Seaweed Materials Initiative

Seaweed requires no land, pesticides, or freshwater, and supports ecosystems by improving water quality and sequestering carbon. With a fast-growing €9 billion EU market, Sweden has untapped potential to capture a larger share. The project addresses key barriers: inconsistent raw material supply, inefficient processing, limited functionality, weak industrial alignment, and competition with fossil-based alternatives. It unites the full value chain, seaweed farmers, processors, converters, brands, and researchers, to take research into practice and co-develop scalable solutions.

Four work packages guide the work: (WP1) creating a framework for standardized raw material grades, (WP2) developing efficient refining and fractionation methods from lab to pilot scale, (WP3) creating initial prototypes for commercial applications using sugar kelp fractions, and (WP4) assessing sustainability, business models, and circularity.

The Consortium (from Industry, Academy and NGOs) will deliver a standardization method for sugar kelp, pilot-scale refining and fractionation methods, two to three end-use prototypes, and business cases with initial environmental assessments. Long-term outcomes will strengthen Swedish bio-based value chains, reduce fossil reliance, and unlock the potential of sugar kelp as a sustainable industrial feedstock.

Read more about the project: 

Seaweed Materials Initiative – Transforming Sugar Kelp into an Industrial Feedstock - Axfoundation