Conference Program

Seagriculture EU

21- 22 June 2023

Trondheim, Norway

The Seagriculture EU 2023 conference program is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the seaweed industry, from the latest research to practical applications in the marketplace. With a diverse range of sessions, the conference provides an opportunity for attendees to learn from experts in the field, network with industry professionals, and stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the seaweed industry.


Program is tentative and subject to change.

20 June 2023 

15:00 - 17:00 Walking seaweed tour at Korsvika Beach

15:00 - 17:00 Site visit to SINTEF and NTNUs laboratories

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Conference day 1: Wednesday 21 June 2023

9:00 - 9:30 Opening of the conference

Kuno Jacobs, Managing Director, DLG Benelux, the Netherlands

Bjørnar Skjæran, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, NorwayVegar Johansen, CEO, SINTEF Ocean, Norway

Morning Chair: Simon Freeman, Program Director, ARPA-E, USA

9:30 - 9:50 Keynote presentation: 

Fantasy and reality related to scaling up seaweed cultivation

Olavur Gregersen, CEO, Co-founder, Ocean Rainforest, Faroe Islands

9:50 - 11:10 Session 1: Offshore seaweed farming 

This session discusses the opportunities and challenges related to seaweed cultivation under offshore conditions. Aspects such as smart farming, mechanization, and offshore wind parks will be discussed.

9:50 - 10:10: Seaweed Solutions AS, the past, present, and the future. What lessons have we learned after 14 years in operation and what do we think about the future?

Ole Christian Norvik, CEO, Seaweed Solutions, Norway

10:10 - 10:30: Overcoming bottlenecks: advancements in mechanization for the seaweed Industry

Jonas Kamasauskas, Head of R&D, Metal Production, Lithuania

10:30 - 10:50: Moving offshore – challenges and lessons learned in Saccharina latissima cultivation in the Belgian Part of the North Sea

Dr. Jessica Knoop, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University, Phycology Research Group, Belgium

10:50 - 11:10: Resolving ‘offshore’ aquaculture: the distinct effects of distance and exposure energy on the levelized cost of seaweed

Tobias Dewhurst, Ocean Engineer, Kelson Marine, USA

11:10 - 11:40 Coffee Break / Trade Show

11:40 - 12:00 Keynote presentation:

Global Seaweed Coalition scaling-up and future work 

Sofya Mishchenko, Project Manager, United Nations Global Compact Ocean Stewardship Coalition, Norway

12:00 - 12:40 Session 2: Seaweed of the year 2023: sea lettuce

In December 2022 the SEAGRICULTURE community chose the seaweed of the year 2023!  During this session 2 experts will present their recent work in this area.

12:00 - 12:20: Industrial aquaculture of sea lettuce (Ulva) – a strong research basis enables the development of a sustainable future crop

Dr. Sophie Steinhagen, Researcher, University of Gothenburg – Tjärnö, Marine Laboratory, Sweden & Germany

12:20 - 12:40: Land-based cultivation and processing of seaweeds: the ultimate solution for sustainable food production

Dr. Yossi Tal, CTO, Seakura, Israel

12:40 - 14:10 Lunch / Trade Show

Afternoon Chair: Pi Nyvall Collén, Scientific Director, Olmix Group, France

14:10 - 15:10 Session 3: Seaweed breeding and hatchery aspects

In order to increasing cultivation yields and profitability seaweed breeding is very important. During this session 3 seaweed breeding experts will present their vision and results.

14:10 - 14:30: Selective breeding innovations for more competitive kelp farming

Scott Lindell, Research Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA

Gold Winner of Innovation Award at Seagriculture USA 2022

14:30 - 14:50: Cultivating Palmaria palmata in Denmark – where are we and what is to come?

Mette Møller Nielsen, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, DTU Aqua, Denmark

14:50 - 15:10: Let's talk about kelp breeding. Where are we? Are we prepared? Current and promising strategies with a realistic perspective

Gabriel Montecinos Arismendi, Research Specialist, Hortimare,
The Netherlands

15:10 - 15:40 Coffee Break / Trade Show

15:40 - 16:40 Session 4: Panel discussion on seaweed investments and business aspects

Moderator: Eef Brouwers, Manager Operations, Co-founder, North Sea Farmers, The Netherlands

During this panel discussion, three seaweed business and investment experts will share their vision on the seaweed industry in Europe and abroad, on needs and expectations, and on what the next steps should be.

