Ocean regeneration to bioproducts

There are few places in the world where the triple planetary challenges of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss have hit so quickly and dramatically as Venice, Italy. "I don't think the world will let Venice disappear," said Fabio Carrera, one of the UNESCO city's 49,000 residents, when discussing Venice's unique vulnerability to the combined effects of human- and climate- induced problems. The city's almost inconceivable position in the marshy Venetian lagoon, built upon a group of 118 islands divided by channels and linked together with bridges, make it particularly susceptible to the rising sea level which has risen by 32cm since 1872 (Source: CNR) compared to a global increase of 21–24 cm. The MOSE flood barrier, designed to protect the city from tides of up to 2 metres, has a short life without further adaptation. Contributing to rising sea level concerns, Venice is also plagued by poor water and sediment quality, disappearing salt marshes, industrial contamination, and pollution caused by over-tourism. 

A range of attempts over the years has bought Venice time, but failed to address the root cause of the problems, resulting in further biodiversity loss, weakened marine ecosystems, and unsustainable goods and services. It is in desperate need of co-ordinated climate mitigation strategies, biodiversity restoration, and pollution reduction to enable a sustainable future and economy. 

Venice's local industries are at the forefront of Italy's fishing and aquaculture sectors with more than 70% and 50% of their respective activities experiencing an ongoing decline in the volume and quality of fish due to environmental challenges. Shellfish farmers struggle, with declining market prices barely covering costs, and land farmers are failing to cope with increased soil salinity which negatively impacts crop production and agricultural sustainability. 

Other prominent regional industries, including oil, gas, agriculture and CPG (Consumer packaging goods), are experiencing pressure to produce bio-based alternatives from non-food biomass that do not rely on fossil fuels through the production and supply chain. Fossil fuels continue to account for 79.31% of overall energy production in Italy and slow progress is being made in response to global directives designed to ensure that industries achieve sustainable development goals (SDG's) and reduce Co2 emissions. 

Seaweed farming, endorsed by World Resource Institute, has the potential to meet all 17 interlinked SDG's (Source: The Economist Impact) and has emerged as a promising solution to these challenges. For many years in Venice, however, seaweed has been misunderstood and seen as a pollutant, when it is only a symptom of it. The overabundance of algae in the lagoon has historically presented challenges that include uncultivated toxic blooms, and a lack of understanding about how to use the biomass after cultivation. Our solutions address all three planetary crises (climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution) for Venice and its lagoon, whilst offering so many other benefits to the coastal community and the ocean.

Seaweed was integral to the past, is re-emerging in the present, and is the key to the future. 

We apply tried-and-tested Japanese algae cultivation techniques that have existed for centuries to establish seaweed farming in coastal communities around the globe. Once cultivated, we then create a broad range of products that are 100% natural and regenerative.

Our solution is to partner with the City of Venice to establish a pilot algae farm in the lagoon (initially 20m x 20m). From the plot, we monitor the naturally-growing local species for CO2 capture rates, heavy metal and toxin removal including nitrogen, and the water remediation impact. The properties that make seaweed so useful in the natural world also make it valuable in the business world. So after a few months of growth, we harvest and cultivate the seaweed, and explore the uses of macroalgae biomass to make highly attractive bioproducts. We commit to full usage of the locally-abundant species in the Venetian lagoon, in particular the Ulva species. Our aim is to transform the biomass and develop a circular biorefinery concept. The biorefinery facility will enable the processing of biomass into several profitable bio-based products that can all be used within the city, including organic fertilizer, biopolymer, and biogas. Customer demand has already been established in the region, and testing within the lagoon itself will enable us to more clearly valorise the performance of these bioproducts as well as potentially offering further bioproducts from a wide range of possibilities from fuel to textiles and water-repellent coatings. 

