- Created on
- 30 September 2025
- Theme
- EU4Algae
Published on 30 September 2025
The Insider’s Perspective series shines a spotlight on the innovative and cutting-edge stakeholders shaping the algae sector’s future. In this twenty-first edition, we highlight SeaMark, a Horizon Europe project demonstrating how to scale up European seaweed cultivation and processing into competitive, market-ready product applications. By addressing key challenges such as high production costs, labour-intensive cultivation, and value chain inefficiencies, SeaMark is paving the way for a more sustainable, circular, and economically resilient seaweed industry in Europe. Discover how SeaMark is creating tangible environmental, economic, and social impact while supporting the growth of a thriving European seaweed sector.
SeaMark: Advancing a Competitive and Sustainable European Seaweed Industry
SeaMark is a four-year Horizon Europe project demonstrating how to scale innovative seaweed cultivation and processing into price-competitive product applications. By showcasing high-TRL, market-ready bio-based products (Figure 1), the project aims to convince stakeholders and decision-makers that technological innovation, resource efficiency, and environmental remediation can work together to create long-term value for European society. By doing so, SeaMark supports the transition to a green, circular economy, and generates economic benefits such as potential monetisation of ecosystem services through carbon credits and new job opportunities in the rapidly growing aquaculture sector. Overall, the project strengthens European resource self-sufficiency, resilience, and competitiveness.
Scaling Up Production for Market Impact
A key challenge for the European seaweed industry is reaching a scale of production sufficient to justify investment in advanced technologies. Techno-economic assessments show that business models become profitable only once production surpasses a critical threshold. SeaMark has supported advancement along the entire value chain, from seeding to product development, helping the industry scale efficiently and attract commercial investment.
Mechanising Seaweed Cultivation
Seaweed cultivation remains highly labour-intensive, with labour costs representing a major portion of overall business expenses. Reducing manual work is therefore critical to make European seaweed more price-competitive. Within SeaMark, Ocean Rainforest, together with Seawiser and Sirputis, developed the High-Speed SeaSeeder, a mechanised direct seeding machine that significantly accelerates line seeding while lowering labour requirements (Table 1).
Additional improvements, such as a more efficient adhesive and an automated rope cutter, are being implemented to further reduce material costs and manual effort.
Innovating Seaweed Pre-Processing
Ocean Rainforest has developed an alternative pre-processing method using fermentation to stabilise fresh biomass. This approach significantly reduces processing costs compared to conventional drying, which is energy-intensive. The installation of a new fermentation tank allows larger volumes to be processed safely and efficiently, boosting overall throughput and supporting scalable production.
Scaling Biorefinery Innovation
OCEANIUM has developed a highly technical and innovative biorefinery process at scale, achieving a processing capacity of 5 tonnes per day of sustainably cultivated European seaweed. This advancement enables the production of functional, market-ready seaweed-based ingredients for food, health, skincare, and materials, meeting growing demand for clean-label ingredients while benefiting both human health and ocean health.
Navigating Challenges and Shaping the Future
SeaMark’s regulatory assessment has highlighted several barriers faced by EU cultivators and product developers compared to global competitors. As a new industry, regulatory requirements vary across countries, creating dissonance in permit procedures and product standards. Stringent food- and feed regulations, including Novel Food compliance, make market entry costly, while the lack of differentiation between inorganic and organic arsenic further limits industrial adoption. Addressing these challenges is essential to streamlining the market introduction of new seaweed-based products.
For guidance and policy impact, SeaMark collaborates closely with EU4Algae, highlighting industry needs and recommendations. Key results will be summarised in a Strategic Development Plan for the Scale-Up of the European Seaweed Industry, along with Policy and Investor Recommendations, aligned with EU4Algae’s ongoing work on licensing toolkits and standardisation developments, and paving the way for a more resilient and competitive European seaweed sector.
Stay Connected with SeaMark
Learn more about the SeaMark project and follow its progress by visiting the official website and staying up to date via LinkedIn.
Additional information
Join the #EU4Algae conversation and keep an eye on the EU4Algae Forum to stay updated on ongoing activities, initiatives, and sector updates.
Got questions? Contact us at: contact
eu4algae [dot] eu (contact[at]eu4algae[dot]eu).