Abstract
In Norway, seaweed cultivation is a growing sector with significant potential. Despite a lack of market demand in the last few years (a decline from 770 tons in 2023 to 470 tons in 2024), the sector is gaining momentum overall. The first permit for cultivation was granted in 2014, and this number grew to 566 in 2024 (197 currently registered as being in operation across 24 different companies).The primary species cultivated are sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) and winged kelp (Alaria esculenta), with the latter having the highest production volumes. There has been a welcome and necessary shift in recent years from companies controlling operations along the whole value chain towards a specialization into different steps: production (seeds and/or sea cultivation), processing, products and market. This specialization is helping to encourage crucial collaboration where it is needed.
At SINTEF Ocean - a multidisciplinary research institute within the SINTEF Group, Scandinavia's largest independent, non-profit research company - we have worked with seaweed cultivation for the past 17 years and contributed to building up a knowledge base that has contributed to the success and growth of the industry, not just in Norway but across Europe. We are now focused on how we can support the seaweed industry over the coming decades by helping it to conquer various bottlenecks and challenges as operations scale.
In 2022 SINTEF, together with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), established The Norwegian Seaweed Centre: national research infrastructure that promotes research and facilitates the development of new technologies for industrial cultivation and use of seaweed. An overview of the most relevant ongoing projects is given here touching upon seeding techniques, ocean modelling, kelp forest regeneration, offshore farms, land-based systems and technology development across the value chain.