The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
North expertise is at cutting-edge of life sciences innovation ... with cash backing
Even after writing about business for 20 years, I’m still a sucker for a good pun. And so seaweed processor Oceanium’s mission to “kelp the world” tickled my funny bone. While its tag line may be cheesy, the company’s focus is serious.
Oceanium takes farmed seaweed and processes the whole plant to extract ingredients that can be used by industries, including food and drink, health and wellness, skincare and materials.
The business was founded in 2018 by Charlie Bavington, of Oban, who is now its chief technology officer, and Karen Scofield Seal, the firm’s Londonbased chief executive.
Oceanium hass about 20 staff, with its research and development team in Oban and a head office in London. It uses United Nations sustainable development goals to measure its impact.
And it is careful not to make wild environmental or health claims about seaweed, instead focusing on validating uses scientifically.
While Oceanium has a clear focus on its environmental and social impact, it’s been no slouch in raising investment, both through grants and equity. Last September it raised £2 million in a final seed funding round to help it scale up.
Existing shareholders such as business angel syndicate Green Angel Ventures and the World Wildlife Fund were joined by US investment platform Builders Vision and merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners, as well as the Hong Kong-based Sustainable Finance Initiative – Oceanium’s first Asian investor.
The firm expects to launch its Series A funding round this year, aiming to raise around £11.9m-£15.9m.
This cash will be used to build the company’s first factory, with Mr Bavington highlighting “options” in Scotland.
Oceanium wants to eventually open refineries around the world where seaweed is farmed, cutting the need to transport its water-soaked raw material.
Whether or not the firm’s first factory is built in Scotland, Mr Bavington is keen to support its fledgling seaweed farmers.
“We’ve worked with the emerging seaweed farming industry in Scotland from day one,” he said.
“The scale of production in Scotland is still very small, so it’s less important than other suppliers, but we continue to support it as part of our role as an ‘impact’ company.
“Part of that social and economic impact that we’re trying to deliver is to enable seaweed farming at scale.”
He added: “There’s space for the artisan farmer but that’s not us.
We’re about large-scale production and getting to hundreds of thousands of tonnes, because that’s what’s required for the bigger environmental impacts. We try to offer long-term contracts because we know these will help seaweed farmers to get funding.”
Oceanium is one of the many businesses working in the north that focuses on “animal, agricultural technology, and aquaculture” – “Triple A” – rather than the more familiar drug developers and medical devicemakers that grab much of the attention within the life sciences industry.
The importance of Triple A to the Scottish economy has been recognised by the Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group, which brings together industrialists, politicians and the public sector’s enterprise agencies.
Triple A is now listed alongside pharmaceutical innovation and health technology among the sector’s three key strands.
Mike Spain, head of enterprise in the commercial arm of the Oban-based Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams), highlighted work being done by spin-out companies Crubag and N-ovatio-N.
Crubag founder Jessica Giannotti is using marine algae as a source of dyes for fabrics.
N-ovatio-N boss Georgina Robinson won last year’s Converge Challenge for investigating whether worms and seacucumbers can be used to eat waste from fish farms.
Firms can access the research and expertise at Sams – Scotland’s largest independent marine science organisation, tracing its roots back to 1884 – through the traditional knowledge transfer schemes run by universities.
Mr Spain said: “Sams Enterprise also acts as a gateway for industry, governments and non-governmental organisations.
“We work as that connection between researchers and the outside world to give targeted consultancy across policy, feasibility studies and contract research.
“For example, we did some research for a manufacturer interested in using innovative materials for seaweed farming, and whether the types of materials it produces would enhance the development of the seedlings before they were planted.
“We have also got a piece of research in the water at the moment testing natural fibres, as opposed to the standard plastic ropes, to see if they are as likely to survive.”
Andrea McColl is senior development manager for life sciences at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). She highlighted the economic development agency’s role in helping Norwegian fish health specialist PatoGen open a base at Oban’s European Marine Science Park.
“That was an interesting case,” Ms McColl said, adding: “It was actually their customers in Scotland who said to them ‘you should have a laboratory here’ and ‘we don’t want to ship our samples to Norway’.”
While PatoGen responded and opened a base in Scotland, HIE is also helping Scottish companies that want to export. It took 18 companies to the Scottish pavilion at AquaNor, a major biannual aquaculture trade show in Norway, last August.
Attention will shift to Inverness this September when HIE and Scotland’s Rural College host the
There is space for the artisan farmer but that’s not us. We’re about large-scale production
A3 conference, which is expected to attract 200 delegates to discuss whether the Triple A sector is ready for the “transition to digital”.
HIE also gave Fochabers-based tree nursery Christies a grant to buy equipment that automates the treegrading process, helping it to use machines to fill the gap left by a labour shortage.
While the Triple A sector is important, Ms McColl also pointed to the importance of the “one health” approach.
She added: “One health seeks to balance and optimise the health of people, animals and the environment. It all needs to be considered in the round because everything is obviously interlinked.”