DOE ARPA-E MARINER awards Phase 2 funding to Fearless Fund. The multi-disciplinary Phase 2 team integrates project objectives to analyze techno-economics of open ocean farming of macroalgae at energy/CDR scale. Among the team are Los Alamos National Lab (LANL), Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and Phase 1 partners.
Project Innovation + Advantages:
Fearless Fund will lead a MARINER project to design and develop a new system to enable large-scale macroalgae “ranching” using remote sensing, imaging, and modeling technologies. The core concept targets monitoring free-floating, low-impact Sargassum seaweed for cost-effective biomass harvest. Fearless Fund’s cultivation process is designed to mimic naturally occurring seaweed mats found at the surface of the ocean. The concept leverages the free-floating nature of Sargassum, reducing costs from labor, seeding, and harvesting normally associated with seaweed farming.
Potential Impact:
If successful, MARINER projects strive to develop the tools needed to allow the United States to become a world leader in marine biomass production for multiple important applications, including the production of biofuels.