Algapelago

Kelp to crop

Algapelago converts harvested kelp into a biostimulant: mechanically chopped seaweed reduced to a smooth, stabilised slurry that farmers spray on their fields. Early glasshouse trials have shown yield benefits of up to 50% in wheat and 40% in barley, plus improved root development and better resilience to stress like drought and heat. The farm is also running a 'Blue Forest' programme to measure what its rope structures do for marine life, and early data already shows juvenile fish sheltering and feeding around the farm's 3D structures on the seabed. PEBL's own underwater monitoring here has recorded around 50 benthic species living among the kelp lines and regular harbour porpoise activity, made possible in part by National Lottery Climate Action Fund support for more monitoring cameras and a proper farm-versus-control comparison.

In Luke Ansell's words

From a PEBL interview, March 2026

• “We convert seaweed into biostimulants for agriculture: a concentrated seaweed extract that supports crop health and improves resilience to stress.”
• “We've got this Blue Forest programme that's trying to get good data on what kind of habitat the farm is providing. The data is showing we're providing interesting structure for things to grow on: potentially juvenile fish using it to shelter and feed, and different species using it for food, shelter or even hunting.”

How it started

Founded by cousins Olly Hicks, a three-time world-record ocean adventurer and conservationist, and Humphrey Atkinson, a product developer with a background at the bioplastics company Notpla. A pilot farm went into the water in December 2022, and the site now holds the UK's largest kelp licence at around 120 hectares, four miles offshore.

Who's behind it

• Olly Hicks · Co-founder
• Humphrey Atkinson · Co-founder
• Luke Ansell · Head of Operations & Research