Innovation beneath the waves

Read the full article here: https://www.ikea.com/global/en/stories/sustainability/marine-innovation-salmon-seaweed-240905/

Multiple studies indicate that seaweed is a sustainability hero of the sea. The plants help improve water quality by absorbing nutrients and carbon dioxide and provide food, shelter and protection for many marine species, so it’s incredibly important not to deplete these critical natural ecosystems.

But it’s not just in the sea where the incredible potential of this renewable resource lies, it can also be responsibly grown and cultivated for different purposes. “At IKEA, we are constantly looking for innovative and renewable raw materials that can potentially be used in various ways within our operations. We do this by working together with others, and in Nordic SeaFarm we see a potential to explore opportunities in aquaculture materials,” says Ulf Johansson, Raw Material Manager. Utilizing fibers for wood and fabric, protective films and coatings are some of the applications we’re looking into.

To learn more about marine materials and how they can influence material development and applications in the future, Inter IKEA Group became a key investor in Nordic SeaFarm, one of Europe’s leading producers of sustainably farmed seaweed. Founded by marine biologists, Nordic SeaFarm works with a range of stakeholders and industries to democratize seaweed by growing highly valued species at massive scale in the ocean and develop new products and services.

At its site on the west coast of Sweden, Nordic SeaFarm cultivates sea lettuce and sugar kelp, used for food, biomaterials and fertilizer, among other things. While seaweed farms can be found around the world from China to the United States, Nordic SeaFarm’s location – less than 400 km from where the IKEA range and product development happens – allows us to be a close innovation partner.