34.1 C
Delhi
Friday, March 29, 2024

WWF Invests in UK Startup That Turns Seaweed into Sustainable Protein

UK-based seaweed processing start-up Oceanium recently announced the closing of a Seed II round of funding worth $2.7 million led by Green Angel Syndicate with World Wild Fund (WWF).

Oceanium says that it will use the new funds to scale its biorefinery and processing model to “open up the market” for sustainable seaweed farming.

The start-up refines sustainably grown seaweed to produce a wide range of products such as home-compostable packaging materials to food ingredients, including protein, fibre and nutraceuticals. Their major objective is to repurpose seaweed into new foods and materials. Its refinement method has been developed to process seaweed for applications including use in plant-based foods and sustainable packaging material as an alternative to plastic.

According to Oceanium’s website, seaweed farming is a regenerative form of aquaculture that absorbs CO2 and nitrogen, increases biodiversity, and can generate additional income and livelihoods along coastal regions.

Oceanium’s first offering will be all natural, nutraceutical products for health and nutrition and personal care, followed by food ingredients fibre and protein.

Oceanium founder Karen Scofield Seal said in a statement: “The calibre of investors in this round of funding highlights the opportunity and obligation to create a market for sustainably farmed seaweed and drive systemic change by providing regenerative food and material sources. We will continue to work closely with regional and global conservation partners including WWF, Safe Seaweed Coalition and Seaweed for Europe to ensure we lay the best possible foundations for what will be a transformative industry, in terms of both economic, societal and environmental impact”.

Led by Green Angel Syndicate, the UK’s only angel syndicate specialising in the fight against climate change, WWF is an anchor investor alongside SyndicateRoom, Glass Wall Syndicate members, Kingfisher Capital, an UHNW family office and “green” angel investors from Europe, the UK and the US.

Related Articles

Latest Articles