The Seaweed Materials Initiative – Transforming Sugar Kelp into an Industrial Feedstock

Macroalgae such as sugar kelp have significant potential as a local, fast-growing, and renewable feedstock for next-generation materials – without competing for agricultural land or freshwater resources. The Seaweed Materials Initiative therefore brings together the entire value chain to develop standards, processes, and prototypes that enable a scalable pathway from ocean to finished product.

The Issue

Today’s material production is dominated by fossil-based and other non-renewable feedstocks embedded in linear value chains with significant climate and resource impacts. This drives the urgent need for a material transition toward renewable and circular systems.Despite the potential of sugar kelp as a feedstock for next-generation materials, the conditions for large-scale and commercial use in Europe are not yet in place. Growing demand for macroalgae is largely met through imports from Asia, while Nordic production remains limited and lacks integrated value chains.

At the same time, substantial knowledge gaps persist regarding the composition, refining, and quality requirements of sugar kelp for material applications. Established standards and functional value chains are also lacking, complicating trade, downstream processing, and scale-up. Without shared frameworks for quality, processing, and application development, investments remain high-risk and the potential for local, circular, and competitive material solutions is difficult to realize.

Locally produced marine biobased materials can play an important role in the transition to circular material flows. By developing clear standards and efficient value chains for sugar kelp, we can strengthen the Nordic region’s resilience and competitiveness.

– Amelie Silfverstolpe, Project Manager for Future Materials at Axfoundation

Our Solution

To pave the way for large-scale use of sugar kelp in bio-based materials, The Seaweed Materials Initiative is developing standards to help companies ensure consistent, high quality across both cultivation and processing. The project also focuses on optimizing the refining and fractionation of sugar kelp and scaling processes from laboratory to pilot scale – with the long-term goal of establishing sugar kelp as an industrial feedstock.

In parallel, the project team is identifying two to three relevant application areas and developing prototypes with commercial potential. By bringing together the entire value chain – from cultivation and research to material development, design, and industry – the project creates the conditions for an integrated and scalable pathway from ocean to finished product.

Project goals

Develop an initial standardization framework for sugar kelp, including data collection and a grading system to be tested at pilot scale.
Optimize and scale refining and fractionation processes for sugar kelp from laboratory to pilot scale.
Identify relevant application areas in collaboration with industrial partners and develop two to three material prototypes based on sugar kelp.
Evaluate the commercial potential, sustainability, and circularity of sugar kelp-based materials to inform future investments and scale-up.

Did you know that …

Sugar kelp is cultivated along the west coast of Sweden, where salinity levels are sufficiently high.
Sugar kelp is cultivated in the ocean and does not compete for agricultural land or freshwater resources.
Sugar kelp absorbs carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and phosphorus – helping reduce eutrophication and improve water quality..
Sugar kelp grows rapidly and can be harvested annually – making it an annually renewable feedstock with strong potential for predictable large-scale production in Nordic waters.
Sugar kelp can be fractionated into valuable components such as alginate, cellulose, proteins, and minerals – meaning the biomass is separated into distinct fractions based on chemical or physical properties.
Fractionation enables cascading use, where the same biomass is utilized in multiple stages. High-value fractions are first extracted for materials or chemicals, while remaining fractions can be used for bio-based materials, fertilizers, biogas, or energy. In this way, enabling high resource efficiency and minimal residual streams – supporting circular material flows.

Glossary

Sugar kelp is a macroalga. Unlike seagrasses – which are flowering plants with roots and seeds – macroalgae have diverse life cycles and primarily reproduce via spores. In English, the term seaweed is used as a collective term for macroalgae, which sometimes leads to algae being incorrectly referred to as seagrass in Swedish.

Our Contribution

Axfoundation co-leads The Seaweed Materials Initiative together with Lund University and is responsible for overall project management as well as coordinating the work on standardization and quality. Within the project, Axfoundation also leads the development of prototypes in close collaboration with industrial partners.

By bringing together actors from across the entire value chain, Axfoundation helps translate research and pilot efforts into practical solutions with scale-up potential. The project runs from 2026 to 2028.