“Coastal communities have encountered substantial challenges in accessing viable income sources due to climate change in recent years. Seaweed farmers, predominantly employing traditional techniques, face growing vulnerability to climate change impacts such as shifts in sea temperature and ocean acidification.” – Convergence – The Global Network for Blended Finance
Dear seaweed and microalgae investors, buyers, operators, and technologists, welcome to another edition of the Paxtier Report!
Food for thought this week…
It’s been encouraging to see growing support for African seaweed innovation in recent weeks, highlighted by the latest update from the Africa Fair Seaweed Finance Facility (AFSFF). Backed by Canada-based investment firm Convergence, AFSFF aims to mobilise USD 50 million by 2029 and provide female seaweed farmers with knowledge in high tech, high-yield, deep-water seaweed farming (read more HERE). It’s exciting to see this effort complement a series of other innovative developments across the continent this week, including updates about Blue Venture Builder (BVB Africa) and Kelp Blue’s remote-operated kelp harvester vessel:
Congrats to everyone involved.
Have a great day, everyone!
— Peter
In today’s report…
Markets: 📈 USD 50 million project empowers female African seaweed farmers with climate-resilient resources.
Deals: 🤝 Nordic SeaFarm secures €2.2 million (25 million SEK) in funding with EIT InnoEnergy and Inter IKEA Group as lead investors.
Movers and Shakers: 🌊 FDA approves medical gel made from algae.
Around the web: 💡RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, one of the UK’s busiest air bases, has integrated a blend of conventional jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into its routine operations.
Markets and Investing
✂️Market Snippets
Some big moves in recent weeks…
Seaweed
🌊 Over 7,200 tonnes of invasive Asian seaweed collected on western Costa del Sol beaches recycled (Read more HERE)
💸 Nordic SeaFarm secures €2.2 million (25 million SEK) in funding with EIT InnoEnergy and Inter IKEA Group as lead investors (Read more HERE)
🤝 Mullingar firm Better Plants announces European expansion for its organic liquid seaweeds and seaweed-based animal supplements (Read more HERE)
🌿 Rumin8 gains provisional registration by the New Zealand Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines for its first methane reducing feed additive (Read more HERE)
🤝 PA Consulting partners with Searo Labs to scale seaweed-based packaging solutions (Read more HERE)
🌿 Seakura to lead project to clean Ashdod Port using seaweed (Read more HERE)
🤝 Uluu details WWF Indonesia cooperation agreement aiming to make ASC certified seaweed farms in Indonesia a reality (Read more HERE)
🤝 Soarce and sevengardens announce a new partnership to enhance seaweed-based dyes (Read more HERE)
🌊 Seaforester highlights deployment of 25,000+ kelp stones in Cascais and ongoing Purina Europe partnership (Read more HERE)
🤝 Keel Labs details partnership with Outerknown to develop sustainable seaweed-based biomaterials for fashion (Read more HERE)
🌿 Kick-off for the « PioMer » project at CEVA, funded by the Carnot AgriFood Transition Institute aiming to cultivate Chondrus crispus at sea (Read more HERE)
🌊 Maine aquaculture body looks to recruit ‘coastal ambassadors’ (Read more HERE)
🌿 Cattle at a Queensland feedlot were fed red seaweed for 200 days in one of the longest trials of the additive (Read more HERE)
Microalgae
💸 Bigelow Lab secures $7 million for algae research and business development (Read more HERE)
📈 Algine Plus expands retail presence across North America (Read more HERE)
💸 Carbonxt Group secures AU$240,000 grant for algae mitigation research (Read more HERE)
🟢 FDA approves medical gel made from algae (Read more HERE)
🌊 Florida is building the world’s largest environmental restoration project (Read more HERE)
🟢 Seed Oil Free Alliance certifies new cooking oil made from algae (Read more HERE)
💸 Hong Kong’s GEB Impact seeks funding to fuel microalgae biotech expansion (Read more HERE)
🧪 Sirio Pharma sets USP reference standard for ubidecarenone chewable gels (Read more HERE)
💸 £38 million centre for studying alternative proteins, including algae-derived solutions, due to launch in the UK (Read more HERE)
🟢 RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, one of the UK’s busiest air bases, has integrated a blend of conventional jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into its routine operations (Read more HERE)
🟢 Algaktiv launches hair care active: Algaktiv Densidyl, which in vitro and clinical testing show combats hair loss and graying (Read more HERE)
🐦Tweets of the week
🔥 What else was hot in seaweed and microalgae this week?
Seaweed
🌿 Sizing up seaweed as a sustainability asset (Read more HERE)
🧪 Cellular engineers seek to boost bromoform in seaweed (Read more HERE)
🌊 Costa del Sol’s marine flora and fauna flourish again after adapting to invasive Asian seaweed (Read more HERE)
🌿 Carbon pawprint: Why pet food giant Purina wants to restore Europe’s kelp, oysters and seaweed forests (Read more HERE)
🌿 Why a Nova Scotia non-profit is casting its net for kelp (Read more HERE)
🌊 Nominees sought for the ISA Council 2025-2034 (Read more HERE)
🌿 Determine the suitability and economic viability of seaweed farming in different regions (Read more HERE)
Microalgae
🤝 Algae here, alien life out there — Cal State L.A.-JPL partnership connects engineers to astrobiology (Read more HERE)
🧪 Brock researchers join forces to study copper extraction from algae (Read more HERE)
🌊 Regenerating deep-sea worms harness live-in algae as they split into three (Read more HERE)
🧪 Key biofuel-producing microalga believed to be a single species is actually three (Read more HERE)
🟢 Microalgae packaging becomes biostimulant after use (Read more HERE)
🌊 Marine geoengineering won’t solve ocean issues? (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
