October 16, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Sustainable seaweed aquaculture company Ocean Rainforest has secured $4.5 million through a Technology to Market Plus Up award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) as part of the MARINER Program. 

This influx of capital follows a $6.2 million Series A in February 2023 led by The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and included Katapult Ocean’s Deep Blue fund, Builders Vision, the Ocean Born Foundation, World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US), Norðoya Íløgufelag, and Twynam Invest. World Wildlife Fund had also previously invested $850,000 in Seed level funding in the company in August 2020.

Headquartered in the Faroe Islands, and with a U.S. subsidiary in Southern California, Ocean Rainforest is a fully integrated producer of kelp from seed-to-shelf-stable products. With a vision to create local ocean rainforests around the world, and poised for significant growth, the company’s California-based subsidiary has recently obtained an R&D permit for seaweed cultivation in federal waters, a critical benchmark toward commercial scale production and processing.

Seaweed is one of the fastest growing and most sustainable crops on Earth as it uses no fresh water or fertilizers, supports marine biodiversity by creating habitats for marine wildlife, mitigates eutrophication by absorbing excess nutrients in seawater, and supports resistance to localized ocean acidification. Ocean Rainforest intends to address the dual challenges of the need for sustainable, healthy feed and foods, and the intensifying effects of climate change through the sustainable and large-scale cultivation of this crop. 

Since 2010, the company has developed a proven, first-of-its-kind, open-ocean cultivation system that has remained consistently suitable for the offshore conditions found in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, leading to the company becoming one of the largest commercial seaweed cultivators based in Europe.

“With limited environmental impacts and a low carbon footprint, seaweed absorbs CO2 and other excess nutrients from the ocean, making this fast-growing crop a climate-smart and nutritious food source,” said Paul Dobbins, senior director of impact investing, World Wildlife Fund – U.S. in February of this year when the company closed its Series A. 

“But seaweed can only thrive as a climate change solution if we create a market for the many food, feed and fossil-based replacement products seaweed can provide. Ocean Rainforest is addressing the feed market and their successful capital raise shines a spotlight on this growing opportunity.” 

This latest Plus Up funding is an extension of Ocean Rainforest’s Phase 2 contract, and will enable the company to operate 86-acres of offshore cultivation of Macrocystis pyrifera – positioning the company has a pioneer in the development and demonstration of high-yield macroalgal cultivation technologies in true offshore conditions. 

The company explained that, in partnership with other MARINER Awardees, it will test innovative aquaculture technologies such as automated and consistent outplanting, partial harvest technology, upwelling facilitated by system design, and automated monitoring to advance the industry toward economically feasible open-ocean cultivation. 

This funding also will support the pilot processing of biomass from the offshore site and facilitate optimizations for target market segments like bio stimulants and functional feed ingredients able to reduce carbon footprints in both the food and feed supply chains. 

“We are grateful to our funders, project partners, and team for all their support and hard work in the context of this Plus Up award,” said Olavur Gregersen, CEO, Ocean Rainforest. “This award from ARPA-E’s Mariner Program signifies a powerful endorsement of our vision and dedication to creating a more sustainable future.”

~ 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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