In partnership with local government, the fishing cooperativa union, regional energy and waste management industries, local land and sea farmers, and academic experts, we will perform environmental and social analyses, and a carbon capture and co-benefits assessment of seaweed cultivation. We have already identified a plot on the island of Sant’Erasmo and are in the early stages of working with private farmers to use their existing infrastructure and consider the design the farm to maximize positive outcomes. The farm will be carefully and strategically positioned to act as a natural barrier to protect fish farms from microplastic pollution and from plastic entering the food chain. As most private farmers in this area are both land and ocean farmers, the location of future farms (up to 12 ha around Sant’Erasmo) will be designed to enable regenerative land farming, protect salinity levels and salt marshes. We propose to measure carbon storage capacity using full Life Cycle Assessment methodologies, in collaboration with local experts from the University of Ca' Foscari. This work will pave the way for safer, more sustainable and scientifically-driven defossilization of supply chains and development of bioproducts, not only in Venice but also globally.

Venice has experienced a significant decline in its population over the past few decades (a drop of 70% in 70 years to 49,000 residents in the historic centre, and 258,000 in the wider region). The lagoon was previously a hub for mussel and clam farming, fishing and agriculture, until the tourism industry grew to become the most prominent industry. As tourists increased, Venetians left due to increased cost of living, overcrowding, and a lack of well-paid jobs. Establishing algae farms and a consistent supply of biomass for high-performing bioproducts will contribute to making Venice a fully sustainable city, creating new jobs in the fishing industry to cultivate algae, generating new job opportunities in biorefineries, and providing industries with economically-viable alternative bioproducts.

The lagoon covers an area of about 550 km2, and it has the highest tides in the Mediterranean which make tidal flow conditions favourable for algae cultivation. Around 150 km2 of lagoon areas are used as aquaculture farms. Many traditional fish and shellfish farms have been abandoned due to poor yield, quality and prices, however the remaining fishing activities are multi-layered, focusing on various types of products and adopting multiple techniques, including mussel and clam farming. These farms offer excellent potential for '3D ocean farming', an increasing global practice which involves seaweed growing vertically next to other seafood. As algae farms clean the water, fish farmers benefit as the abundance and quality of seafood improves. Using its biomass, biofertilizer is then produced to benefit land farmers via regenerated soil, increased crop yield and reduced pollution (due to algae’s high carbohydrate content, varied minerals and microbes). Farmers also have access to new revenue streams through the lucrative supply of biomass to local industries.

The Italian governmental department of the Provveditorato (Ministry of Infrastructure and transport) will also stand to gain as a result of anticipated dampened peak storm surges, reduced sediment and enhanced sedimentation for salt march protection, improved biodiversity, and reduced pollution. The department, which has access to the entire North Adriatic Sea, is invested in the progress and scalability of our solutions. We are also partnering with the Venice Sustainability Foundation and we can complement their portfolio that already includes green hydrogen, by providing sustainable energy supply during the presently fossil-intensive production cycle.

Our solutions also benefit the needs of Veritas (Venice’s public multi-utility company, dedicated to the production of energy from renewable sources and biomass), and local plastic industries who are committed to producing more sustainably. Our tests on the combined use of seaweed for energy, fertilizer and plastic are promising and will allow us to directly address EU regulations for Venice, implementing a strategy that goes beyond ocean restoration to provide tangible bio-based solutions. This has never been done before in Venice or Italy. 

This project will be overseen by CEO and Co-founder Natasha Yamamura, and the team delivering the project includes Matheus Farias (Aquaculture Expert), Dr Jeremy Pal (Environmental Scientist), Dr Farshid Pahlevani (Material Scientist), Tatsunori Tomimoto (Farming Consultant), Alejandra Noren (Oil and Chemical Executive) and Fiona McOmish (Business Manager). Three team members are residents of Venice. 

The team lead is Natasha Yamamura. After moving to Venice 4 years ago, Natasha quickly became familiar with the issues in the lagoon and saw the potential to remove pollution and create energy from seaweed as a means to replace fossil intensive products and processes. Born and raised in Japan, where there is a rich and prominent seaweed culture, she realised that very little is known about its potential in Europe and the West. She saw huge opportunities to give her knowledge back to her community and she started designing seaweed solutions to Venice’s challenges with Venetians at the helm - guided and co-designed by Algae Scope’s team of experts, informed by leading academics, and delivered by local farmers and industries.  

