EnAlgae Macroalgal Pilot Network - Algecenter Danmark

Introduction to the Project
2011 - 2015
The Macroalgal Pilot Network
Maeve Edwards 1 , John Bothwell 2 , Matthew Dring 2
& Jennifer Champenois 3
1 2 3

EnAlgae (Energetic Algae )
• EnAlgae is a 4 year, €14.6M Strategic Initiative of
the INTERREG IVB North West Europe (NWE)
Programme, combining the expertise and
resources of 19 Partners plus 14 Observers
encompassing 7 EU Member States.
Overall aim: To develop sustainable pathways for
algal bioenergy in NW Europe
Website: www.enalgae.eu

EnAlgae aims to:
• Improve current methods of culturing both macro- and
micro-algae, through the improvement of pilot plants.
• Integrate with existing industrial, agricultural and municipal
processes to capture and remediate flue gas CO 2 and soluble
aqueous wastes.
• Address the cultural barriers which stand in the way of
algal bioproduct use in Europe.

EnAlgae Partnership

EnAlgae WP1 –
NW European Network of Algal Pilots
A trans-national network maximising the impact of pilot
scale facilities via effective information exchange and
knowledge transfer.
Create a network of 9 algal
pilot facilities across NWE
Up-to-date inventory of
facilities in NWE and
standardised data
management system
Develop best practice for
algal strain exploitation
Demonstrate pilot plants to a
diverse range of partners,
observers, and stakeholders

EnAlgae WP2 – Sustainable algae to
energy market for NW Europe
Identify political, economic, social and technological
opportunities for algal bioenergy within NWE, delivering
information for policy-makers, industry and investors.
Assess market and
economics; assess
technology expertise
Define regulatory &
planning issues
Undertake policy
landscaping analysis
Identify life-cycle analysis
and sustainability issues

EnAlgae WP3 - Decision support tool for
practitioners, policy makers and investors
Combine information from the algal-bioenergy delivery chain into
an ICT tool to guide decision making, identify knowledge gaps and
provide a roadmap for the sustainable deployment of algal
bioenergy in NWE.
Develop modular
ICT framework to
capture general
and specialised
process knowledge
Validate tool using
different algal
biomass production
scenarios
Launch ICT tool via
online Algal
Information
Network (AIN)

EnAlgae WP1 –
NW European Network of Algal Pilots
1. UK. New algal innovation centre demonstrating a range of
microalgal growth systems (open & closed)
2. BE. New portable mixed microalgae / bacteria bioreactor
3. IE. New large scale open-sea macroalgal cultivation (longlines)
4. UK. Upgrade of microalgal flue gas CO 2 capture facility
5. DE. New microalgae production attached to advanced
aquaculture
6. NL. New outdoor microalgae production (open ponds)
7. FR. Upgrade of macroalgal raceways + longlines
8. UK. Upgrade of photobioreactors co-localised
with aquaculture and heavy industry
9. UK. New macroalgal longlines + genetic analysis
of strains

EnAlgae Macroalgal Pilot Network
This will build on work recently completed by NUIG, QUB
and BIM and funded by the Marine Institute (Ireland) on
“Development and demonstration of viable hatchery and
ongrowing methodologies for seaweed species with
identified commercial potential”
Species requested for trials:
Palmaria palmata
Laminaria digitata (Saccharina latissima added in 2010)
Porphyra spp.
Manuals to be published in BIM’s “Aquaculture
Explained” series for Palmaria and Laminaria

Development and demonstration of viable hatchery and ongrowing
methodologies for seaweed species with identified commercial
potential (Marine Institute, 2008-2011)
Locations of the project
hatcheries (letters), and licensed
sea trial sites (numbers).
A. QUB Marine Laboratory
B. NUIG Carna Research Facility
C. DOMMRS/BIM Gearhies Lab.

EnAlgae Macroalgal Pilot Network
This will build on work recently completed by NUIG,
QUB and BIM and funded by the Marine Institute
(Ireland) on “Development and demonstration of
viable hatchery and ongrowing methodologies for
seaweed species with identified commercial
potential”
[Give some details and show manuals.]

Economic assessment of Palmaria cultivation:
at sea & in tanks
Best yields of Palmaria after cultivation at sea obtained by settling spores on
nets (3 x 1.3 m, with 10-cm mesh) and harvesting the nets after 5-6 months in
the sea. Yield per net is 25-30 kg of wet Palmaria.
Assuming that standard refrigerated container used as a hatchery, only 48 nets
could be seeded and maintained prior to deployment, so total annual production
of wet Palmaria would be 1.2-1.4 tonnes. At current prices, value of crop would
be €3,000-5,000.
Capital costs to install and equip container as a hatchery: €40,000
Annual costs for consumables, electricity and labour: €90,000
Unless yields can be greatly improved, cultivating Palmaria at sea will not
provide basis for a viable business.
Tank cultivation of Palmaria:
Depreciation on equipment plus electricity for farm with 80x1-m 2 tanks: c.
€8,000 per year.
At 50 kg/tank, total yield of wet Palmaria would be 4 tonnes, worth €10,000
(€14,000 if sold dry), so small margin available to pay for limited labour required.

