AgriSea is a Māori-owned family business based in Paeroa which specialises in the manufacture of seaweed products.
They’ve been working with Scion, one of the BPA’s four R&D partners, to take the waste stream from the seaweed industry, apply green chemistry and turn it into nanocellulose – a high-value, high-performing material.
This manufacturing process, a compelling demonstration of the circular bioeconomy at work, is being done at scale for the first time in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Scion and AgriSea have been working together for several years – but their first connection was a chance encounter.
Scalability and commercial viability
AgriSea’s Chief Innovation Officer Tane Bradley describes how they first met at an event in Rotorua in 2017 when they happened to sit next to each other. The conversation that ensued really piqued their interest in trying to understand the true value of seaweed.
The AgriSea team attended a showcase meeting with the BPA at Scion’s headquarters, and it was there that they learnt how the BPA helps businesses get to the next level by transforming low-value biological by-products into economic opportunities.
“The BPA has enabled us to take our business to the next level of scalability and commercial viability,” says AgriSea CEO Clare Bradley.
“We absolutely couldn’t have done it without their support.
“Doing it on our own would have been a long, slow and hard journey,” she says. “Our relationship with the BPA has enabled us to go at pace, at scale and really try to bring it to market quickly.”
BPA the obvious route
The preliminary work was a Scion project utilising MBIE’s Smart Ideas funding, through which Scion developed a low-chemical approach producing nanocellulose from seaweed.
Stefan Hill, Portfolio Leader – High Value Biorefineries at Scion, has been an integral part of their journey, helping them upscale their nanocellulose project idea from bench scale work to actual process.
The BPA provided two rounds of funding to AgriSea. The initial funding was to scale up their technology with trials successfully carried out at the FoodPilot in Palmerston North.
The second round was to help identify further value that could be extracted from the nanocellulose seaweed waste stream.
“For us, the BPA was an obvious route,” Stefan says. “It enabled us to prove we could upscale the technology, and then move on to developing a full-scale industrial nanocellulose seaweed production plant.”
The plant is the first of its kind, supported by a loan from the Provincial Growth Fund. It is due to launch towards the end of 2024.
International expansion
“The relationship between the BPA, Scion and AgriSea is a beautiful example of how when we work together and collaborate beyond just the contract of service, and when we do big things, we can create global firsts,” says Clare.
AgriSea is now looking at scaling internationally and bringing their IP and technology into other markets.
“We want to see New Zealand tech and IP all across the world, helping to forge a better name for Aotearoa New Zealand and all the work that we do,” adds Tane.
“It has the ability to be in every single country in the world.
“Without the support of the BPA and Scion, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. It’s groundbreaking where it’s led to. But watch this space – it’s going to be amazing.”
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