Call for Tender for the Supply of a Seaweed Direct Seeding Machine and Supporting Services

Description

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) wishes to invite tenders for the Supply of a Seaweed Direct Seeding Machine and Associated Supporting Services to support BIM’s Seaweed Development Programme. A growing global population, the depletion of natural resources, increasing environmental pressures, and the impacts of climate change require a fundamental shift in how food and bio-resources are produced. Central to this transition is the development of sustainable, low-impact systems capable of delivering climate-resilient food and materials. Ireland’s Macro-Algal Strategy sets out a pathway to develop a sustainable seaweed cultivation sector that contributes to resilient food systems, climate mitigation, and a low-carbon bio economy. The strategy aims to scale up domestic seaweed production through innovation, improved infrastructure, and targeted research, while supporting the development of new markets in food, feed, biostimulants, ingredients, and other high-value applications. A core objective is to enable long-term sectoral growth while ensuring environmental protection and enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness in the emerging global seaweed industry. Despite significant potential, seaweed production in Europe remains largely focused on wild harvesting, with cultivation at an early stage of commercial development. Ireland’s Macro Algal Strategy seeks to address this imbalance by supporting the transition towards upscaled, regenerative seaweed cultivation systems, including the deployment of new technologies that can reduce labour intensity, increase efficiency, and enable expansion into suitable marine environments. BIM has operated a Seaweed Development Programme for over a decade, delivering applied research, technical manuals, hatchery protocols, industry training and mentoring, and strategic supports for sector development. A key focus of the programme is the identification, trialling and de risking of cultivation technologies that can facilitate commercial-scale seaweed farming in Irish waters. Technological innovation, particularly in the early stages of deployment and grow-out, is recognised as a critical enabler for sector expansion. Direct seeding technologies have the potential to improve efficiency and scalability by enabling early-stage seaweed material to be deployed directly at sea, reducing hatchery dependence, handling requirements, and overall production costs. The successful tenderer will be required to supply: • A seaweed direct seeding machine capable of applying juvenile seaweed material (e.g. spores, propagules or early-stage biomass) directly onto cultivation substrates. • Supporting technical services, to include: o Commissioning and functional testing of the equipment. o Technical documentation and operating manuals. o Training of BIM personnel and/or participating industry stakeholders o Technical support during trial deployments. o Maintenance guidance and troubleshooting support. o Maintenance/ servicing estimated at 5 days over the duration of the contract and possible extensions. The equipment must be robust, marine grade, and suitable for experimental, demonstration, and commercial scale operations. BIM is particularly interested in systems that support innovation, adaptability to multiple species, and integration with existing and emerging cultivation approaches. For further information on this tender competition, please see the accompanying tender documents.