Despite the volume of wild seaweed in UK waters, farmed seaweed production in the UK is in relative infancy, and estimates of total UK seaweed harvested for food production, animal feed, nutraceutical, agricultural biostimulant, and cosmetic use cases as of 2024 indicated a manufacturing yield of 25,000-40,000 tonnes of wet harvest per year (2,000--3,000 tonnes when dried). Meanwhile, the UK's macroalgae sector relies on importing 95% of its seaweed from Asia. Drying is a key bottleneck in seaweed processing: traditional methods are slow, energy-intensive, and can damage valuable compounds. Seaweed is highly perishable and its commercial value (hinging on combined nutrient, bioactive, and safety characteristics) depends strongly on how and how quickly it is stabilised after harvest. Many macroalgae start degrading within hours of harvest. So, drying and immediate stabilisation are the most critical multiplier on maximising usable yield. Everything downstream is contingent on the drying process' efficiency and efficacy. For high-value markets, losses quickly make operations unjustifiable; addressing this upstream attrition point is the most impactful catalyst to the industry. Mildtech's proposed solution will turbocharge seaweed processing, leveraging a proprietary solid-state microwave and vacuum-drying system that enables rapid, energy-efficient, low-temperature drying for heat-sensitive natural ingredients like macroalgae. This project entails validating the feasibility of converting an existing technology to assist the scaled production of UK seaweed as a new application. The end-goal is enhancing macroalgae yield, product quality, and resource value by retaining key nutrients and reducing contaminants. The effort will bring socioeconomic benefits to coastal communities Scotland, Wales, and Western England, complementing governmental priorities toward revitalising coastal economies.

Natural ingredients are the source of the majority of health-benefitting vitamins/minerals/enzymes consumed by humans. Spinach and carrots alone contribute over 13 different vitamins and minerals. These become denatured when dried using high temperatures (48degCelsius) meaning that their organoleptic and nutritional quality is diminished. When used in nutraceuticals and functional-foods, health benefits are limited. The specific need and challenge that we propose to address is the preservation of key chemicals/nutrients in natural ingredients during the dehydration/drying process. Traditional approaches to drying foods for consumption comprise freeze-drying and heat-drying. These processes are high-energy and reduce the nutritional value of the foodstuff, denaturing vitamins, minerals and enzymes through heating, with freeze-drying taking 36 hours. This project seeks to unlock the health benefits of dried natural ingredients by preserving key nutrients through a novel alternative for drying. This technology is truly game-changing for the nutraceutical industry, with critical improvements over current processing technology: maximum nutrient retention, reduced carbon emissions, improved energy efficiency, faster processing times and lower cost. We are positioned significantly ahead of incumbent competitors, and on project completion, will be set for rapid commercialisation. Mildtech UK Ltd and Harper Adams University are collaborating on this project to design and build a higher capacity dehydration machine, testing key materials commonly used in dehydration for nutraceuticals to rapidly scale to commercialisation post-project.