🌊🎉 OCEANIUM nets $2.6 million to supercharge seaweed processing
PLUS: VC firm Superorganism launches with a focus on biodiversity investing, and Organic Valley and Symbrosia announce pilot.
“Seaweed can play a valuable role in addressing climate change and creating sustainable food sources, but we need innovators like OCEANIUM to champion seaweed production and highlight its wide range of uses.” — James Lindsay, Principal, Builders Initiative Investment Team, Builders Vision.
Dear algae technologists, operators, and investors, welcome to another edition of the Paxtier Report!
To kick off this week's email, check out how Dr. Adibi M. Nor is using AI to enhance the quality of his seaweed…🤖
Find out more HERE.
In today’s report…
Markets: 🤝 DOE announces $18.6M to support production of low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts.
Deals: 💸 OCEANIUM announces $2.6m fundraise to support seaweed processing scale-up.
Movers and Shakers: 🏆 VC firm Superorganism launches with a focus on biodiversity investing.
Around the web: 👽 Has the first biosignature been found on an exoplanet?
Markets and Investing
💡OCEANIUM announces $2.6m fundraise to support seaweed processing scale-up.
OCEANIUM has just announced a $2.6m fundraise to support seaweed processing scale-up!
Builders Vision led the round alongside World Wildlife Fund and Green Angel Ventures. New investors joining the round included BDT & MSD Partners and two family office members of Hong Kong-based Sustainable Finance Initiative – OCEANIUM’s first investment from Asia.
Funding will scale OCEANIUM’s proprietary biorefinery technology and accelerate the commercialisation of OCEANIUM’s food ingredients, bioactives for health and cosmetics, and innovative materials for luxury packaging and textiles.
Here’s what Karen Scofield Seal, CEO and co-founder of OCEANIUM had to say: “OCEANIUM is about building partnerships with all of our stakeholders from suppliers to commercial partners and, of course, our committed and supportive investors; we are grateful for the ongoing confidence from the impact investment community. This investment led by Builders Vision will allow OCEANIUM to scale its proprietary technology to meet the growing demand for its innovative seaweed products and to drive systemic change by contributing towards food security, people health and ocean health. “
Find out more HERE.
✂️More Algae Market Snippets
Some big moves in recent weeks…
General
🐻 VC firm Superorganism launches with a focus on biodiversity investing (Read more HERE).
💸 DOE announces $18.6M to support production of low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts (Read more HERE).
Macroalgae
⬆️ S. Korea to boost 'gim' exports through quality improvement and new products (Read more HERE).
🤝 Partnership progresses between ULUU and Mina Agar Makmur Co-operative as first shipment of seaweed is made and joint venture agreement signed (Read more HERE).
🐟 Waitrose salmon supplier Aquascot acquires seaweed brand SHORE (Read more HERE).
🍫 High Tide Seaweed Snack Bars will launch this summer following new product development support from Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, which has been funded by the Welsh Government backed Project HELIX (Read more HERE).
👨🌾 Nearly 400 state farmers utilising Sargassum turned fertiliser (Read more HERE).
🌱 Caulerpa seaweed: Super-spreading scourge to be removed from seabed in new trial (Read more HERE).
🗣️ More than 20 representatives of New Zealand-based agritech organisations are meeting with Irish and British organisations this month to discuss emissions reduction, soil conservation and environmental stewardship - including a few seaweed companies (Read more HERE).
🌱 Organic Valley and Symbrosia announce pilot to minimise methane with organic seaweed (Read more HERE).
🌱 Ocean Harvest shares fall as loss widens despite revenue growth (Read more HERE).
❗ Seaweed farming can deliver economic and environmental benefits but is ‘significantly cost-disadvantaged,’ concludes TNC report (Read more HERE).
📈 Biden-Harris administration announces $14 million as part of Investing in America agenda to support research for new ocean-based climate solutions (Read more HERE).
🌱 Kelp is on the way: As new Puget Sound aquaculture industry blooms, Vashon locals urge caution (Read more HERE).
🏆 Osea Malibu’s bestselling Undaria algae body oil just won Cosmopolitan's Reader's Choice Award as “Best Body Oil” (Read more HERE).
🌱 LASU urged to possess, protect & patent Sargassum research (Read more HERE).
🤝 Quintana Roo and the Netherlands sign LOI to protect the environment (Read more HERE).
♻️ The BioMara seaweed team is making progress with its residual biomass streams project (Read more HERE).
🎉 Niklas Carlson has been appointed as the CEO of Ocean Next - a joint venture between Nordic SeaFarm and Ocean Collective, which hopes to introduce more plant-based food from our oceans into the Swedish and Nordic markets (Read more HERE).
Microalgae
🤝 Vinpai and Adetis sign a partnership to expand in France (Read more HERE).
📈 Nordic Naturals expands retail presence with exclusive omega-3 supplement offerings coming to Sam’s Club stores in October (Read more HERE).
⚖️ New E.U. law requires 70% of aviation fuel to be sustainable by 2050 (Read more HERE).
🟢 NTT corporation explains Green & Food Co joint venture RAS plans (Read more HERE).
🔁 Fristads is betting on a circularity model and algae-based dyes (Read more HERE).
⬇️ Freshwater plant and algae found to have methane-reducing properties (Read more HERE).
🧯 Tesco grows vegetables using fire extinguisher waste and algae in net zero push (Read more HERE).
🤝 Algalíf and ImmunRise have entered into formal discussions with the aim to construct a large-scale microalgae industry centre (Read more HERE).
🏆 Aliga Microalgae wins most innovative ingredient at the World Plant-Based Innovation Awards 2023. The team also won €25,000 from EIT Food and Blendhub's Affordable Scale-Up Challenge to develop new and exciting algae beverage prototypes (Read more HERE).
⏫ PETRONAS, Gentari, Amazon and AWS come together to accelerate clean energy growth and algae production (Read more HERE).
🐦Tweets of the week
🔥 What else was hot in algae this week?
Macroalgae
🌱 Xiamen University's young researchers explore seaweed's role in carbon capture (Read more HERE).
👅 How umami overcame discrimination and took its place as the 5th taste (Read more HERE).
🐡 CMFRI’s studies on India’s marine biodiversity presented at UN global meet (Read more HERE).
🥡 In Gujarat, seaweed food packs to fight use of plastic (Read more HERE).
🧂 Prince of Wales makes ‘salty’ comment after tasting seaweed from Câr Y Môr seaweed farm (Read more HERE).
🌱 Life Cycle Assessment of a large commercial kelp farm in Shandong, China (Read more HERE).
📺 Câr Y Môr receives positive media coverage through Earthshot Prize YouTube episode (Read more HERE).
🍳 Vogue covers Amal Clooney’s seaweed diet (Read more HERE).
Microalgae
📄 (Paper) Single-cell isotope tracing reveals functional guilds of bacteria associated with the diatom Phaeodactylum (Read more HERE).
🖨️ Using 3D-printed cyanobacteria to clean water (Read more HERE).
👽 Has the first biosignature been found on an exoplanet? (Read more HERE).
📄 (Paper) The origin of suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef (Read more HERE).
📄 (Paper) Sustained xanthophyll pigments-related photoprotective NPQ is involved in photoinhibition in the haptophyte (Read more HERE).
That’s all folks!
Thanks again for joining us this week. Hope you have a great day and stay tuned for more algae tech updates soon!
Best,
Peter