An algae-derived ingredient that can displace petroleum wax
PLUS Japan’s Koasa Group is currently facing inquiries from the Korean government for allegedly stockpiling seaweed, and Maruha partners with Canada's Mara Renewables.
“In response to the global climate crisis, 82% of the cosmetic industry has adopted UN Sustainability Goals 12 & 13 to reduce their CO2 footprint and use nontoxic ingredients.” — Daniella Zakon, Upwell Materials
Dear seaweed and microalgae investors, buyers, operators, and technologists, welcome to another edition of the Paxtier Report!
Food for thought this week…
Introducing ocean start-up spotlight!
The rules are simple:
1) I ask an ocean entrepreneur rapid-fire questions.
2) You comment below if you’re in or out.
This week's start-up is making an algae-derived ingredient that can displace petroleum wax. Here’s Daniella Zakon explaining Upwell Materials for you:
1. Name of business
Upwell Materials
2. Your business in 1 sentence
Clean ocean-derived ingredients that can change the products you use every day.
3. The problem that you are solving
In response to the global climate crisis, 82% of the cosmetic industry has adopted UN Sustainability Goals 12 & 13 to reduce their CO2 footprint and use nontoxic ingredients.
8 conglomerates representing $97bn in the beauty space have promised to reformulate using sustainable ingredients and green chemistry.
All brands, big and small, are racing to find sustainable ingredients.
Upwell’s mission is to make these ingredients.
4. Your specific solution to the problem
Our microalgae are grown in sustainable closed-loop bio-reactors that require 1/10th the land area of land crops, a fraction of the water, and are 5-10 times more efficient at absorbing CO2 than land plants.
Upwell adheres to the ACS’s 12 Principles of Green Chemistry to make sure our clean ingredients are extracted sustainably and without harmful chemicals.
Upwell’s first suite of products are derived from microalgae and target some of the largest ingredient segments in personal care including humectants (moisturizers) and waxes.
5. How will you make money?
Upwell has a very lean operating model with all algae manufacturing and ingredient production outsourced to best-in-class providers.
3-pronged sales strategy: direct to brands, through contract manufacturers and national distributors.
Targeting profitability in 2026 on $5mn in sales.
7. If we invested $1M in the business, how would you use the money?
Continue to scale up production.
Finish humectant R&D and testing.
Humectant commercialization with significant sales expected for 2025.
Finalize initial product collaborations for the launch of the natural wax and butter in early 2025.
Continue to look for gaps in the cosmetic ingredient market and expand our ingredient portfolio.
Learn more about Upwell’s investment executive summary here.
Hope you enjoy!
Have a great day folks.
— Peter
In today’s report…
Markets: 🐮 Japan’s Koasa Group is currently facing inquiries from the Korean government for allegedly stockpiling seaweed.
Deals: 🤝 Maruha partners with Canada's Mara Renewables to market algae-derived omega-3 in Asia, expanding health product lines.
Movers and Shakers: 🌿 Mars to commit $47 million over the next three years in climate-smart dairy farming practices.
Around the web: 💡Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) one step closer for Aussie farmers using Asparagopsis.
Markets and Investing
✂️Market Snippets
Some big moves in recent weeks…
Seaweed
🌿 Northland Regional Council in New Zealand estimates $100M needed for the removal of invasive Caulerpa algae (Read more HERE).
💸 BioMara is raising £2 million to scale up seaweed processing in Scotland, aiming to support local farmers and boost the seaweed sector (Read more HERE).
💸 Korean seaweed company ShunyTech secures investment for eco-friendly seaweed seed farming (Read more HERE).
🤝 Marinomed Biotech AG secures licensure with a leading consumer health care player for the distribution of Carragelose® products in Europe (Read more HERE).
📈 Seaweed Bath Co. expands its natural beauty influence by acquiring Andalou Naturals and Mineral Fusion (Read more HERE).
📈 Atlantic Sea Farms, a seaweed farming company in Biddeford, doubled its harvest from last year and has more “partner farmers” and retail outlets than ever (Read more HERE).
💸 Mars to commit $47 million over the next three years in climate-smart dairy farming practices, featuring support of seaweed feed supplements (Read more HERE).
📈 YangMyeong Co., Ltd. in Korea announces plans for a new dried seaweed plant at Gunsan Saemangeum Seafood Export Processing Complex (Read more HERE).
💸 Cold Current Kelp, a vertically integrated kelp farming company has been awarded a grant of $175,000 to help the company’s research into the use of kelp extracts for skincare (Read more HERE).
🌿 Sanitarium introduces new line of superfood plant-based milks enriched with algae (Read more HERE).
📈 Essentra, a global manufacturer of essential industrial components, advances trial of bioplastic alternatives to reduce environmental impact (Read more HERE).
📈 Bioprime Agrisolutions has announced the completion of trials for its seaweed-based formulation BioPrime Fortisea in the US (Read more HERE).
🌿 Kelp Blue secures 15-year kelp cultivation licence (Read more HERE).
🌍 Maroon Invest Global and Maroon Venture Fund announce the Women's Catalytic Climate Fellowship 2024, supporting up to 4 ventures focused on impactful climate solutions in health and environmental sustainability (Learn more HERE).
🌿 Scottish seaweed crisps now available on major supermarket shelves (Read more HERE).
🌿 Japan’s Koasa Group is currently facing inquiries from the Korean government for allegedly stockpiling seaweed, which is thought to be causing significant price increases (Read more HERE).
