Carbon abatement technology company SeaStock has won a key prize at a major Europe-based global competition for startups focused on climate change.
Carbon abatement technology company SeaStock has won a key prize at a major Europe-based global competition for startups focused on climate change.
Fremantle-based SeaStock was at the weekend awarded the Louis Dreyfus Company Climate Resilience Prize in Mass Challenge Switzerland competition for its efforts to turn native Australian Asparagopsis seaweed derivatives into food additives for livestock such as cattle to reduce their digestive methane emissions.
More than 1,200 startups from across the globe were selected to take part in this year’s accelerator program located in Lausanne, Switzerland, starting in May this year. SeaStock was the only Australian company to be selected as a finalist.
“Their feed additive solution, produced by extracting compounds from seaweed and algae, shows great potential to reduce livestock methane emissions,” stated the social media feed of Louis Dreyfus Company, a French firm involved in agriculture, food processing, international shipping and finance.
SeaStock is one of only nine companies globally to be licensed by global IP patent holder FutureFeed to supply the powerful native seaweed, Asparagopsis-based methane reducing feed ingredient commercially.
It has taken a land-based approach to aquaculture cultivation, compared to most competitors which are looking to grow and harvest the seaweed in the marine environment.
The recognition of the potential of Australian seaweed has also seen Tasmania-based Sea Forest recently selected as a finalist in the Earthshot Prize, led by Prince William as founder and president, which awards £1 million a year split across five category winners.
SeaStock managing director Tom Puddy said he hoped the global recognition would lead to government action.
“What we now need to capitalize on this level of global recognition is support and investment to scale commercially and to do so in a fairly rapid time frame,” Mr Puddy said.
“We need the support of governments to do this and to help primary producers to incorporate cost effective, proven and sustainable solutions into their operations.”
Mass Challenge president Ian Roberts said SeaStock’s solution could plug into the existing supply chain, providing the opportunity for scaling quickly to cut emissions.
“They create a meaningful impact as we speed up global transition to a future where alternative proteins take a much bigger share of our diet,” Mr Roberts said.
