OCEANIUM announced a fundraise of $2.6m led by existing investor Builders Vision with a final close to be completed by early Autumn. Participation from other existing investors include the World Wildlife Fund and Green Angel Ventures and several new investors from Asia, Europe, and the US.
The raise will support OCEANIUM to scale up its proprietary biorefinery technology to meet market demand for its innovative seaweed ingredients and materials. Co-founded in 2018 by Karen Scofield Seal (CEO) and Dr. Charlie Bavington, (CTO), OCEANIUM’s mission is to enable and unlock the emerging sustainable seaweed farming industry in the Western hemisphere by extracting maximum value from seaweed.
Using proprietary technology, based on green chemistry principles, OCEANIUM creates a suite of high-value, in-demand products including food ingredients – OCEAN HEALTH® Fiber and OCEAN HEALTH® protein, natural bioactive ingredients for health and cosmetics – OCEAN ACTIVES® Fucoidan and OCEAN ACTIVES® Beta-Glucan, and innovative seaweed-based materials to replace resource intensive products. Seaweed farming is a regenerative form of aquaculture with the potential for numerous environmental, economic, and societal benefits. OCEANIUM’s biorefinery model provides a path for a scaled seaweed industry to contribute to food security and supply as a volume buyer of farmed seaweed. OCEAN HEALTH® Fiber, a sustainable dietary fiber from seaweed, has received GRAS status in the U.S., regulatory approval in the UK and EU, and is receiving strong commercial traction from global food companies looking to integrate sustainable ingredients into their products.
OCEANIUM will utilize the financing to commercialize its food ingredients and nutraceutical products, continue development of innovative materials, and complete the preparations for the “shovel-ready” installation of a scaled seaweed biorefinery planned under its Series A fundraising. This demonstration biorefinery will meet market demand for versatile ingredients and OCEANIUM’s growing list of B2B customers and build upon a successful 75T seaweed processing run in 2023. The funding will also allow OCEANIUM to bring on a Managing Director as the company moves to international expansion and growth.
Karen Scofield Seal, CEO and Co-Founder, OCEANIUM said: “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”