🌊 Nordic cohort to develop biodiversity credit methodology for the offshore wind sector in the Baltic Sea (Read more HERE).
🌿 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) one step closer for Aussie farmers using Asparagopsis (Read more HERE).
🌿 Haeckels introduces the new Seaweed Solar Protect SPF50+, made with Palmless™ technology, designed to enhance skin resilience (Read more HERE).
Microalgae
🛞 Tyre manufacturer reTyre will unveil what it claims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral tyre made from algae at Eurobike 2024 (Read more HERE).
💸 Become a Co-owner of Aliga microalgae: investment opportunity unveiled (Read more HERE).
📈 Fermentalg achieves a historic first half-year with sales reaching €6.3 million, bolstered by a strategic partnership with HuvePharma (Read more HERE)
📈 Vinpai announces 28% growth in revenue in the first half of 2024, reaching €5.1 million (Read more HERE).
💸 TEDCO-backed biotech firm Phycin raises $200k to advance algae development (Read more HERE).
🟢 Organic Basics launches the world’s first intimates collection made with biodegradable algae-based dye (Read more HERE).
🤝 Nike adopts algae-based ink for eco-friendly decoration of ISPA shoeboxes (Read more HERE).
🤝 Origin by Ocean teams up with Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association to transform harmful blue-green algae from the Baltic Sea into valuable raw materials (Read more HERE).
🤝 Maruha partners with Canada's Mara Renewables to market algae-derived omega-3 in Asia, expanding health product lines (Read more HERE).
🔬 NTT and Euglena Co. achieve a breakthrough in algae breeding using neutron beam irradiation, a first in the world (Read more HERE).
🟢 WNDR Alpine introduces new line of bio-based outdoor gear (Read more HERE).
🟢 Ethiopia launches first-ever spirulina research and production centre to reduce imports (Read more HERE).
💸 CYANOPHY Laboratoire SAS announces EUR 30 million bond issuance to boost ecological innovation (Read more HERE).
🐦Tweets of the week
🔥 What else was hot in seaweed and microalgae this week?
Seaweed
🌿 INTAKE's meat substitute knowhow now aims at salmon, tuna (Read more HERE).
🌿 Could limu power future biorefineries? UH project explores (Read more HERE).
🌿 Kenya's coastal communities turn to seaweed farming, transforming livelihoods and boosting local economies (Read more HERE).
🌊 Japan looks to 'blue carbon' to cut emissions — and restore its coasts (Read more HERE).
🌿 Underwater gardeners work to restore B.C.'s crucial kelp forests (Read more HERE).
🌿 Study reveals co-farming shrimp with oysters and seaweed reduces nitrogen output (Read more HERE).
🌿 The bizarre case of the Canadian multinational, the Irish semi-state seaweed company, and the 10-year confidentiality agreement (Read more HERE).
🌿 Navigating the tides: Small-holder farmers charting the future of seaweed farming (Read more HERE).
🌿 Startup Uncracked is unlocking seaweeds’ clean-label potential with proprietary SeaStack technology (Read more HERE).
💡 (Paper) The potential climate benefits of seaweed farming in temperate waters (Read more HERE).
🎉 Re:Right debuts seaweed bioplastic pavilion for Glastonbury festival (Read more HERE).
🌊 New protocol for subsurface biomass carbon removal and storage introduced by Isometric (Read more HERE).
🌿 These period pads solidify blood to prevent leaks (Read more HERE).
🌿 Innovators enhance Indonesia’s pond-based seaweed cultivation and processing (Read more HERE).
🌿FT Analysis: Climate tech explained: methane inhibitors (Read more HERE).
Microalgae
🟢 Jessica Thies unveils 'Synthiesis' footwear line, integrating sustainable materials and innovative design (Read more HERE)
📈 Brevel, which creates neutral protein powder from fermented algae, intends to produce hundreds of tons of protein each year (Read more HERE).
🤝 Biotect Thailand collaborates with Sarawak Biodiversity Centre to study algae's antimicrobial properties (Read more HERE).
🟢 Indonesia leverages microalgal biotechnology to create high-value products, enhancing its bioeconomy (Read more HERE).
🟢 New study illuminates how algae perceive and respond to environmental cues, enhancing understanding of aquatic ecosystems (Read more HERE).
⛽ Algae biofuel sector gets renewed interest, with startups and established companies exploring its potential (Read more HERE).
🟢 Skretting to offer breakthrough algal oil for aquaculture, promising enhanced sustainability in fish feeds (Read more HERE).
⛽ Biofuel produced from CO2-captured microalgae showcased at University of Antioquia (Read more HERE).
🟢 Making lab-grown meat more sustainable (Read more HERE).
💡 (Paper) A chromosome-level genome assembly for the paramylon-producing microalga Euglena gracilis (Read more HERE).
🟢 KAS CEO Claude Kaplan eyes Northern Europe for a new astaxanthin manufacturing plant, aiming at local production efficiency (Read more HERE).
🟢 UL Lafayette researcher to use hyperspectral satellites to study phytoplankton in Gulf (Read more HERE).
🟢 Training AI to detect harmful algal blooms enhances monitoring capabilities (Read more HERE).
💡 (Paper) Improvement of Bacillus subtilis PI agarase production, hydrolysate scavenging capability assessment, and saccharification of algal biomass for green ethanol generation (Read more HERE).
That’s all folks!
Thanks again for joining us this week. If you think we’ve missed something worth highlighting - drop us a line below or via LinkedIn. Hope you have a great day and stay tuned for more seaweed and microalgae updates soon!
Best,
Peter