國際海洋資訊

Seaweed as Infrastructure:

A New Framework for Ocean and Environmental Policy

Efrat Landau-Lev

CEO, Seakura

Keywords: Ulva -Based Infrastructure, Sustainable Ocean Governance, Nature-Based Solutions, Sustainable Marine Management

Efrat Landau-Lev is the CEO of Seakura, specializing in business development and strategic communication with a focus on advancing land-based seaweed cultivation technology. With over 20 years of experience, she leads Seakura's mission to establish Ulva seaweed as part of global strategies for climate resilience, ocean health, and water management.

As climate challenges intensify and marine ecosystems face growing stress, almost all areas of life on Earth are being challenged. From water scarcity to food security, agricultural runoffs, polluting ground fertilization, environmental accountability and even human health, are forming an understanding that an "old world" structural method of operations must change.

As an effort to tackle almost all challenges, this article argues that seaweed cultivation should be reimagined not as food or biomass production alone, but as a core component of each country and state's infrastructure. We will explore the concept of "Seaweed as Infrastructure," using the case of Seakura's land-based Ulva farms in Israel to illustrate how algae systems can be deployed at scale to absorb nutrient pollution, restore ecological balance, and deliver long-term value through environmental services. The model positions seaweed cultivation as a foundational tool for sustainable ocean governance and climate resilience.

Rethinking Infrastructure in the Age of Environmental Accountability

Modern infrastructure is traditionally defined as physical systems that support economic activity: roads, water supply, energy grids, and waste management. But in the Anthropocene, where environmental degradation threatens human and planetary health, infrastructure must be redefined to include natural systems that protect, regulate, and  regenerate ecological balance.

Seaweed — and specifically, green macroalgae like Ulva — has a unique biological capacity to absorb excess nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. When grown deliberately near pollution sources, seaweed acts as a living biofilter, capable of cleaning discharged wastewater, capturing carbon, and enabling environmental services that are not only measurable but highly scalable. From this perspective, seaweed becomes a tool for remediation, for food production, for carbon sequestration, and for resilience.

The Ancient Role of Seaweed: Nature's First Infrastructure

Seaweed has existed for over 1.6 billion years, predating not only flowering plants but also most multicellular life. As some of Earth's earliest photosynthetic organisms, seaweeds were instrumental in producing the oxygen-rich atmosphere that made complex life possible. They played a foundational role in the emergence of ecological systems — forming the first food webs, absorbing minerals, and stabilizing the marine environment. In this sense, seaweed has always been infrastructure: the original infrastructure of life on Earth.

By returning to this ancient wisdom and re-integrating seaweed into modern infrastructure systems — especially those connected to water and nutrient cycles — we are not introducing something new. We are restoring something essential. In the face of climate instability and rising environmental costs, the future may well depend on ancient lifeforms doing what they were always meant to do: balance, regenerate, and sustain.

The Seakura Model: Land-Based Seaweed Systems for Utility Integration

At Seakura (2004), we developed and patented a land-based seaweed farming system designed to treat brine wastewater rich in nutrients, particularly from desalination plants. Our flagship species, Ulva (commonly known as Sea Lettuce), is cultivated in shallow raceways or ponds that receive a controlled flow of wastewater, allowing the algae to absorb excess nitrates and phosphates before the water is released into the sea. In this system, Ulva transforms pollution into biomass.

What makes this infrastructure-oriented model especially powerful is its integration into existing utilities. In Israel, desalination has become a national water solution — providing over 70% of the country's drinking water. However, brine discharge remains an  environmental concern due to its high salinity and nutrient concentrations, especially nitrates. By incorporating seaweed farms into the end-of-pipe infrastructure of desalination and wastewater treatment plants, we are addressing this challenge directly and sustainably.

Seakura's first industrial-scale project will launch near Eilat, southern Israel, in 2027. Once operational, it will be capable of removing 10 tons of nitrates annually from a desalination facility's discharge stream. This is a measurable and scalable environmental service with far-reaching ripple effects: reducing marine pollution, increasing the capacity of desalination plants to operate sustainably, and contributing to Israel's food and water security policies.

Proof of Concept: Seakura's Pilot in Eilat

To validate the "Seaweed as Infrastructure" model in real-world conditions, Seakura conducted a successful proof-of-concept pilot in collaboration with Israel's Water Authority, Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection, and Mekorot – the Israeli national desalination company in its southern desalination plant in Eilat. The objective was to demonstrate the feasibility and impact of using land-based Ulva cultivation systems to absorb nitrate pollution from desalination brine before discharge into the Gulf of Eilat, a sensitive marine environment under strict regulatory oversight. The pilot focused on nutrient removal, system stability, and scalability.

