A vast opportunity

The European offshore area (Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ) is about 7 million km². A seaweed farming cluster covering an area of 500 km² would yield about 10 million tonnes of wet weight seaweed per year (assuming 200 tonnes/ha). 

For example, five such farming clusters (2,500 km²) spread around in the European waters from Norway to Portugal would represent only 0.03 % of the European EEZ, and would yield 50 million tonnes seaweed annually. This biomass may be converted to about 2.1 billion litres of bioethanol or alternatively 1 billion m³ biomethane (12.6 TWh). 2.1 billion litres from seaweed would represent about 26 % of European bioethanol production and 2.5 % of global production in 2010.

SES envisages seaweed biorefineries producing both energy carriers and a range of useful petrochemical replacements and other co-products.