"Tourism has suffered a lot from the seaweed; hotels have been spending millions on tackling it," UWI lecturer and renewable energy expert Legena Henry told the BBC. "By repurposing it in vehicles you protect tourism and prevent people from inhaling it," biologist Shamika Spencer, who worked on the project, told the BBC.
"Within just two weeks we got pretty good results," UWI student Brittney McKenzie, who was tasked with collecting the seaweed, told the broadcaster. "It was turning into something even bigger than we initially thought."
The team at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados developed a conversion kit that can turn a conventional gas-powered car into one that runs on the seaweed product for just $2,500.
Climate change is also allowing its population to explode, covering many Caribbean beaches entirely. Sargassum has become a major problem, threatening not just local endangered wildlife but even human health due to the hydrogen sulfide it releases as it decomposes.
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