In 2023, Algae Scope participated in the MITdesignX Venice accelerator to shape our business model working alongside Venetians. The team then participated in the Slovenia ClimAccelerator (Climate KIC) program to determine the feasibility of scaling our seaweed solutions across the North Adriatic Sea. In the same year, Algae Scope was selected as one of the top 5 companies to pitch solutions to Europe’s BlueInvest x EU4Algae, invited to present at CLIB Dusseldorf,  AlgaEurope conference in Prague, Swedish parliament, and Biomarine Biarritz 2024. The team also collaborated in Dubai at COP28.

Following our participation in the MITdesignX Venice program and as a result of our pitch performance, we were proud winners of the MITdesignX Venice/SerenDPT prize which awarded us co-working space in their Venetian office consisting of other local businesses. One of our key partners is SerenDPT, whose goal is to bring high skill and technology jobs to Venice by developing 'Made in Venice' solutions to the city's problems. Their mission, to which we are closely aligned, is to repopulate the city, one resident at a time, thereby creating a new model that is sustainable, inclusive and respectful of the environment and its citizens.

We are also members of the Venice Sustainability Foundation and together we aim to realize a sustainable future for the city and overcome the complex challenges that threaten its survival. Algae Scope’s team includes a material scientist, whose expertise focuses on the transformation of waste and bio feedstock into valuable materials. With six international patents and Australia’s ‘Most Innovative Engineer of the Year' award 2020, he brings solid scientific research and experience of working with industries to create bioproducts using regenerative macroalgae, reduce production and energy costs, and alleviate environmental pressures. Venice is highly invested in developing the types of solutions that Dr Pahlevani has been instrumental in delivering.

We have recently secured €25,000 of investment via an angel investor for the Venice project, and we also won a 1.5 million$ Grant from the Saudi Arabian government on a joint proposal with local academic institutions.  

Our solutions have already been launched in two locations in Japan (Hiroshima and Kanagawa). Using the local species, bioproducts are produced across various sectors, including for spa use and fertilizer to produce green tea. Our business model is place-based and with this in mind, we are still aligning and developing our model in Europe (Venice) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia).

The 1.5m$ grant is a two-year research project to apply our circular solutions specifically on the coast north of Jeddah. Working in partnership with a leading university, our project is in the latter phase of planning to implement strategically positioned algae farms and algae curtains that surround a fish farm in a highly polluted area. Our team is in the preparation phase and will shortly deploy to Saudi Arabia. Outcomes will focus on detection techniques using macroalgae, collection techniques using our specially designed algae curtain, environmental impact analyses, and prevention techniques to establish a full circular economy assessment methodology (carbon capture to end use).

The planning phase has already commenced to design a hydrodynamic modelling system to monitor the fluids in motion. The test farm is being designed by our Aquaculture Engineer who has worked on several global bioproduct projects using multiple algae species. In collaboration with Sachiumi, our Farming Consultant, and a well-established consortium of Japanese algae farmers, the seeding process and analysis of the processes to establish the ‘curtain’ has commenced at the planning phase. 

In the second pilot phase (12-24 months) of the project, whilst environmental monitoring continues, tests to produce bioplastic and fertilizer will commence, supported by our Material Scientist. This data will be used to obtain licences. 

With the established proof of concept in Japan, and the project now underway in Saudi Arabia, we are working to gain traction in Venice and further fundraising will enable us to realise our proof of concept in Europe.

By applying to MIT Solve, we think our chances of meeting our project goals will significantly increase with your support.

There is still considerable scepticism in Venice about the benefits of seaweed cultivation and there is an understandably low risk-appetite given the reluctance to create unintended consequences that cause further environmental harm to the fragile UNESCO city and its lagoon. However, Venice is in a remarkably strong position to benefit from seaweed solutions. Its relatively compact size and unique position in the sea means that it already has a well-developed, nimble marine infrastructure to transport fresh biomass quickly. Its vision to increase the resident population and produce locally can be achieved through the new jobs and revenue streams that seaweed farming brings. Making significant improvements with our solutions in such a prominent, highly marketable and particularly vulnerable protected area is proof that it can be done anywhere! So it is clear that to gain further support and traction in Venice, we need to ensure that we build and communicate a compelling proof of concept based on a safe, sustainable base of scientific evidence. In order to achieve this, we need a relatively modest amount of monetary support. But beyond this, being supported by MIT Solve’s platform and network of mentors to provide us with technical, legal and cultural support to position the benefits and give strength to our findings will inevitably help us to do this more effectively and quickly. 