Ross Brooks, Partner, Katapult Ocean, Norway

Piers Lakin, Senior Associate, Ocean 14 Capital, United Kingdom

steven-hermans

The emerging seaweed economy in graphs and numbers

Steven Hermans, Founder, Phyconomy, Belgium

16:40 - 17:00 Keynote presentation: ARPA-E and MARINER: efforts to grow the U.S. macroalgal cultivation industry and beyond

Simon Freeman, Program Director, ARPA-E, USA

17:00 - 17:10 Closing of the conference day

17:10 - 18:30 Seaweed Happy Hour

18:30 - 20:30 Conference dinner 

Conference day 2: Thursday 22 June 2023

9:00 - 9:10 Opening of the conference

Morning Chair: Bailey Moritz, Program Officer - Aquaculture, World Wildlife Fund, USA

9:10 - 9:30 Keynote presentation:

The potential for seaweed cultivation in Norway and technologies for realizing it in a sustainable way

Ole Jacob Broch, Senior Scientist, SINTEF Ocean, Norway

9:30 - 10:30 Session 5: Seaweed activities in Norway

During this session, key representatives of the Norwegian seaweed scene will share their recent results and vision on the development of the seaweed industry in Norway.

9:30 - 9:50: Nutrimar’s learnings so far and our future plan with value creation from our blue forest

Edgar Skjervold, Chief Executive Officer, Nutrimar, Norway

9:50 - 10:10: Disruptive technology to enable a scaling seaweed industry

Kim Kristensen, Founder, CEO, Arctic Seaweed AS, Norway

10:10 - 10:30: Sustainable seaweed processing in Europe: the Alginor biorefinery

Gabriele Kasparaviciute, Artificial Intelligence Manager, Alginor ASA, Norway

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break / Trade Show

11:00 - 11:20 Keynote presentation: 

Seaweed applications, diversity, and challenges

Dr. Pi Nyvall Collén, Scientific Director, Olmix Group, France

11:20 - 12:00 Session 6: Landbased seaweed cultivation 

Land-based seaweed cultivation has distinct differences with seaweed,farming at sea. Two pioneers in land-based cultivation will talk about the state of play.

11:20 - 11:40: Using seaweed to reduce methane emissions from cows by 90%

Fredrik Åkerman, CEO, Co-Founder, Volta Greentech, Sweden

11:40 - 12:00: 3 phases towards an industrial land-based seaweed cultivation

Esben Rimi Christiansen, Founder, Leader, Pure Algae, Denmark

12:00 - 12:20: Enhancing farming outcomes through the optimization of kelp nurseries

Wouter Visch, Researcher & Lecturer, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), Australia

12:20 - 13:50 Lunch / Trade Show

Afternoon Chair: Scott Lindell, Research Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA

13:50 - 15:10 Session 7: Product development and applications based on seaweeds

During this session four speakers will present various seaweed applications.

13:50 - 14:10: Exploring the potential of biostimulants in agriculture and sports turf: seaweed variants and beyond

Luke Davidson, Founder, Abundigro, The Netherlands

trond-helgerud

14:10 - 14:30: New products from seaweeds

Trond Helgerud, Seaweed R&D Leader, DuPont Nutrition Norge AS (IFF), Norway

14:30 - 14:50: SeaMark – seaweed-based market applications: “unlocking the potential of macroalgae for a thriving European blue bioeconomy”

Urd Grandorf Bak, Chief Research Officer, Ocean Rainforest, Faroe Islands

14:50 - 15:10: From cultivation to consumable products –  “a long road that needs a short-cut”

Alwin Kool, CEO, Co-founder, SeaweedTech, The Dutch Seaweed Group,

The Netherlands

15:10 - 15:30: Takeaways from a kelp farming knowledge exchange in South Korea

Bailey Moritz, Program Officer - Aquaculture, World Wildlife Fund, USA

15:30 - 15:40 Final Notes

Maris Stulgis, Policy Officer, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture, and Maritime Spatial Planning, European Commission, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Belgium

15:40 - 15:50 Closing of the conference

Katrin I Gregersen, Administration Manager, Ocean Rainforest, Faroe Islands 

*The conference program is subject to change*