June 5, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Japan’s Nissui Corporation, the second largest seafood producer in the world with 2022 revenue of $8 billion, has invested in Seascape Restorations Australia Pty Ltd (Immersion Group), a specialist cultivator and producer of Asparagopsis, a red seaweed that is gaining recognition for its ability to reduce methane emissions from ruminants.

An assessment released in 2021 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition determined that reducing farming-generated methane levels is of high priority for fighting climate change.

Livestock emissions from both gastrointestinal release and manure account for about 32 percent of all methane emissions caused by human activity, such as farming. But why is methane so harmful? 

The aforementioned report explains that methane is the primary cause of the formation of ground-level ozone – a dangerous pollutant and greenhouse gas responsible for 1 million premature deaths each year. Furthermore, as a greenhouse gas, methane is 80 times more potent at causing global warming compared to CO2, over a 20-year period. 

Asparagopsis is a variety of red algae found in tropical waters in Asia and Oceania that has the power to suppress methane emissions by as much as 98 percent by inhibiting methanogenic bacteria, while also being shown to improve metabolism when used in animal feed. 

“There are 1 billion cattle in the world, and to have a cornerstone investor and strategic partner in Nissui puts us at the forefront of servicing this unheralded demand,” said Scott Elliott, CEO, Immersion Group. 

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has established FutureFeed, a commercial entity holding two patents for the use of Asparagopsis for the reduction of methane in ruminant livestock – and Immersion Group is one of nine FutureFeed license holders in the world, and the only company with permission to sell Asparagopsis in Japan. 

Founded in 2021 by Dr. John Statton and Scott Elliott, Immersion Group, has, over the course of its short existence, developed technology for the production of Asparagopsis seedlings, and for its own highly efficient land-based aquaculture system – which it plans to commercialize through a pilot plant in the near future. 

“We see an incredible opportunity to produce Asparagopsis, targeting premium beef markets in Australia and Japan,” said Shingo Hamada, CEO, Nissui Corporation, noting that this investment was an important step in capitalizing on the mounting momentum behind Asparagopsis as a methane-reducing feed additive. 

Elliott commented that this backing will enable the company to rapidly scale its patented onshore production technique, and to eventually expand into other geographies. 

Nissui plans to support Immersion Group’s construction of a plant near Geelong, in Victoria, Australia, (expected to create as many as 30 jobs), and to help verify the effectiveness and safety of the product by conducting test sales in Japan starting in 2024 to confirm the feasibility of commercialization. 

Nissui also stated that this investment will facilitate the expansion of a new seaweed division within its company, adding that there exist possible future synergies for land-based seaweed production technologies and expertise with other uses and categories. Aside from its contribution to global warming countermeasures, the collaboration has the potential to forge a new “food” initiative that could play a key role in a sustainable future.

Hamada concluded, “Nissui’s existing marketing and distribution channels present an opportunity to develop a global Asparagopsis brand with Immersion Group, capable of servicing markets worldwide.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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