Esteban Amaro, director of the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network, agrees that fuel is the best product to focus on. These panels use between 60 and 70 kilos of wet sargassum per piece and offer several advantages compared to conventional paneling: The material is around 33 percent more flexible, has greater resistance to impact, and is a fire retardant. “With this project, not only do we contribute to reducing the problem … we also generate profits from carbon credits. If processed into long-lasting physical products, sargassum can lock away the carbon it draws from the environment to grow; if turned into a biofuel, it can avoid some fossil fuel emissions. The center will mainly promote using sargassum to produce biogas and organic fertilizers—replacements for products that usually result in greenhouse gases being released when made and used.