Company Timeline

In our first trial we studied the decomposition rates of Sargassum at different stages of its life cycle from seed to slurry and environmental factors that may affect the rates of both anaerobic and bacterial decomposition. We also measured the rate of CO2 release when Sargassum is beached versus decomposing in the ocean. This was also our first opportunity to practice aerial drone monitoring and its potential for future data gathering.

With an expanded team of engineers and science advisors as well as core team members, our St Vincent Trial was the first opportunity to test not only our barrier designs but the challenges of organising and managing team members and the practicalities of an open ocean aquafarm.
Armed with mathematical models and a variety of materials our goal was to find any issues with the shape, rigidity and endurance of our aquafarm, as well as experiments in modular design to allow for easy expansion.
During this trial, we connected with local engineers and scouted St Vincent as a possible base of operations moving forward.

In association with the Alfred Wegner Institute, Seafields' science team used mesocosms to measure Sargassum growth at different nutrient (include other measurements) levels. In conjunction with AWI we also honed the designs of the upwelling pipes and studied the fluid mechanics within.

Using our proprietary method of bursting the air sacs and the resultant negative buoyancy of the compressed Sargassum we will test the logistics of sinking the bales, using advanced Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles (ROVs) to monitor and measure their progress.

We will run a trial with small scale pipes to demonstrate how they will work when scaled up to full size. Manipulating the salinity and temperature of seawater within mesocosms, we will mimic the gradients expected in a full-sized pipe.

With each element in place, we will now be ready to construct and deploy our first fully functional farm. This will be a historic milestone in the fight for the climate. From construction, deployment to seeding the farm and carefully monitoring the growth rates and nutrient dissipation to ensure our farms operate at optimal efficiency at scale.

Verification is a necessarily lengthy process, and one Seafields takes incredibly seriously. Carbon removal is a controversial topic: it is our mission to model the highest level of diligence and sincerity in our reporting and impact. A key element of this is achieving high-quality carbon removal and storage, being transparent to regulators and raising the bar for the industry.

The pilot farm harvest stage allows us to demonstrate to potential investors and industry partners that our project scales and is still measurable and verifiable. Once we have harvested our first bales, which we hope by this stage will be supported with verification for carbon credits, there will be nothing holding back scale-up investment to allow us to reach 1gt.

The modular design of our farms allows for relatively simple expansion, simply adding farm units until we reach the staggering scale of 150km² with a diameter of 13.8km. This will allow us to reach the milestone of a Megaton of CO2 removed from the environment.

Once we have demonstrated the modular approach works, we will have proven there are no diseconomies of scale and that our price-per-ton is commercially viable. At this stage we believe we will have de-risked the investment enough that covering the CapEx costs of deploying pipes in an area 272km in diameter is both viable and a sound investment.

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