Given the range of potential bioproduct options and depending on species suitability, there are a huge number of potential companies, countries, sectors and markets open to us once we have proved our concepts in the Middle East and Europe. All have one thing in common - they are striving to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Having access to a broad team of financial, market and technical experts would be invaluable to our team as we expand our client base and scale internationally.

We'd love to continue our journey supported by MIT, having participated in the MITdesignX Venice accelerator in late 2023. The accelerator enabled us to shape our business model and explore new partnership opportunities in Venice. Having the continued support of MIT via the Solve Global Challenge program would help us to further develop and elevate our platform, through which we can share and develop our knowledge and research more broadly for the betterment of local coastal communities worldwide. In the short-term, we believe MIT Solve can help us to deliver and launch our biogas, biopolymer and fertilizer solutions locally in Venice. In the longer-term, MIT Solve's wider network can enable us to develop and expand into harder-to-reach markets and global communities that need to boost their economies and produce sustainably and locally.

• Our solutions are innovative and effective because we focus BOTH on algae cultivation which brings significant environmental benefits, AND the production of bioproducts and materials with a regional focus. This enables us to review local species according to a place-based model to determine suitable bioproducts from a broad spectrum of applications. This has never been done before in Venice. Previous attempts to cultivate seaweed in the lagoon focused only on ecological improvement and did not address potential uses for its biomass.

• Our review of end-to-end processes also makes us unique in a huge growth sector in comparison to our competitors. We can defend our competitive position as we have the right expertise to gain licences and patents, and establish lasting collaborations that enable the oil, gas, plastic and agriculture industries to implement changes that will make a difference quickly. This is because the planning and growth phases are rapid and cost-effective.

• Our model involves imparting cultivation and bioproduct know-how to farmers and local regions to set up and maintain the farm. It is not our intention to own the farm, but rather to equip the farmer with the ability to diversify their offerings, optimize how they use their land/plot, and add new revenue streams.  We also equip local industries with the know-how to create biogas, bioethanol, biopolymers, soil stimulants, and fertilizer using seaweed’s biomass. This improves the possibilities for local regions to establish circular economy, by keeping production local and logistics to a minimum.

• Our primary competitors are companies that both cultivate algae from open-sea farms, and produce bioproducts using seaweed biomass. Many of our closer competitors that are currently operating in similar markets have business models that include farm ownership, and their bioproduct streams focus on the agricultural and food sectors. Algae Scope focuses on the bioenergy and biomaterial markets, which are relatively untapped markets in the macroalgae sector. Our approach promises to change the market by enabling industries to remain competitive as they develop sustainable alternatives by having direct access to local feedstock that is designed according to their specific requirements.

1. Energy Sector (Oil and Gas Companies):  Our solutions allow energy companies to reduce their carbon footprint and transition towards cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. Currently, many initiatives and R&D focuses on waste to energy, which can be a challenging route to secure feedstock.  Instead, we focus on regenerative biomass that doesn’t compete with food or land, and that can easily be scaled up. This not only aligns with environmental goals but also enhances the corporate social responsibility efforts and social impact of each organization.

2. Consumer Goods Packaging Manufacturers:  Manufacturers in this sector benefit by adopting our environmentally-friendly packaging solutions which use the water-repellent properties of macroalgae to create a range of sustainable and eco-friendly products with algae-based coating. By minimizing the use of polymeric sealing, and giving the same durability of water resistant coating, this can not only satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly products but also contribute to a significant reduction in plastic waste and environmental degradation.

3. Agricultural Sector: Nitrogen fertilizers use natural gas as a key input. An increase in the price of natural gas and potash will lead to higher fertilizer prices, and in turn, higher food prices, which will be detrimental to global food security. Various red and brown macroalgae species are rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus enabling improvement in soil structures and plant growth.  Already tested in many countries, the use of algae extracts has been found to improve the product yield by up to 20% on average. Using algae as a biofertilizer could significantly reduce the agriculture industry's dependence on agrochemicals, particularly synthetic nitrogen as a chemical fertilizer. 

