Since 1976 Thorverk has harvested kelp annually in Breiðafjörður. It only grows on patches in the neighbourhood and in places it is mixed with Laminaria hyperborea. On June 22-26 2023 two divers and a boat equipped with an accurate scanner went to sample kelp from these grounds. The research is lead by the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, the department of algal research and partially funded by the Ec Eureka- Eurostars programme.
Thorverk uses a local, legal way to plant trees in the Reykhólahreppur-community that should take up carbondioxide from Thoverk's annual fuel emissioins. In 2023 Thorverk bought 3.200 trees of mixed species. The employees in the industrial plant (20 persons for 2 days) go as a team with a leader to plant all these trees in early June.
The number of trees is calculated in accordance with the Icelandic forestry association (also available in French and English) and the Kolviður sequestration calculators. Kolviður is the Icelandic carbon fund, and shows calculators that can help to decide how many trees to plant compared to how much fuel emissions you want to mitigate.
During the winter 2022-2023, huge work equipment from Borgarverk has been constantly criss crossing Thorverks homeground and Reykholar peers and harbor. The peers are being widened and lengthened, sealing way has been deepened. The Road administration and the contractor employees have communicated and found solutions to an acceptable division of the work area without any conflicts.
Thorverk uses a large crane when landing kelp and seaweed, but it can be said that it is like a fly compared to Borgarverk's huge crane. Once before Christmas, everything shook with rage inside the Thorverk factory just as if an eruption was about to begin.
Thorverk uses the Reykhólar pier non-stop all year around.
Early in the morning of July 26 it was therefore quite a shock to arrive at the pier. During the night the bulkhead on the south side of the pier had given away, and the edge of the quay with holdfasts, net board and folded seaweed bags had all disappeared into the sea. The issue was discussed at the daily morning staff meeting and a response action was planned. A boat was launched to take a better look at the situation and pictures were taken. No one had been on duty during the night, but an automated camera showed that there were two incidents. First at midnight, the south edge of the pier disappeared, and 8 hours later, during the staff meeting, a large part of the dock floor and the substrate fell into the sea. Still, the crane stood there intact just besides the cracks on the pier head. Nobody had been attending landing, but the staff was getting ready when this second slide occurred.
After inspections, meetings, notifications to the municipality, the road administration and other authorities, Thorverk set out a responce plan. The road authority then reacted quickly and called in a contractor for preliminary repairs. The gap was quickly filled with gravel from the region and compacted efficiently. Little by little, the gap was filled enough and the crane could be driven home that same evening! But the sea, high and low tide and strong currents did not give up. The next day, a large part of the preliminary filling had disappeared back into the sea.
Recently, the road construction has been preparing to renew the steel bulkhead south of the harbour. It is to be made so that larger cargo ships can dock, since a lot of export go that way to customers. Also, the facilities for the operation-devices will improve, there will be more space to turn. During this preparation, material must have been dug away that probably supported the old wall.
The material between the panels on the north and south has given way in recent decades, so that despite minor repairs, it is time to renew the entire pier-edge. Hopefully it will be expedited so that there is as little disruption to the operations as possible. The main thing is that employees are safe in all their tasks.
The algae factory, and all its staff escaped with a light shock. But judging by the pictures, it only took a few seconds for the filling, deck and steel-edges to fall into the sea. Everything went well. No one was injured and the young men who were preparing to land are all safe.
The work continues and now landing is done from another place within the pier.
We welcome this years new staff members. Youngsters from here and there, from Reykholar and Reykjavík as well as other sites in West Iceland. There are more photos to come.
New, but still not so new, harvesters have joined our flock this year. Björgvin Matthías Hallgrímsson og Eyjólfur Hermannsson have been with us earlier. This season they have returned to mount two of Thorverk´s harvesters to collect Asco. And the season has begun.
Thorverk is still ploughing the way for developing a centre for algal research and product development in Reykholar. Friday March 25 the rector for the University of Iceland hosted a meeting. A joint memorandum ffor cooperation was signed. Projects will be formulated and contracts made for each one, hopefully to develop further added value and innovative use of seaweed. Here the Deans, reserach attaché and friends of algal research meet at the rectors office.
Hurray, we all came back after two nights away in Reykjavik. On the Friday everybody sat down to a table of danish open sandwitches. And on the Saturday we went to see Iceland from a birdsey view. Screaming and lifting legs we really enjoyed the scenery.
It is February. On the west coast of Iceland we have experienced cold spells, snowhails and frost. Kelp harvest is soon coming to an end.
Thorverk is very pleased to announce its participation in establishing The Icelandic Centre for Algal Research and Product Development in Reykholar. It's purpose is to enhance research, product development and education focusing on macro-algae, their ecology, growth and harvest, cultivation and uses. This will be done in cooperation with other research institutes and companies.
The Reykhólar-community wants to promote more diverse employment in the area not the least by finding new ways of utilizing the local resources. Therefore increased research and development activities is a good starting point. To reach this goal facilities for new and established residents. Signing the memorandum shows this policy in action, and participation in the establishment of the Centre confirms a strong vision for the village, which was built around the foundation of Thorverk seaweed and kelp drying plant in the 1970s.