Over the course of 2 years, Seakura's engineered cultivation pools were supplied with nutrient-rich brine water directly from the desalination plant. The Ulva species demonstrated exceptional performance, with measured nitrate uptake rates reaching up to 1 gram of nitrogen per 1 square meter per day (N/m²/day), enabling effective nutrient recovery from effluent previously destined for the sea. The system operated with high stability, minimal energy input, and no chemical intervention. As a land-based solution, it presented zero risk of species escape or habitat disruption, while functioning as a biofiltration "buffer" between industrial infrastructure and the marine environment.

The POC confirmed the viability of expanding to full commercial scale. In the next implementation phase, Seakura will deploy a 100-dunam (10-hectare) Ulva farm that is projected to remove 10 tons of nitrates annually from desalination brine. This will be the world's first large-scale environmental service farms integrated into a desalination system, demonstrating that seaweed infrastructure can be a high-value addition to national water strategies.

Seaweed for Climate, Agriculture, and Ocean Health

By deploying seaweed as infrastructure, the environmental and social benefits are manifold. Here are a few domains in which algae-based systems can create systemic value:

1. Water and Ocean Health: Seaweed absorbs excess nutrients, improving the quality of coastal waters, reducing eutrophication, and supporting biodiversity.
2. Food and Agricultural Systems: Clean brine discharge allows for more desalinated water to be recycled for agricultural use. Simultaneously, the Ulva biomass can be processed into biostimulants and feed additives, reducing dependency on  synthetic fertilizers and antibiotics.
3. Carbon Sequestration and Climate Goals: Seaweed captures CO₂ during photosynthesis. Large-scale cultivation offers a natural carbon sink that support snational net-zero targets. In the Eilat project, over 5 tons of carbon will be absorbed annually.
4. Resilience and Regulation: As water utilities and industries face growing regulatory pressure, algae systems offer a cost-effective and nature-based compliance pathway, turning liabilities into assets.

Figure 1. Large Ulva

Photo credit: Alamy

Figure 2. The Laomei Green Stone Trough is located in Shimen District on the North Coast, Every April and May, because the northeast monsoon slowly weakens, the local rock trough scientific name: tidal trench and sea erosion trench is covered with a large green seaweed

Photo credit: Alamy - Panther Media Global

Taiwan: A Strategic Partner in Marine Innovation

Taiwan, with its advanced marine research institutions, high dependency on desalinated and recycled water, and visionary Blue Economy strategies, is uniquely positioned to lead the adoption of seaweed infrastructure.

The coastal city of Taoyuan, for example, is home to significant ocean innovation programs and a growing need for integrated water management solutions. With Taiwan's increasing focus on environmental sustainability, local implementation of land-based Ulva systems — similar to Seakura's Eilat model —could deliver concrete benefits:

• Nitrate Reduction: Removing nutrient pollution from both industrial and agricultural sources before it reaches fragile marine ecosystems.
• Increased Water Reuse: Cleaner brine means more capacity for reusing  desalinated and treated wastewater for agriculture and urban needs.
• Climate and Environmental Credits: Algae systems generate measurable environmental services that may be translated into carbon and nitrogen credits, aligning with Taiwan's broader decarbonization agenda.

By treating Ulva as a tool for environmental services rather than merely biomass production, Taiwan could gain a sustainable and scalable way to manage its ocean interface, support food security, and enable compliance with emerging ESG standards. Seakura is currently exploring collaborations in Taiwan and welcomes joint innovation projects that demonstrate the power of seaweed as living, climate-aligned infrastructure.

ESG, Job Creation, and Maritime Security: 

Expanding the Value of Seaweed Infrastructure

While environmental remediation and climate resilience are essential benefits of algae systems, seaweed infrastructure also aligns directly with the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework increasingly used by governments, investors, and international institutions to evaluate impact and sustainability. Ulva farms offer not only ecological services but also broad-based socioeconomic value—particularly in the areas of job creation, community resilience, and maritime security.