4. Environmental Benefits: Collectively, the following benefits will enable companies to achieve their SCOPE 1,2 and 3 goals:

- Carbon Sequestration: Macroalgae cultivation is a potent form of blue-carbon sequestration due to its high growth rate and substantial CO2 absorption capacity, exceeding that of trees by 5-50 times.

- Water and Air Purity:  Macroalgae absorbs pollutants, heavy metals, and toxins from water and air, mitigating ocean acidification and improving water quality.

- Biodiversity Enhancement: Macroalgae thrives in polluted waters. Through its cultivation, it acts as a water filter, purifying and restoring the natural habitat, rejuvenating biodiversity and aquaculture, and attracting marine life. We will know if we have successfully improved biodiversity through the proliferation of new and existing species of aquaculture in the Venetian lagoon.

- Climate Adaptation:  Our solutions support climate adaptation by mitigating storm surges, enhancing sedimentation for salt marsh protection, and contributing to coastal ecosystem restoration.

- Regenerative Biomass:  Our macroalgae-based feedstocks follow a zero-waste approach and are cultivated in ocean environments without reliance on land, freshwater or chemical fertilizers.

Our impact goals can be summarised according to three key areas 1. positive environmental impact, 2. economic growth, 3. inclusive social opportunity

• 1. Positive environmental impact:

a. Our key metric is to measure carbon sequestration in marine sediment in quantities of tons per hectare. Our data is still developing, however early indications show a range from 0 to 8.1 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare (CO2e/ha), with a median net sequestration of approximately 0.5 tons of CO2e/ha. 

b. We also measure carbon storage capacity when macroalgae is used to develop more sustainable supply chains and bioproducts. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of each product is conducted to metrify improvement. 

c. The following metrics, extracted from our environmental analyses, are also key as they will seek to reassure local regions that : Marine water quality: concentration of dissolved oxygen, bacteria levels, salinity levels, and reduced levels of marine pollution and excess nitrogen. Algal growth: compare nutrient quantity/quality Biodiversity: increase and diversity of fish and other sea life.2. 

• 2. Economic growth

By redesigning products, technologies and processes to meet environmental goals and social needs, we offer new business opportunities, revenue streams and job creation. 

• 3. Inclusive social opportunity 

Regarding job creation, women and people living in indigenous communities have experienced particular growth in inclusive opportunities in the seaweed sector over the past 5-10 years. 

• Seaweed farming - seeding, structural, cultivation and harvesting techniques developed from centuries of Japanese seaweed farm know-how. Current TRL 9.

• Hydro Modelling and bespoke design and production of seaweed barriers and seaweed ‘curtains’ designed to filter microplastics TRL 7. 

• In addition to water remediation of the highly contaminated lagoon using a mixture of traditional and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, we intend to test and develop tailored solutions that include, but are not necessarily restricted to, biogas, fertilizer, biostimulants and bioplastic using the cultivated biomass. Our material scientist has developed six patents for bioproduct creation using diverse biomass. 

• We are also working with several international companies to test seaweed for water-repellant coating and biostimulants - current TRL 4.

•  1 Full-time

•  2 Part-time

•  6 Contractors

1.5 years working on developing solutions. 

Company formally established 6 months ago (September 2023).

• Algae Scope has 2 female Co-Founders, in fact, all of Algae Scope’s full and part-time staff are female.

• Our team consists of 9 people based across 7 different countries - our team profile includes diverse representation across several protected characteristics including sex, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs.

• We are committed to empowering and developing the talent of the next generation to encourage them to continue the seaweed revolution. In support of this, we have already engaged six University students from Europe and the USA on an interim/intern basis. We're also in the process of establishing the 'Algae Scope Academy' to attract other young people to engage with sustainable seaweed.

• We believe that our own demographics reflect the communities that we aim to serve.

• We strive to uphold the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. As Algae Scope develops, we will actively seek to design our policies, practices, and resources with the goal of providing people of all backgrounds with equal, genuine opportunities to thrive. 