Cultivation of Laminaria digitata at several sites in Ireland
during 2010/2011,

Business Plan for the Establishment of a Seaweed Hatchery
and Grow-out Farm
Lucy Watson & Matthew Dring, BIM, 2011

Business Plan for the Establishment of a Seaweed Hatchery
and Grow-out Farm
Lucy Watson & Matthew Dring, BIM, 2011

EnAlgae Macroalgal Pilot Network – sea trial sites
Partner Site Site
size
QUB
(Northern
Ireland, UK)
CEVA
(Brittany,
France)
NUIG
(Ireland)
Strangford Lough,
Co. Down
Brittany coast,
potentially several
locations at existing
oyster farms
Onshore tanks
Ventry Harbour,
Co. Kerry
Bertraghboy Bay,
Co. Galway
~8 ha.
(1 ha.
used)
6 ha.
(1 ha.
used)
18 ha.
(1 ha.
used)
Site
characteristics
• Near shore
• ++ Tidal Height
• +++ Currents
• + Wave action
• Mixed substrate
• Near shore
• ++ Wave action?
• +++ Tidal Height
• +++ Currents
• ? substrate
• Near shore
• + Wave action
• + Tidal Height
• + Current
• Sand substrate
Bioremediation?
Not at site, but
modeling kelp growth
around local sewage
outfalls
Yes – onshore tank
facilities using
fishtank effluents,
plus collaboration
with oyster farmers
Yes – using
Bertraghboy Bay site
with cod farm and
scallop production in
IMTA system

Development and demonstration of viable hatchery and ongrowing
methodologies for seaweed species with identified commercial
potential (Marine Institute, 2008-2011)
Locations of the project
hatcheries (letters), and licensed
sea trial sites (numbers).
A. QUB Marine Laboratory
B. NUIG Carna Research Facility
C. DOMMRS/BIM Gearhies Lab.

EnAlgae Macroalgal Pilot Network – planned actions
Partner Hatchery Site structures Site capacity (m rope)
QUB
(Northern
Ireland, UK)
CEVA
(Brittany,
France)
NUIG
(Ireland)
•Upgrade of current
facilities planned
•Upgrade of current
facilities planned
•No upgrade
necessary – only
consumables
required
• Linear longlines to fill
1 ha.
• Infrastructure
required
• Linear longlines to fill
1 ha.
• Infrastructure
required
• Seaweed grid to fill
1 ha.
• Infrastructure
required
• Max. 10 x100-m longlines per
ha. = 1000 m culture rope
required from hatchery
• Realistic yield estimate = 6 kg
wet per m x1000 m = 6 tonnes
• As above
• Already have 30 m x 30 m
grid in place; 50 x 50 m (or
larger) modular system to be
installed.
• Capacity per grid at least
1250 m culture rope. Up to
2500 m. (7.5-15 tonnes wet)

EnAlgae WP1:
Macroalgal pilot network – planned actions
Species used: Saccharina latissima, Alaria esculenta, Laminaria
digitata and L. hyperborea, Chorda filum, Saccorhiza
polyschides
(possibly Undaria pinnatifida in CEVA, but not in QUB or NUIG)
Environmental Monitoring:
All sea sites
Focus on deployment periods (October to May/June)
Necessary parameters: temperature, current velocity, salinity,
turbidity, irradiance, nutrients, CO2, O2, chlorophyll
Additional parameters (subject to funds):
Wave action (modelled?)
Benthic invertebrate monitoring

Marine Institute (Ireland)
Marine Research Sub-Programme - Seaweed
Development of a methodology for the quantitative
assessment of Ireland’s inshore kelp resource
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
Partners:
QUB,
Envision Mapping Ltd,
UC Cork
• Develop, trial and assess potential methodologies for estimation of kelp
standing stock biomass at two inshore sites (1 on SW Coast and 1 on West
coast);
• Carry out acoustic trials to estimate kelp biomass (including appropriate
ground-truthing) and, where appropriate, fine-tune the methodology.

Echograms from (top) Channel 1 (38kHz) and (bottom) Channel 2 (200kHz).

Stages in converting PVI records to map the distribution of kelp biomass
for the Crump Island site (Co. Galway) in the west coast survey.
Track point PVI
data
Interpolate to grid
Contour PVI values
Apply regression for
biomass estimation

Map of predicted biomass of Laminaria hyperborea for Crump
Island site (Co. Galway) in the west coast survey.

Bioremediation
of treated
sewage
effluents
Serrated wrack,
Fucus serratus

Sewage treatment plant
with access to seawater
for admixture of
effluent – Ballyrickard
Sewage Treatment
Plant, Newtownards,
Co. Down
Seaweed tolerant to low
salinity
Seaweed that is
abundant, easy to
harvest and is efficient
at removing inorganic
nutrients
What do you need?
Fucus
serratus

Seaweed-biofilter
system

µmol / L
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Ballyrickard Sewage Treatment Works,
Newtownards, Co. Down
NO3
PO4
NH4
July 2001
Inorganic nutrient
concentrations of
seawater/effluent mix
% removal
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5
Days (July 2001)
Removal of inorganic nutrients
by the algae (measurements:
every 2h over 2d)
NO3
PO4
NH4

Island of Ios (Aegean Sea,
Greece)

Ios (Aegean) STW & bioremediation trial

Removal of phosphate by the green seaweed Ulva lactuca in a
small scale sewage treatment plant (Ios island, Aegean Sea,
Greece)
P. Tsagkamilis, D. Danielidis, M.J. Dring and C. Katsaros
University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Athens 157 84, Greece
Queen's University Marine Laboratory, Portaferry, Co. Down,
BT22 1PF, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Journal of Applied Phycology (2010) 22: 331-339