trial of a red seaweed supplement on a dairy farm in the US Methane emissions of 24 cows in California were measured four times a day. Levels dropped an average of 52 per cent and as much as 90 per cent over seven weeks. During that time, the equivalent of five tonnes of CO2 emissions were averted.

scientists are also exploring other avenues to help reduce methane:

A research project at Queen’s University Belfast is evaluating the qualities of brown and green seaweeds native to the UK and Ireland (as opposed to red seaweed, which Anji Silvavadgama grows in warmer climates). The project is teaming up with the supermarket chain Morrisons and will be adding the seaweed to fodder for dairy cows in Northern Ireland this year.

Logistics are top of mind for the Australian project Greener Grazing. Large-scale cultivation and production of red seaweed will be needed to reduce methane emissions in a significant way, so the researchers are focused on producing, recovering, and seeding spores used in cultivation. They’ve also developed a modular ocean-based farming system using submerged tube nets for cultivation.