A newly established Irish seaweed company has secured funding for an EU project to expand the growth of the “superfood” in Ireland’s waters.
Galway-based company Óir na Farraige is collaborating with the EU’s Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to examine the role that seaweed farming can play in “developing sustainable food systems and strengthening bio-based industries”.
“Seaweed has enormous potential as a sustainable marine crop,” Óir na Farraige managing director Gareth Murphy says.
“A key challenge for the sector is reaching the scale required to supply emerging markets consistently. This project focuses on how we can reduce production costs, improve cultivation efficiency and connect seaweed biomass with real industrial demand,” he says.
The project also brings together partners from Ireland and Norway, and has a total value of €1.5 million, supported by funding from EIT’s food arm.
EIT Food is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
“Seaweed is increasingly recognised as a versatile marine resource with applications ranging from bio-stimulants for agriculture to functional ingredients and bio-based materials,” Murphy says.
“Yet, despite surging interest and expanding cultivation across Europe, the industry faces a critical hurdle: building robust supply chains capable of delivering consistent, high-quality biomass at a commercially viable scale,” he says.
“If seaweed is to fulfil its potential as a competitive raw material for bio-based industries, two things are essential: reducing production costs and improving operational efficiency,” he says.
As part of the project, Norwegian partner Arctic Seaweed will demonstrate elements of its integrated seaweed cultivation platform in Irish waters for the first time.
This system combines advanced cultivation infrastructure with processes such as direct seeding, designed from the outset to support large-scale, industrial seaweed production.
University of Galway partners will evaluate seaweed farming’s ecosystem service contributions and life cycle impacts to validate its potential as a regenerative aquaculture solution, the project says.
Murphy says that by integrating multiple cultivation steps into a streamlined operational system, the technology “simplifies farm deployment, reduces operational complexity, and enables significantly higher biomass yields per hectare than traditional cultivation methods”.
“Insights from the demonstration will help inform the next phase of development for Óir na Farraige’s cultivation operations, helping prepare the company for planned commercial production from 2028 onwards,” he says.
