Grenada unveils Electric Car powered by Sargassum and Biowaste at EU-Caribbean Conference

Grenada has unveiled an eco-friendly, electric vehicle that is powered up by Sargassum, rum waste, and sheep manure. The car was launched amid the ongoing 2nd EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum which ended yesterday in the country. 

The eco-friendly vehicle is powered by sargassum and all sorts of Biowaste to reduce the carbon footprint of the island. The biowaste is used to produce biogas which ultimately runs a generator and charges the electric car. 

This will also help lower carbon emissions as the cars will be running on electricity and not petrol. This initiative will be a fruitful solution to manage the widely pervasive sargassum across the island’s beaches. 

“The usage of this potential health hazard will help turn the tide and what is viewed as a problem into a solution,” said the authorities.

The second EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum has notably been conducted in Grenada this year and on the very first day of the conference, Sargassum was announced as a problem that requires collective action. 

The authorities present at the event stated that the Caribbean has been facing this harsh issue for over a decade and they have seen it as wreaking havoc affecting the region’s economy, environment, and way of life. 

As the meeting concluded on 2nd October many stakeholders and entrepreneurs present at the event stated their experience from the conference. The CEO of Sargass Ltd., Grenada, Benjamin Nestorovic stated that tackling this issue requires momentum. 

“My one takeaway is, momentum because I really think, especially that we have the conference here in Grenada, we can really make something out of this. And, for us as a start-up, we are fundraising right now to scale our operations up, and, we see the fundraising possible,” he said. 

Sargassum has notably been ruling the beaches of the Caribbean for a decade, acting as a huge setback to the region’s fishing industries, on which it relentlessly depends. The authorities added that Sargassum has disrupted tourism and often requires a lot of maintenance as it regularly requires cleaning. 

Sargassum, which is a brown seaweed that floats in large masses over the ocean’s surface, is often found near beaches. Though the weed has several important benefits, as it promotes marine biodiversity, it becomes a major issue when it accumulates in large numbers over the shores, blocking swimmers and divers from entering the sea.