Sustainable Twool used in first-of-its-kind sea kelp growth trials

Queen’s University Belfast have been experimenting with sustainable alternatives to synthetic ropes used in the fishing industry. The experiment uses our very own Dartmoor whiteface sheeps wool ropes to grow kelp.

This project investigates the efficacy of ‘more sustainable’ natural substrata for seeding and farming kelp species with the aim to reduce our reliance on synthetic twine and ropes currently used throughout the industry.

Kelp growth on twool

Funded by IAA-EPSRC, this project is co-designed with Twool, innovators in the wool industry, and the Marine Materials Application Group at QUB. This seed funding focuses on identifying issues and gaps in the direct substitution of synthetic with woollen ropes through research-based trials to direct new innovations through expertise across different knowledge pools.

Twool

Twool have been innovating in the wool industry since 2012 and developed a wide range of products. In both 2014 and 2022, Twool won the Worshipful Company of Woolman award for their woollen twine, rope, and braid product innovations.

In this work, bespoke substrata were produced by Twool following preliminary kelp aquaculture trials using wool from Whiteface Dartmoor Sheep. Subsequent sea trials conducted in 2024 at the QML seaweed research site in Strangford Lough NI were very promising, with kelp growing successfully on a range of Twool twines. Although promising, significant research is still needed to improve the green credentials, performance, and cost of using wool as a commercial substrate for kelp production. We are currently conducting further research in this area to validate our results and will have more updates on our progress soon.

About the Project

For more information about the Kelp Growth on Twool project, by Emma Healey, Dr Manus Cunningham and Dr Pamela Walsh of Queens University Belfast, see this helpful Kelp on Twool poster.