It all began with an idea: using the ocean’s natural resources to develop new, climate-friendly feedstocks for industry. To pursue this idea, in January 2022, dedicated researchers from the AWI and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel joined forces with the start-ups Seafields and Carbonwave, with support from BASF, to submit the project “C-CAUSE” (Chemical CArbon Utilization through Sargassum Economy) to the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D) competition “Carbon to Value Challenge”. C-CAUSE was one of five projects selected for an initial phase of funding in which innovative value-creation chains were developed: based on the cultivation of floating macroalgae (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) at aquafarms in the open ocean, renewable biological carbon feedstocks are to be produced for the chemical industry. The objectives: to contribute to the decarbonisation of the chemical industry and simultaneously generate products that sequester carbon on a long-term basis.
Credit: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Franziska Elmer
It all began with an idea: using the ocean’s natural resources to develop new, climate-friendly feedstocks for industry. To pursue this idea, in January 2022, dedicated researchers from the AWI and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel joined forces with the start-ups Seafields and Carbonwave, with support from BASF, to submit the project “C-CAUSE” (Chemical CArbon Utilization through Sargassum Economy) to the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D) competition “Carbon to Value Challenge”. C-CAUSE was one of five projects selected for an initial phase of funding in which innovative value-creation chains were developed: based on the cultivation of floating macroalgae (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) at aquafarms in the open ocean, renewable biological carbon feedstocks are to be produced for the chemical industry. The objectives: to contribute to the decarbonisation of the chemical industry and simultaneously generate products that sequester carbon on a long-term basis.
In order to spur on further development activities in the context of a second phase of SPRIN-D funding and pursue technical upscaling on a more agile basis, the AWI spinoff MACROCARBON SL was founded on 23 March 2023. According to Dr Mar Fernández Méndez, founder and Managing Director of the AWI spinoff, its goals are as follows: “MACROCARBON will develop integrated supply chains for farming and processing Sargassum algae. Since Sargassum floats in the water, no expensive longlines are needed. In addition, the algae grows quickly and thrives in a variety of regions. It offers highly efficient CO2 fixing through natural photosynthesis.” After harvesting, the carbon-rich biomass can be processed into feedstocks for the chemical industry (e.g. bio-naphtha), which can be used to replace products that have been produced using fossil fuels to date. In this way, MACROCARBON will contribute to decarbonisation, fixing 100 million metric tons by 2040, and a gigaton of CO2-based carbon by 2050.
The AWI and its spinoff MACROCARBON also plan to continue cooperating in the future. In this regard, the AWI will use its understanding of biological processes to monitor carbon flows and environmental safety to help MACROCARBON establish an innovative value-creation chain.
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria was selected as the site for the company’s headquarters because Sargassum flourishes in the nearby waters and the young company MACROCARBON will have access to a unique platform and testing facilities (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands, PLOCAN), which are ideally suited for large-scale experiments and for testing pilot facilities. In addition, the site in the Atlantic is readily accessible and offers the requisite high-seas conditions. The Canary Islands are part of the EU, which is relevant for funding from SPRIN-D and EU sources. Moreover, they offer an attractive “ecosystem” for newly-founded companies – particularly in connection with the “blue” bioeconomy.
In addition to the support received from SPRIN-D, the two start-ups Seafields and Carbonwave plan to invest in MACROCARBON. Further, Jason Cole, currently Head of Innovation at Carbonwave, is slated to join the founding team at MACROCARBON. Given their previous work with aquaculture and the recycling of seagrass, the two companies can contribute valuable experience.
At the end of March, the AWI spinoff MACROCARBON was invited to present itself at the Investor Day hosted by the four non-academic research associations Helmholtz, Max Planck, Fraunhofer and Leibniz in Munich. At the event, 40 selected start-ups presented to over 100 investors. MACROCARBON sparked considerable interest among the investors, demonstrating that the concept holds great potential, both from ecological and economic perspectives.
In the Gulf of Mexico, for example, where a huge algal carpet of brown algae is currently drifting towards Floridas coast, there have already been several attempts to utilize sargassum biomass. So far, however, it has not been possible to guarantee reliable recycling on an industrial scale because the inflows from Sargassum on the beaches were fluctuating too much. On the other hand, controlled aqua farming, as planned by MACROCARBON, allows for a continuous production which can then also take up and use such stranded biomass in an economically viable way. Indirectly, MACROCARBON could thus contribute to solving problems like those in the Caribbean because it is developing a method for aquafarming and recycling of sargassum.
“For me as a marine biologist, the founding of this company is an incredibly exciting, but also challenging process. I learned a great deal at the investors’ event. Thanks to the support of a wonderful SPRIN-D coach and the AWI’s Technology Transfer office, we came prepared,” says Mar Fernández Méndez. “In its latest Synthesis Report, the IPCC once again underscored the urgent need to finally take concrete action. That’s what motivated me to transform our research findings into major commercial applications through upscaling.”
Further information:
Video on the SPRIN-D Carbon to Value Challenge: https://www.sprind.org/en/challenges/carbon-to-value (C-CAUSE from 10:28)
Previous AWI news on C-CAUSE: https://www.awi.de/ueber-uns/service/presse/presse-detailansicht/default-0f90dfdb88-1.html
Young Investigator Group SiDe-EFFECT, led by Mar Fernández Méndez: https://www.awi.de/forschung/biowissenschaften/polare-biologische-ozeanographie/arbeitsgruppen/helmholtz-nachwuchsgruppe-side-effect.html (see in particular Current Projects, points 2 and 3)
Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN): https://plocan.eu/en
Seafields: https://www.seafields.eco/
Carbonwave: https://carbonwave.com/
Notes for Editors:
You can find printable images in the online version of this press release: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press.html
Your contact partner at the Alfred Wegener Institute is Dr. Mar Fernàndez-Méndez, tel. +49 (0)471 4831 1895 (e-mail: [email protected])
If you have any further questions, Nils Ehrenberg, tel. +49 (0)471 4831 2008 (e-mail: [email protected]) at the AWI’s Communications and Media Relations Department will be happy to help you.
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The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) conducts research in the Arctic, Antarctic and oceans of the high and mid-latitudes. It coordinates polar research in Germany and provides major infrastructure to the international scientific community, such as the research icebreaker Polarstern and stations in the Arctic and Antarctica. The Alfred Wegener Institute is one of the 18 research centres of the Helmholtz Association, the largest scientific organisation in Germany