Environmental Services as a New Employment Engine

One of the major advantages of Seakura's model is its labor-generating potential. Unlike fully automated facilities, land-based Ulva systems rely on a balanced integration of human labor and ecological automation. At commercial scale, each Ulva farm employs multidisciplinary teams: marine biologists, water engineers, technicians, logistics personnel, and administrative staff. This creates a stable and skilled workforce that can be localized, trained, and scaled in tandem with environmental objectives. For example, Seakura's upcoming Eilat farm—spanning 100 dunams—will create over 25 direct jobs in its first operational year, with potential for doubling that figure as biomass harvesting, product development, and export channels expand. Additional indirect employment will arise through partnerships with local transportation, agriculture, biostimulant processing, and R&D sectors.

This employment model is inherently inclusive: youth and women can participate in entry-level roles, while local universities and technical colleges can collaborate on workforce development. In regions with limited industrial presence, Ulva cultivation can serve as a green job anchor, providing long-term employment tied to sustainability metrics and measurable ecosystem services.

Social Impact in Underdeveloped Coastal and Island Regions

Remote islands and coastal zones often suffer from declining populations, reduced public services, and limited access to meaningful work. By strategically situating Ulva infrastructure in such areas, countries can reinvigorate coastal economies, attract new residents, and stabilize fragile communities.

In Taiwan—where multiple islands lie at the intersection of strategic geography and environmental sensitivity—this opportunity is particularly timely. Deploying seaweed farms on underutilized islands could create a dual-impact solution: restoring marine ecosystems while reactivating local economies. 

Among the most feasible and promising locations are Penghu and Matsu:

• Penghu Archipelago (澎湖群島) consists of dozens of islets, many with small populations and marine-oriented economies. These islands have already attracted interest in wind energy and ocean conservation programs. Ulva farms could  complement these efforts by generating green jobs, improving water quality, and integrating with marine innovation initiatives.
• Matsu Islands (馬祖列島), closer to mainland China, are geopolitically sensitive but also targeted for regional revitalization. Civilian-based seaweed infrastructure projects would support population retention, promote sustainable development, and add a layer of peaceful strategic presence in a region where Taiwan has a clear interest in maintaining influence.

Ocean Security: Civil Infrastructure as Strategic Deterrence

A key theme raised during the Ocean Affairs Council forum in Taiwan was maritime security, especially in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. In this context, seaweed infrastructure offers an unexpected yet powerful advantage: civilian-led strategic presence. Ulva farms located on remote or contested islands provide non-militarized anchors for national presence. These are peaceful, internationally legitimate facilities that demonstrate responsible environmental stewardship while simultaneously contributing to territorial sovereignty and ocean monitoring. 

These farms can also integrate marine sensors, environmental data stations, and even autonomous drone docks for maritime surveillance—creating a hybrid infrastructure that supports both ecological and security goals. Countries like Taiwan—facing complex diplomatic environments—can leverage this model as a soft power tool: investing in peaceful ocean regeneration projects that carry embedded security value.

ESG at the Intersection of Climate and National Strategy

By blending E (Environmental Services), S (Social Equity and Employment), and G (Governance and Strategic Positioning), seaweed infrastructure stands as a high-performing, ESG-aligned intervention. Investors and governments are increasingly looking for infrastructure that delivers multi-layered ROI—and Ulva farms meet that criteria with clarity.

Conclusion: A Blueprint for the Future

"Seaweed as Infrastructure" is not a metaphor—it is a blueprint. A scalable, science-based, economically viable solution to some of the most pressing challenges facing ocean governance and climate resilience. With the right policy, investment, and cross-sector collaboration, seaweed cultivation can become a new pillar of green infrastructure, unlocking co-benefits for nature, society, and future generations. Seakura's globally unique experience demonstrates that when seaweed is no longer treated as a commodity alone, but as a biological service platform, the value it provides multiplies. It is time for coastal nations—Taiwan among them—to reimagine seaweed not as a supplement to policy, but as a structural foundation of a new, ocean-centered economy.

Efrat Landau-Lev is the CEO of Seakura, a pioneering Israeli company specializing in land-based seaweed cultivation systems that deliver environmental services through nitrate absorption and sustainable biomass production. Efrat holds a BSC degree in Political Communications and Law from the prestigious American college "Emerson" located in Boston, MA. Over the past 20 years Efrat Landau – Lev has mastered massive experience in business development and strategic communication, that transform ideas into solid businesses and global companies. Efrat leads Seakura's mission to position Ulva seaweed as a vital component of global environmental infrastructure. Her work focuses on integrating seaweed cultivation into national strategies for climate resilience, ocean health, and water resource management, for the benefit of many generations to come.