U.S. launches program to advance deep-water seaweed farming

U.S. aims to fuel energy markets, grow industries and boost ocean tech leadership

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a $25 million program to grow seaweed in deep waters to create energy and industrial products. Called the Harnessing Autonomy for Energy Joint Ventures Offshore (HAEJO) program, it will use the United States’ massive ocean territory – the largest in the world – to develop a large-scale seaweed farming industry.

By partnering with South Korea, which has experience in seaweed farming, the program aims to expand deep-water seaweed cultivation, grow maritime industries and diversify U.S. energy biomass production sources in U.S. waters.

“HAEJO’s offshore seaweed cultivation technologies could unlock new opportunities for the energy sector,” said ARPA-E Director Evelyn N. Wang. “They will both reduce the strain on land and freshwater resources and enable a new, domestic, megaton-scale supply source.”

The HAEJO program will tackle the key challenges of building a cost-effective seaweed farming industry by developing advanced technologies. These include new sensors for autonomous operations, innovative methods for delivering nutrients in deep waters, efficient ways to remove water from harvested seaweed and tools to support large-scale cultivation.

By collaborating with South Korean seaweed experts, the program aims to speed up the growth of the U.S. seaweed industry. The goal is to cut cultivation costs by 75 percent, create new energy-focused seaweed markets in the U.S. and scale up domestic production by 1,000 times.

“Leveraging work efforts in this field from around the world gives HAEJO technologies the potential to accelerate U.S. energy independence, and secure U.S. leadership in ocean industry and technology,” said Wang.

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