The kelp advantage

Climate Solutions

Kelp represents one of the most promising natural climate solutions available today. Unlike terrestrial plants, kelp requires no soil, fresh water, or fertilizer—it draws all nutrients directly from seawater while growing up to two feet per day under optimal conditions. Kelp forests can sequester CO2 at rates 20x greater than terrestrial forests! When oceanic kelp is sunk to a depth below 1000m (where CO2 becomes heavier than water) it will continue to drop to the seafloor. If the material becomes covered in sediment, its eventual re-emergence would be measured on the geologic time scale.

Cultural Importance

In addition to its remarkable environmental benefits, kelp has sustained Pacific Northwest Indigenous communities for millennia, serving essential roles in traditional food systems and nutrition, cultural practices and spiritual traditions, technological applications including fishing, hunting, and food storage, and creating economic opportunities through mariculture. In Alaska, where we first developed our Kelp Tech, kelp has been a subsistence food for dAXunhyuu (Eyak) people and other coastal Native communities for generations. Native Alaskans are increasingly taking their water back and farming kelp for food sovereignty.

Ecosystem Services

Kelp forests are declining, threatening essential fish habitat and nursery grounds, traditional Indigenous food sources, regional marine ecosystem stability, and climate resilience infrastructure. Kelp forests provide critical ecosystem services, including: water quality improvement through nutrient uptake, marine habitat restoration for salmon, rockfish, and forage fish; food web support for birds, marine mammals, and endangered Southern Resident killer whales; and coastal protection from wave action and erosion.