"Greenhouse algae cultivation a daring investment"

There has been experimentation with the cultivation of algae in the Netherlands for years. But there are hardly any algae farmers, or they've quit already. Yet there is a strong belief that this will change now that the cultivation of protein rich algae is becoming increasingly interesting commercially.

TOV grower Geert van Adrichem from Steenbergen stepped into the algae cultivation. Along with industry body ZLTO he is carrying out a pilot to use algae as protein replacements and health supplements for cattle. The project has been finalised, but the installations are still unused. "We are looking for an entrepreneur or partner who wants to continue it and scale up the production," says Van Adrichem. "The test was too small scale to make a profit in the algae cultivation."

The algae cultivation is certainly full of opportunities, says the grower. "The combination with greenhouse cultivation can certainly be made. Growing with just sunlight is impossible in the winter." The entrepreneur says the crux is to create enough production. "The costs are quite high. It concerns investments of around half a million Euro per hectare of algae cultivation. It's a daring investment. The question is: who dares?"

Read more at LTO Noord