The seaweed that could save the earth

A company aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by growing seaweed to feed to methane-producing ruminants such as cows and sheep will construct its first “EcoPark” in New Zealand this year.

CH4 Global, which is based in Nevada in the United States, is also beginning construction of several EcoParks in Australia this year, it said in a press release.

Mitigating the methane

Cows and other ruminants burp methane, one of the most destructive greenhouse gases (GHGs), and the world’s 1.5 billion domestic cattle are said to be responsible for one sixth of the world's GHG volume.

Asparagopsis armata is an Australian and New Zealand-native, naturally abundant seaweed that can reduce methane emissions from ruminants by up to 90%. Asparagopsis taxiformis is the warm water species that also grows in Australia.

CH4 Global is producing methane-reducing cattle feed additives derived from Asparagopsis for large beef and dairy producers. It says that even if adopted for only 10% of cattle, it would deliver more climate benefit than decommissioning 50 million fossil-fuelled cars.

The company says that other attempts to reduce methane emissions from livestock are either more than 10 years away or ineffective, whereas its solution works and is available now.

The company will repurpose a brownfield site at Ocean Beach, a land-based aquaculture park near Bluff in the far south of South Island. Ocean Beach is on track to become the largest such park in New Zealand.

Phase 1 kicks off this year with the beginning of construction, with full production by the middle of 2023. In Phase 2, the facility will be expanded to 500 bioreactors with the capacity to supply raw material required for the company’s feedlot formulation for up to 15,000 head of cattle.

Fresh By Design, a leading provider of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in Australia and New Zealand, has been commissioned to design and construct the facility.

CH4 Global said the EcoPark model is designed to maximise efficiencies and build sustainability into all aspects of the facility and its operation. The company’s integrated system for growing and processing Asparagopsis seaweed will include regional hatcheries.

First sales

In June, CH4 Global announced the first commercial sale of its Asparagopsis-based livestock supplement. The Ocean Beach facility will guarantee controlled, consistent Asparagopsis production as the company expands commercial supply to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Most of the seaweed will be exported to Australia for use in the large feedlot cattle market. At any one time, there are more than 1.5 million cattle being finished on Australian feedlots for local and international markets.

CH4 Aotearoa general manager Nigel Little said: “This is a key milestone in our path to full commercialisation. This EcoPark is proof of our ability to scale our technology on a sound commercial basis – both for us and for the farmers that use our product.”

Fresh By Design general manager Lachlan Bassett said: “The opportunity to work with a world class team in CH4 Global on their mission to reduce global methane emissions is incredibly exciting. We look forward to supporting CH4 Global on their path to large scale commercial production of Asparagopsis.”

Seaweed and shellfish

Ocean Beach has acquired a fish farming licence and coastal permits in place to extract large quantities of seawater from the cold clean waters of the Foveaux Strait for use in aquaculture production. Coastal permits are also in place to extract saltwater from Bluff Harbour, which is suitable for shellfish and seaweed farming.

The New Zealand Abalone Company (TNZAC) is in the early stages of re-establishing an on-land abalone farm that was previously operated at Ocean Beach by Southern Marine Farms.

The abalone, or pāua, as they are called in Maori, live within the cold water extracted from the Foveaux Strait and feed on seaweed harvested from the surrounding region.