Espoo-based Origin by Ocean, a company that rids the oceans of harmful algae and turns them into everyday consumer goods, announced on Wednesday, April 26, that it has secured €7.5M in a Seed round of funding.
With the raised capital, the Finnish startup aims to detoxify the chemical industry by offering sustainable, algae-based alternatives to traditional oil-based solutions and lead the way to a future industrial-scale algae refinement plant.
Investors in this round
€3M came in private funds from Voima Ventures and Lifeline Ventures as well as from Batofin and Security Trading. While €4.5M was a loan from Business Finland, which was used to pilot industrial-scale algae refining and commercialise the process.
Inka Mero, Managing Partner at Voima Ventures, says, “To preserve the planet, we need sustainable bio-based solutions to our everyday life like daily cosmetics, cleaning, as well as branded clothing.”
“Origin by Ocean team has proven us to have unique and innovative technology and an end-to-end sustainable way to replace today’s emitting and toxic products. We are excited about the business opportunity this presents and the potential impact on the chemical industry.”
“Washing the Oceans”
According to Origin by Ocean, global industries use a wide range of hazardous and oil-based substances, from cosmetics and agriculture to diverse consumer items and textiles, created by chemical companies.
Founded in 2019 by Mari Granström, Origin by Ocean’s algae-based alternative solutions claims to outperform the traditional chemical industry in terms of end-to-end sustainability as well as functional properties.
The company says its biorefinery-based production chain is sustainable from the start, obtaining raw materials from eutrophicated nations and offering sustainable business opportunities.
Mari Granström adds, “Origin by Ocean’s various algae-based solutions and ingredients can replace crude oil as a raw material in many products. Our unique problem-solving approach is to convert both harmful invasive and sustainably farmed algae into value-added ingredients.”
“Hence, we’re solving two problems: producing sustainable ingredients for our global consumer brand customers and cleaning up coastal areas affected by invasive algae.”
Cosmetics, detergents, food, and textiles are just a few of the uses for the company’s line of value-added functional ingredients.
The Blue Bioeconomy Strategy of the EU places a lot of emphasis on the issue of marine eutrophication, which is predicted to have wiped out most marine life by the year 2050. To permanently stop marine eutrophication, Origin by Ocean is taking proactive measures by turning toxic algae into beneficial chemicals for the chemical industry.
