Carbonwave announces close of $5M series A funding by Mirova’s Ocean Fund
Funding expands production capacity into high-value products that replace fossil fuel and animal-based products in the cosmetic emulsifiers, agriculture, textiles, and plastics industries
Carbonwave, the world leader in upcycling the largest seaweed bloom on the planet into ultra-regenerative, plant-based, advanced biomaterials, announced an initial closing of its $5 million Series A round led by Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable investment, with additional significant participation from Viridios Capital, Popular Impact Fund, and Katapult Ocean.
This investment round brings the total funding to date to $12 million and will be used to build large-scale cosmetics emulsifier production facilities in Puerto Rico to satisfy growing customer demand for biomaterials. The current Puerto Rico facility, used for R&D, has also successfully developed a leather alternative from Sargassum (the floating seaweed masses), which it will be launching soon. The Company has already developed Sarga Agriscience (Sarga Ag), a line of organic agricultural inputs made from Sargassum’s liquid compounds that increase yields, allow crops to survive drought more effectively, and reduce the need for nitrogen fertiliser. Sarga Ag products are being tested for large-scale application by some of the leading corporate growers in the world. In June 2022, Carbonwave won the Carbon to Value Challenge with BASF, Seafields, and the Alfred Wegner Institute to produce PET plastics. Additionally, Carbonwave has already sold half a ton of its SeaBalance2000, the world’s first seaweed-based cosmetic emulsifier, which was named ‘Best Functional Ingredient’ at In-Cosmetics Korea in 2022.
“In three short years, we’ve become the first company to build a scalable cascading biorefinery to create a commercially sustainable operation harnessing Sargassum into high-value products,” said Geoff Chapin, co-founder and CEO of Carbonwave. “Support from our investors and partners has allowed us to catalyze our proprietary technology and manufacturing process to turn the Caribbean’s seaweed crisis into an economic opportunity and a climate solution. We are producing viable alternatives that redirect demand from fossil fuel-based products by cost-effectively developing a wide range of regenerative, low-carbon, and plant-based alternatives that global industries are seeking to advance their sustainability and decarbonisation initiatives while contributing to the bio-circular economy.”
Funding expands production capacity into high-value products