Background and Organizational Overview

ENGO is the leading initiative developing end-to-end methodologies needed to implement scalable, Asparagopsis taxiformis (“AT” seaweed) ocean farming to improve the economic and climate performance of ruminant animal production.  Ruminant animal production is the single largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions, responsible for approximately 5% of global GHG emissions with emissions forecast to double by 2050. COP 26 identified reducing methane as the most effective near-term strategy to limit warming to 1.5˚C. Reducing methane emissions 30% by 2030 could lower global temperatures by 0.2˚C

Use of AT as a functional feed additive offers one of the most promising paths to reducing methane emissions at a globally meaningful scale. Numerous peer reviewed studies have demonstrated that supplementing just 0.2% of cows’ diets with AT can reduce their enteric methane emissions by >80%, while simultaneously improving feed efficiency by 14%². Feed cost savings create a strong incentive for rapid adoption. Improving feed efficiency also reduces the feed “footprint”, allowing more land to be conserved while reducing consumption of water, energy, and other agricultural inputs.  

ENGO has assembled an international scientific team which has completed over 250 studies to develop and refine the foundational methods needed to launch a new, restorative global AT farming industry with the potential for transformative climate impact — reducing GHG emissions to slow the pace of climate change. Working in the US, Portugal, Holland and Vietnam the team brings with commercial, technical and management experience, our team is fully committed to the success of the project.

Seaweed farming has also proven highly effective in alleviating poverty. Yet, its impact has been limited by the modest size of the market for established seaweed products. In contrast, the market for AT is estimated at over US$6 billion per year — a potential market larger than the entire current seaweed cultivation industry across all species. As such, a successful model for AT ocean farming holds vast potential for new economic opportunity for coastal communities on the front lines of climate change.

Realizing these global scale benefits requires the establishment of an entirely new seaweed farming sector. To date, AT has never been commercially farmed and the knowledge required to master its life cycle has only recently been developed by ENGO project developers. This project will build from this foundation to accelerate the development of this new seaweed farming sector by bridging the gap between the science and commercial operations.  Successful realization of the project’s objectives are expected to catalyze significant private sector investment, create tens of thousands of new jobs, and reduce the food sectors’ methane emissions and climate impact at a globally meaningful scale.  

Project Description

Our core objective is to accelerate the establishment of a commercial AT seaweed cultivation sectors which provides economic opportunities for small holder producers and improves the efficiency and environmental performance of ruminant animal production.  To realize these objectives, we will complete a geospatial survey to identify three (3) highly promising areas to establish new “farming clusters” – focusing on locations with existing seaweed farming sectors where AT is native.

We will select (1) location in Africa, (1) in SE Asia and (1) in Australasia to provide a broader range of environmental conditions to understand optimal siting requirements for year-round ocean farming while assessing a broader genetic base for cultivation. The siting criteria used will also ensure that each cluster is in an area capable of supporting significant expansion following the demonstration phase.Each demonstration site will be done collaboration with well-established local partner(s) who have a track record of success in the community, ideally in the seaweed and/or aquaculture sector.

After completing the geospatial modeling and qualifying prospective local partners, we will establish a dedicated technology transfer team for each cluster and use project funds to establish the infrastructure needed to transfer the technology and undertake project’s implementation over a 3-year period.  The core infrastructure, requiremetns and functions for each cluster are summarized below and will include:

·        Seedbank – Facilities to collect, isolate, evaluate, hold and scale up reproductive biomass from locally collected AT stocks.  This aspect of the project will result in the identification of a founding population of mono-clonal broodstock with demonstrated performance characteristics which can be used to support long term sector development in that region.

·        Hatchery/Nursery – Controlled environmental facilities to induce year-round spore release from local isolates and transfer and develop the spores onto ropes prior to transfer to the sea for ocean outgrowing.  The hatchery and nursery facilities will be sized to support 50 Hectors of ocean-based cultivation during the demonstration phase, with the potential for significant expansion after. The objective will be to transfer seeded ropes from the land-based nursery to the ocean-farms on a year-round basis.

• Demonstration Farm(s) – Each cluster will support the establishment of 4-10 ocean farms in the area. The farms will utilize the low-cost, modular sub-surface farming system developed by Greener Grazing in Vietnam. This system may be adapted to local conditions, based on site conditions and the experience of the local partner and participating farmers. At least two farms will be owned and operated by the project operating entity to support research and training, with the balance being run by local farmers, as appropriate. The grow-out farms will be supplied with seeded ropes and training support to successfully operate the farms.
• Post-Harvest Processing – Facilities for post-harvest oil extraction of the fresh seaweed biomass to preserve the bioactive compounds and prepare the material for transportation and distribution to end users for testing and commercial sale.
• Other Support Infrastructure – Training facilities, offices, laboratory, accommodations, and other facilities required to support project implementation.

Statement of Need

The core methodologies required to execute all on-land production stages of AT cultivation have only recently reached a level of maturity where ocean farming is possible. This project will build from this foundation by establishing three (3) demonstration project sites which will serve to advance the state of knowledge needed to identify optimal production sites while transferring cultivation technology to several of the most promising geographies and ensuring economic participation by smallholder farmers.

The funding need arises from the lack of prior history of commercial AT ocean farming and the crucial importance of accelerating commercialization to include multiple geographies to reduce technical risk and support the more rapid expansion following commercial demonstration. While several companies have announced plans to commence AT sporophyte culture using on land bioreactors, the energetics of this approach result in a cost structure that is lily to preclude scale-up to globally meaningful levels. Additionally, the very large investment requirements associated with on-land bioreactors will preclude economic participation by smallholder producers.

This is the only project focused exclusively on production of tropical Asparagopsis in the sea.  Recognizing that >99% of farmed seaweed is cultivated in the sea, the project will demonstrate the complete production pathway, benefiting from the vastly lower cost, greater scalability and historical success of ocean-based cultivation.  Project costs are estimated at US15 million

Summary

The project will play a critical role in closing the gap between emerging scientific knowledge and commercial application — significantly accelerating the pace of development and extending technical and commercialization development to additional geographies to de-risk the next phase of technical development while ensuring the long-term economic participation for small holder producers on the front lines of climate change.

Technically, the project will advance in the state of knowledge and commercial experience across all stages of the AT ocean farming production chain. Specifically, it will support the identification and development of high-performance localized AT stains in local seed banks and expand the understanding of genetic:environmental interactions and create seed stocks to support cultivation in high potential geographies. The localization and refinement of hatchery and nursery protocols will support the long-term success of the farming clusters and the expansion of these core knowledge to other locations over time.  By undertaking ocean farming across multiple sites within these distinct, geographically diverse locations, we expect to gain a far deeper understanding of the optimal site requirements for AT farming years faster than it would otherwise occur.

Noting that AT is native to over 60 countries around the world, the successful implementation of this project could lead to broadly shared benefits in many countries.  The achievable market for AT exceeds US$6 billion making it larger than the combined markets of all other farmed seaweed species globally. AT production holds potential for bioremediation from uptake of excess nutrients and CO2 to combat ocean acidification while playing a role in habit restoration to enhance biodiversity.  In sum, establishing a commercially viable AT farming industry offers unparalleled opportunity for near-term reduction of methane emissions from livestock production while catalyzing a new, restorative seaweed farming sector with substantial economic and environmental benefits to coastal communities across diverse geographies.