Students buoyed by algae harvesting success

University students' Cerberus concept for algae harvesting.

An autonomous vehicle concept - that could lead to a new ways of cultivating and harvesting algae in the marine environment - is winning awards for three students in Germany.

There are over 200,000 different species of algae, which can be found across the aquatic environment including ponds, rivers and seas. They can be put to myriad uses as a resource for biofuel, vegan cuisine, food colouring and even running shoes.

Working under the project name Cerberus, the industrial design students realised early-on that algae is a resource of the future, and analysed existing methods of harvesting this increasingly valuable aquatic plant. Current harvesting systems depend on the use of disposable nets or heavy fishing lines called trotlines, which are cheap to produce, but not very sustainable.

Additionally, say the students, working conditions on algae-harvesting boats can be exhausting and sometimes dangerous, especially when workers are unable to swim.

The Cerberus team - Arthur Worbes, Ony Yan and Bernhard Büttner - who attend the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, developed their autonomous vehicle concept working under the supervision of Professor Jan Vietze and Martin Werner. The technology comprises a buoy combined with an autonomous algae-harvesting vehicle and both devices are manufactured from more durable and sustainable materials than existing techniques.

"Using buoys instead of trotlines could also mean a larger cultivation surface on a vertical level, which could answer the rising demand of algae in the future," say the students.

Quite literally buoyed by the success of their design concept, by winning the vision category of the German Sustainability Awards 2022, the students are continuing their work. Currently the team is working on the implementation of the buoy at IDiA, a research programme at the University, with the support of the Association of German Engineers (VDI).

This phase has led the students to reevaluate the concept and shift focus onto greater use of organic materials. Material samples are being evaluated with help and support from Kieler Meeresfarm, a seafood farm in Kiel Bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, which could open up even more possibilities for marine cultivation besides algae.