SPF Ocean Rainforest (Faroe Islands)
Ocean Rainforest Sp/F is a limited company located in the Faroe Islands engaged in the production of marine biomass from macroalgae in open ocean cultivation installations. The company was founded in 2007. Ocean Rainforest has designed a seaweed installation – a Macro Algae Cultivation Rig (MACR) – that is suited for the harsh conditions of the open ocean. The concept has been successfully tested in the Faroe Islands since 2010 and during the last two years Ocean Rainforest has demonstrated the highest cultivation growth rates and harvesting yield known in Europe.
Ocean Rainforest has approximately 25.000 meter of seaweed seed lines in the Faroe Islands, where continuous current and stable sea temperature provide the perfect condition for seaweed farming. The harvest method used by Ocean Rainforest is multiple partial cutting thus can 6 harvests be done from the same lines without re-seeding.
Ocean Rainforest aims to become a leading supplier of sustainable cultivated macro algae in open ocean environments. The mission is to be the most reliable provider of high quality seaweed cultivated in Europe and North America. This mission implies that Ocean Rainforest will provide a stable source of marine biomass for food, feed, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and energy products. The business model is based on seeding, cultivation, harvesting, processing into a storage stable condition (dried, frozen or ensiled) and sales to the business-to-business market.
Partners / Researchers
Ólavur Gregersen
Ólavur Gregersen (male, born 1968), co-founder and Managing Director of Ocean Rainforest, is responsible for the overall project management and business development. Ólavur Gregersen has more than 20 years of experience as entrepreneur and international consultant as well as non-executive Director in several innovative companies and projects.
He is the founding partner of Syntesa Partners & Associates which provides research and innovation services within business development, project management and socio-economic impact analysis. Furthermore, he has been the coordinator of the European FP7 project ALL-SMART-PIGS, the Nordic Innovation Centre project WhiteFishMaLL and MacroValue; and the NORA project MacroBioTech. The project topics cover macroalgal cultivation and processing, marine ecosystem management, renewable energy, information and communication technology and sustainable food and feed production in Scandinavia and within the European Community.
Urd G. Bak
Urd Grandorf Bak (female, born 1985), Research and Innovation Manager at Ocean Rainforest. She has a M.Sc. Environmental biology and geography and has published a report on: “Suitable cultivation areas for Palmariapalmata(Rhodophyta) and Saccharinalatissima(Phaeophyceae)… Urd is currently completing her Industrial PhD with title: ”An investigation of the biochemical composition of selective macroalgae and how to optimise seeding and cultivation methods for large scale offshore cultivation”.
She is enrolled at National Food Institute at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) while she is working as industrial researcher at Ocean Rainforest. From several previous research projects, she has a large knowledge from seaweed seeding to harvesting and seasonal variation of valuable compounds. Urd will lead case study 2.
Floor Marsman
Floor Marsman (female, born 1994) is Production & Quality Manager at Ocean Rainforest. She holds a masters in Biology at Wageningen University and research (the Netherlands) with a specialisation in Conservation and Systems Ecology. At ORF she is responsible for all operative matters, including compliance with authority permits, certification, HACCP and Quality Control.
