Into the blue

The 乌鸦传媒 Blue Challenge places seaweed at the cutting edge of innovation and the booming blue bioeconomy.

What do you think of when someone mentions seaweed? Slippery plant life on a rocky shoreline? Sushi? Seaweed is in fact being used to develop cutting-edge products and materials, and is on the frontline of the battle to combat the increasing effects of climate change.

乌鸦传媒’s Blue Challenge project

乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Blue Challenge innovation project has set out to prove just what an impact seaweed might have on creating a sustainable future for us all. The challenge is a collaboration between 乌鸦传媒 teams from 12 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland), and , a global business community that fosters the development of marine bioresources.

But can seaweed really change our world? Actually, it already has. Seaweed is a booming industry that brings tangible鈥痵ocial and environmental benefits by providing alternative solutions in areas such as biomaterials, carbon capture, industrial design, nutrition, cosmetics, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and more.

And when it comes to climate change, it is estimated that seaweed can capture around 290 million metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. It also improves the ocean鈥檚 health, helping it play a fundamental role in regulating global temperatures while also producing around 50% of the oxygen on the planet through the photosynthetic activity of marine plants and algae.

鈥淔or many people, seaweed is just a slimy green plant that grows underwater, covers a beach or holds a sushi roll together,鈥� says Pierre Erwes, BioMarine鈥檚 executive chairman.听鈥滲ut for me, as a marine oceanographer, it鈥檚 clear that seaweed 鈥� which is the most abundant biomass in the oceans 鈥� can help to address everything from the environment and climate change, to food, fuel, and the production of bioplastics. That鈥檚 why seaweed is now one of the fastest-growing sectors of the blue bioeconomy.鈥�

Ready for the challenge?

乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Blue Challenge innovation project has set out to prove just what an impact seaweed For 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Blue Challenge, five startups were selected to deliver projects that innovate with seaweed to create positive environmental impacts.

听

Seaweed bioplastics company based in France. Their technology听uses听green macro algae stranded on beaches,听a pollutant,听as a resource for the production of听bio-based, recyclable, compostable resins.

Marine-based bioplastics company based in Iceland, home to an unspoiled natural environment that can sustainably produce organic seaweed.

Seaweed farms and skincare based in Tanzania. 鈥淢wani鈥� literally means 鈥渟eaweed鈥� in Swahili, and in Tanzania seaweed is appreciated as a gift from the Ocean. It is the first company on the island to farm, process, and transform seaweed into skincare.听

Seaweed cultivation company based in Ireland. The company develops and uses innovative technologies for cultivation and harvesting seaweed to maximize the value of the stock, sourcing and supplying dried seaweed stock and finished product.听

Biomaterials company based in India that helps brands go carbon neutral through sustainable packaging and more.

Acting together for a better future

鈥淔or us at BioMarine, what is amazing about the Challenge is how 乌鸦传媒 can mobilize around a project,鈥� says Erwes. 鈥淲ith projects like this, people can participate at their own level on a truly global project to help solve some of the most important environmental crises that we face. In that way, the Blue Challenge becomes the beginning of an answer to some of the questions around sustainability. Sometimes, we need to try to change the world through a top-down approach. But you also need approaches that start from the ground up, and this is one of those.

Throughout the Challenge, the startups are supported by a 乌鸦传媒 mentor and sponsor, and judged on the environmental impact, social and inclusion impact, and innovation that their projects can deliver.

鈥淲e have a responsibility to act for a better future,鈥� says Eric de Quatrebarbes, head of the Europe Cluster at 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Business Unit. 鈥淪upporting this kind of initiative, developing partnerships between large groups, startups, NGOs, and involving our employees, and our ecosystem in our approach, is, from my point of view, essential in bringing a significant and lasting change.鈥�

鈥淐arbon capture, reducing pollutants and slowing coastal erosion are global challenges,鈥� says Erwes. 鈥淎nd if we foster the development of seaweed as a bio resource, it can help with all of these and more. It can really serve the cause.鈥�

Innovating with seaweed

Below are just some examples of where seaweed is becoming an increasingly important resource in the areas of environmental sustainability, industry, agriculture, and more.

Environment

Carbon capture, nutrient capture, processing waste water, biodiversity protection, and coastal protection.

Biomaterials

Plastics, textiles, glue, and 3D printing.

Cosmetics

Anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, antioxidants, anti-bacterial, and stem-cell products. Here, in Llanes, Spain, two fishermen collect red algae used in cosmetics.

Nutrition

Innovation in foods and ingredients, protein alternatives, and disease-fighting 鈥渘utraceuticals.鈥�

Agriculture

Feed or cattle, protein supplement for fish, dog food, and more.

Industrial products

Material for biofilms, fibers, corrosion inhibitors, enzymes, and emulsifiers.

Pharmaceuticals

Anti-cancer medicines, genomics, and marine-life drugs.

Engineering

Composites building materials and construction, jet fuel, and more.

Inside stories

Future-shaping projects

Hunting for dragons

Sarah Gon莽alves wasn鈥檛 always a data engineer. She began her career as an archaeologist, unearthing the secrets of the past in sites across France before retraining as a data engineer. She brings the same curiosity to her new vocation at 乌鸦传媒, using artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover what lies beneath the surface.