Kelpinor is a startup originating from NTNU in Trondheim, which enables alternatives to fossil fuels and traditional protein sources, by specializing in large-scale cultivation of sugar kelp (Saccharina Latissima) and winged kelp (Alaria Esculenta). The company's production facilities are located in Gildeskål municipality - the northern Norwegian epicenter for seaweed cultivation.
How do we do this?
We do this through interdisciplinary development processes based on academic environments from, among others, NTNU Trondheim and the accelerator program Arctic Ignite, under the auspices of Norinnova.
The first step in the process of kelp cultivation is to handpick a selected bunch of mother plants. Those are brought back to our laboratory in Våg, just outside Bodø. In the laboratory, seedlings from the mother plants are further grown in tanks. Our seedlings are then attached to ropes – which during the winter months are put into the sea. Five months later, the kelp grows from just 10 mm to up to 1,5 meters.
And that is when we harvest and bring it to our partners.
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