Amazon: World’s First Commercial Scale Seaweed Farm
The United Nations says carbon capture is vital to reach net zero in line with the Paris Agreement targets.
As part of Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund (RNCF), the company is supporting the establishment of a seaweed farm called North Sea Farm 1 (NSF).
NSF 1 was created in the Netherlands for North Sea farmers and European scientists to cultivate seaweed and research how this can reverse the negative effects of global warming.
This farm has the potential to grow a minimum of 6,000 kg of seaweed a year. This can be used for carbon capture, food and clothing.
With the Paris Agreement’s deadlines soon approaching, Amazon has a pledge to reach net zero by 2040 alongside using only renewable and sustainable energy by 2025.
Roeland Donker, Netherlands Country Manager at Amazon, says: “This project plays a vital role in Amazon’s broader sustainability story and everything we do to explore and support ways that can restore biodiversity and help fight climate change.
“There is still so much to explore and learn from seaweed cultivation and sequestration in our oceans.
“The fact that we can play a role in this, supporting vital research by North Sea farmers and their partners – which one day we hope to share with the world – is incredibly exciting.”
How seaweed cultivation can support environmental goals
Seaweed is grown on longlines submerged along the water surface, anchored by buoys or vertically to occupy less space. This industry provides multiple ways to help decarbonise the atmosphere.
Benefits of Amazon culturing seaweed include:
- Water purification
- Increase in biodiversity
- Preservation of ecosystems
- The reduction of potentially harmful chemicals like nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus
The use of seaweed for this purpose could be revolutionary.
NSF 1 is located in the 'Hollandse Kust Zuid' wind farm in the Netherlands.
Eef Brouwers, Managing Director at NSF, explains: "North Sea Farm 1 is placed in a previously unused space between wind turbines, allowing the project to expand seaweed cultivation in the otherwise heavily utilised North Sea.
“If seaweed farming were to expand to occupy the entire space occupied by wind farms, expected to be approximately one million hectares by 2040, this could capture and avoid millions of tons of CO2 annually."
“The farming of seaweed can contribute to achieving the EU’s objectives in terms of decarbonisation, zero pollution, circularity, the preservation and restoration of biodiversity, the protection of ecosystems and the development of environmental services," explains Felix Leinemann, Head of the Blue Economy Sectors Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning Unit at the European Commission.
Amazon’s pledge to climate change
Amazon is one of the most sustainable large companies in the world, ranked at number 11 in Sustainability Magazine’s Top 100 Companies 2024.
The company's Global Refugee Challenge won the Project of the Year award at the Global Sustainability & ESG Awards 2024 for empowering people to solve the refugee crisis.
The online retail giant has done this through its ‘Climate Pledge Fund’, investing US$2bn to support sustainable technologies and services.
Some investments from ‘The Climate Pledge Fund’ include:
- Agriculture that requires 95% less water
- Ammonia-powered cargo ships
- The cut-down of carbon fueled transport.
The company has donated US$2.4m to help Madrid carry out an environmental project called Arco Verde, aiming to reforest 16.7 hectares of greenery. This will benefit the local wildlife by producing a better ecosystem, alongside providing paths and bike lanes to promote sustainable travel.
A total of US$1bn has been donated by Amazon to accelerate climate action by protecting and preserving the world's tropical rainforests.
It’s not just rainforests – National Parks are receiving support from Amazon. Belgium’s national park, Brabantse Wouden, has received US$1.1m from the business. Maintenance of these UNESCO-listed ancient woodlands will help to preserve what hasn’t been altered since the ice age.
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