• Our solutions are designed to encourage women and under-represented groups into the ocean regeneration and seaweed sector. According to a recent article by The Economist Impact, ‘UNCTAD data shows that 14% of all fish and aquaculture workers are women, with most female representation in the fisheries sector focused around fish and seafood processing, where women might make up half of the working population or more’.

• We have a clear vision, mission statement and set of values which we formed collaboratively and early on the Algae Scope journey. We trust, respect and welcome each other’s contributions and challenges. We live by our inclusive values:

Socially sustainable

We care about building thriving communities and want to find a balance between economic growth, environmental improvement, social wellbeing and empowerment.

Committed

We are committed to understanding issues, identifying solutions, and taking conscious action to deliver them. We do what we say we’re going to do!

Optimizers

We are positive and we will pursue what we believe is right, safeguarding our present and future by maximizing our natural resources.

Partnership-

driven

We are committed to collaboration and believe in working together to achieve positive results.

Environmentally -conscious

We care deeply about our environment. We are mindful of the effect of our actions, and we go the extra mile to make sure that we protect natural habitats.

Our business model consists of several interconnected streams:

• 1) Farm set up and development: 

The first stream involves establishing a pilot algae farm in Venice (but also in other  coastal locations) in close proximity to local industry and production facilities. Algae Scope's competitive fee structure consists of initial set-up costs (one-off) and maintenance fees (continuous). Our aquaculture, environmental and farming specialists will assess initial plots for the pilot (usually a maximum of 20m x 20m) to identify the optimal farm location; that is the location most likely to perform the most effectively in terms of yield, quality and value. Algae Scope operates a 'Farming as a service' (FAAS) arrangement which incurs additional costs for the ongoing development of the farm, scale-up options, and the sale of excess biomass for various additional uses within the local region. Costs and earning potential will fluctuate depending on the requirement for, and availability of, relevant equipment, however the aim is always to consider the use of existing infrastructure and equipment in the first instance. 

• 2) Carbon credits and biodiversity certification 

According to Economist Impact, seaweed farming has the potential to meet ALL 17 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Industries and regions will benefit monetarily from access to carbon credit offsetting and biodiversity certification markets. The Carbon Credit Market was valued at USD 103.8 billion in 2023 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 14.8% during 2024 to 2032. Not only will this apply to carbon capture during cultivation phases, it will also apply to life cycle assessments (LCA) that include the supply and production phases. Algae Scope is actively developing monetisation methods for LCA capture capacity, which local companies can also benefit from. 

• 3) Product licensing and production set-up

Algae Scope's material scientist has developed patents for bioproduct creation using diverse biomass. We are working with several international companies to test seaweed for a range of uses including for bioethanol, biogas for the energy use, biopolymer, and fertilizer. Algae Scope proposes to partner with companies to create and licence viable bio-based energy alternatives. Our financial model includes operation of a shared revenue arrangement. 

Our action plan linked to our services and current activity will enable us to become financially sustainable over the next 18 months. Sequential progression of these projects enable the following financial markets to be met:

Within the next 3 months: 

- We are working with the City of Venice (Italy) to establish a pilot macroalgae farm that enables us to monitor marine health and performance, and explore the uses, scalability, and transferability of biomass. We have secured the initial €25k via an angel investor (with convertible equity). This has enabled us to identify a coastal location and commence the plot. We will shortly open for donations on our website, which we will also promote via social media channels.

- Planning phase for our two-year project in Saudi Arabia to test seaweed curtains to reduce microplastics entering fish farms and the food chain. 

In the next 6 months: 

- Secure an additional €30k of investment via fundraising for our pilot farm in Venice and start first harvest in September. 

- Saudi project will commence. 

In the next 12 months: 

- First harvests will yield biomass for bioproduct testing. Patents will be filed for production in Middle East and Europe. 

- Carbon credit and biodiversity certification applications will be made to create additional impact and revenue streams.  

In the next 18 months: 

- Patents in place 

- Tangible results from both farms 

- Plans in place to scale up farms and scale out to other geographical locations. 

- Customer base and testing portfolio continues to grow to develop a broader range of bioproducts, and create enough supply to meet demand.