🍃The Paxtier Report 230523
Nissui invests in Australian seaweed startup, and a big carbon policy development in the US.
"The ocean-climate (and therefore biodiversity) connection has not fully entered the collective consciousness." — Chris Gorell Barnes, Ocean 14 Capital
Dear algae technologists - hello and welcome to the Paxtier Report!
To start the email this week, check out this wholesome video from the Triton Algae Innovations team:
In today’s report:
Markets: 💸 Untapped kelp farming market in Nova Scotia could be worth millions.
Deals: 🤝 Nissui invests in Australian seaweed startup.
Movers and Shakers: ✈️ Neste bets on global green fuel future with bigger Asian plant.
Around the web: 🌍 Crafting Plastics' biomaterial installation changes colour with UV exposure:
Markets and Investing
✂️Algae Market Snippets
Some big moves in recent weeks…
General
🌊 Water ‘batteries’ and AI for algae: Ofwat allocates £40m green innovation funding. The Water Breakthrough Challenge aims to encourage initiatives that help to tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector (Read more HERE).
🏛️ Big carbon policy development in the US: A bipartisan coalition led by Susan Collins (R-ME) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has re-introduced the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage (CREST) Act to the US Senate (Read more HERE).
🏆 25+ partners from start-ups, research, industry and SMEs kicked off the AlgaeProBANOS project. Over 4 years, AlgaeProBANOS will bring new sustainable algae-based products to market, develop business networks and better position the EU algae industry (Read more HERE).
Macroalgae
🌍 Scottish seaweed supplement brand to cash in on global attention. Doctor Seaweed has attracted interest from major retailers in Europe and North America (Read more HERE).
🤝 Nissui invests in Australian seaweed startup. Immersion Group specialises in the land-based production of seaweed-derived antimethanogenic feed supplements (Read more HERE).
💸 Indonesia offers Natuna's seaweed project to Korean investors (Read more HERE).
📈 Korea to up seafood exports to $4.5 billion by 2027. The amount represents around a 50 percent rise from a record high of $3.15 billion tallied in 2022, on the back of the global popularity of "gim" and abalone. Gim, or dried seaweed, is usually roasted with sesame oil and fine salt and served as a side dish in Korean dining (Read more HERE).
💸 Untapped kelp farming market in Nova Scotia could be worth millions according to a new market assessment report (Read more HERE).
🤝 Additive.earth has been commissioned by The Crown Estate to explore a national strategy to accelerate sustainable aquaculture (Read more HERE).
💸 UK fund awards £6.2m to ‘seafood innovators’. The cohort of innovations to receive funding from SIF includes 11 projects for aquaculture, four for fisheries, another four for the supply chain and processing, and three for seaweed production (Read more HERE).
🚧 More than a mile of sargassum barriers to be installed in Tulum (Read more HERE).
🌱 Loliware unveils partnership with José Andrés Group, introduces seaweed resin utensils, and adds new advisory board members (Read more HERE and HERE).
🌱 Gowanus Canal kelp farm celebrates its first commercial harvest (Read more HERE).
🌍 The Australian natural products on their way to UK shores. From raw bioactive Jarrah Honey to the nutritious sea botanicals of Australian seaweed and algae, Britons can look forward to some new natural products from Down Under (Read more HERE).
💸 The Seafields Solutions crowdfunding campaign has closed, and they’ve raised over £560,000 (Read more HERE). Seafields will develop stationary aquafarms together with MacroCarbon (Read more HERE).
🤝 Nordic Innovation has signed a contract with Lava Seaweed for the CircleFeed project. The project aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle (Read more HERE).
Microalgae
🏄 Surf legend Kelly Slater launches his first-ever footwear brand with a sustainable flip-flop made from algae (Read more HERE).
✈️ Neste bets on global green fuel future with bigger Asian plant. Neste Oyj plans to supply renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel to regions across the world from its expanded refinery in Singapore, as global green ambitions drive up demand (Read more HERE).
🐟 Rising demand, erratic supply boost fish oil prices, enhance appeal of other omega-3 sources... (Read more HERE).
💸 Devonian announces private placement of up to $5 Million (Read more HERE).
🏆HSLU founds start-up for microalgae. Researchers from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts are working on efficient bioreactors for microalgae (Read more HERE).
✈️ Abg Jo: S’wak to test algae sustainable aviation fuel on Langkawi-bound flight (Read more HERE).
🐦Tweet of the week
🔥 What else was hot in algae tech this week?
General
🥑 ProVeg in Washington: Cutting meat is necessary for fighting climate change (Read more HERE).
🌊 It’s time to join the ocean-climate (and biodiversity) dots. A blog by Chris Gorell Barnes, founding partner, Ocean 14 Capital and speaker at the 2023 World Ocean Summit (Read more HERE).
Macroalgae
🥑 Seaweed firm Whiore Enterprises aims to turn invasive species into food, nutraceuticals (Read more HERE).
🌊 Otago researchers reveal impact of ancient earthquake. The previously unknown region of earthquake uplift, in Rarangi, Marlborough, was discovered using a combination of new data from laser mapping and kelp genetics (Read more HERE).
🌊 Drakes Bay kelp tests will inform Sonoma restoration (Read more HERE).
🛥️ Damen develops electric mussel farming vessel (Read more HERE).
🌱 Touring “Europe’s largest indoor seaweed hatchery” (Read more HERE):
Microalgae
📝 (Paper) Comprehensive evaluation of zeolite/marine alga nanocomposite in the removal of waste dye from industrial wastewater (Read more HERE).
🌊 Bursts of phytoplankton are appearing in oceans, seas, gulfs, canals — and increasingly in lakes (Read more HERE).
🟢 Microalgae brought from Antarctica to be tested during Türkiye's 1st manned space voyage (Read more HERE).
📝 (Paper) Impacts of algae supplements (Arthrospira & Chlorella) on growth, nutrient variables, intestinal efficacy, and antioxidants in New Zealand white rabbit. (Read more HERE).
📝 (Paper) Spirulina platensis improves growth, oil content, and antioxidant activitiy of rosemary plant under cadmium and lead stress (Read more HERE).
🟢 Phytality Nutrition benefits from Bundaberg’s climate (Read more HERE).
💪🏼 Crafting Plastics' biomaterial installation changes colour with UV exposure (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