The Blue Acceleration: a flywheel for seaweed aquaculture's growth
There are still some people who claim that the current enthusiasm for seaweeds is reminiscent of the hype in the 1970’s, when oil prices were high and algae oil was seen as the future. I think this time is different for a number of reasons, and I found a particularly compelling one last week in the Stockholm Resilience Center’s Ocean Risk Report.
Nothing better than an overarching trend to shore up a narrative. While the trio of reports point to the downside risk to the Blue Economy of unbalanced, inequitable and unsustainable investment decisions in the ocean, in my opinion (and that of the world’s most eminent seaweed scientists), investments in responsible seaweed cultivation offer a way to contribute positively to the Blue Acceleration.
With that in mind, Seaweed for Europe’s Investor Note comes at the right time. By now it should come as no surprise that the report shows a similar upward trajectory in the number of investment-ready companies in the European seaweed space.
And there are more on the way: witness these 20 seaweed startups entering incubators this autumn. Meanwhile, a solid pipeline of already established and profitable companies is clustered in a few countries (France, Norway, UK, Ireland, Netherlands), and they are attracting more investment.
Despite the immature nature of the sector, many companies are already vertically integrated to different extents. Food, feed and cosmetics are the main applications.
Bioplastics seed raises and scale-ups
US-based Sway closed a $2.5M seed raise to bring its packaging solution to market by July 2022. It’s the second seaweed investment for Starbucks-funded Valor Siren Ventures, after asparagopsis growers Blue Ocean Barns. UK bioplastics startup Kelpi (not to be confused with Australian bioplastics startup Kelpy) also closed pre-seed funding.
In the south of France, Eranova’s demonstration plant is up and running, with their 3000 m2 raceways being progressively filled up with Ulva invading nearby shorelines, to be processed into bio-based resins.
Government support for Scottish & Dutch seaweed
The Scottish and UK governments showed their support for the Scottish seaweed industry with a £407,000 grant for SAMS’ Seaweed Academy and £600,000 for Mara Seaweed to expand their processing facility and explore new markets.
Meanwhile, The Dutch Seaweed Group is steaming ahead. With a 10 ha farm, it hopes to harvest 120 tonnes on their first harvest in April (NL), immediately making them one of Europe’s biggest seaweed growers. With a 200,000 euro government grant they have set up the first dedicated seaweed processing plant in The Netherlands. Off-take agreements will be key to prove they can be profitable: they are still looking for buyers.
Novel sensors
I talked to Frank Kane, coordinator of the Horizon2020 IMPAQT project, about developing underwater wireless, novel sensors, nutrient flow models and management systems for IMTA set-ups. It was the first time I heard about a lab-on-a-chip sensor that could take nitrite and phospate measurements in the field. However, a few days later I saw that LG Sonic had just brought to market a similar technology (just for PO4, though).
Meanwhile, undergraduates at MIT are developing a microbiome monitoring system that can detect changes to microbial communities in aquaculture farms before they infect the crops.
How much Sargassum is actually floating in the ocean?
A recent debate between Lennart Bach and Carlos Duarte on Twitter (part 1 - 2 - 3) raised some doubts on the question of how much Sargassum is actually floating in the ocean. I'd love to read some more opinions on the matter.