Seaweed set to take on Shell

Published Date: 04 April 2009
By john ross

A MULTI-million pound project aiming to use algae including seaweed to create fuel was launched yesterday.

Jim Mather, the energy minister, said the BioMara scheme, led by the Scottish Association for Marine Science near Oban, is an innovative project at the cutting edge of marine renewable energy technology.The Scots-Irish project was awarded £5 million of European funding last year and is also backed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Crown Estate, Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government.Research partners include Strathclyde University; Queen's University, Belfast; Ulster University; Dundalk Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Sligo.Mr Mather said: "Scotland has a fantastic competitive advantage in developing offshore renewables – with a quarter of Europe's tidal and offshore wind energy resource, a world class scientific capacity and skills base and the current financial downturn illustrates the importance of capitalising on these assets." Dr Michele Stanley, the project's lead scientist, said: "With global fossil fuel supplies dwindling and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels affecting climate change, there is an urgent need for new, renewable fuel sources with low net carbon emissions."Conventional biofuel crops compete for land and fresh water with farming and nature. What we need is fast-growing, easily utilised plants which thrive in environments not used for agriculture or conservation."Marine algae could be part of the solution. Seaweeds grow rapidly, harness carbon dioxide and have simple structures which make them easily converted to fuel."A spokeswoman for BioMara said: "Effectively, seaweed harvested off a beach in the Outer Isles could be heating a crofter's kettle for their cup of tea the next morning