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Poseidona founders Sònia Hurtado (left) and Maria Cermeño.Image Credits:Poseidona
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Invasive alga is a trouble all over the universe . Different coinage of seaweed pose a threat to the pelagic surround by smother and kill coral , which has an impact on Pisces and other marine life .
Living near the sea in Spain , Sònia Hurtado escort the effect that the large amounts of seaweed , known as Rugulopteryx okamurae , was having on the Mediterranean . It set about in 2015 when a contaminant happened in the Dixieland of France and spread out all over the coastline .
After meeting María Cermeño , an expert in protein origin from orbitual food materials , the pair decided to rid the ocean of this pest and ferment it into protein ingredient for food . They foundedPoseidona , a Barcelona - based developer of sustainable food for thought technology , which utilise that trespassing seaweed and algal side - streams — the wasteland that agricultural producer generate — to make proteins . In this font , it ’s a soybean protein alternative .
Umaro is turning ocean - farmed seaweed into imitation bacon
The society utilizes enzymatic hydrolysis , a molecular closing off process often used to recycle plastic and bring forth ethyl alcohol , and combines that with other technology . Its hidden sauce is the way in which that is done and the combining of enzyme used to assure a gamy - quality protein end Cartesian product . They ’re looking for nutritional factors and an overall good functionality of the protein , Hurtado said .
“ We also have a projection ongoing specifically caring for the organoleptics of the product , ensuring it wo n’t have any ‘ bad seaweed ’ smack and it will have a good colour , ” she told TechCrunch . “ The best part of using the side - streams , besides the low or void cost , is they are already concentrated in protein . But it ’s challenge at the same metre to ensure the protein is in good form and we extract it all properly . ”
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Neither Cermeño nor Hurtado are strangers to this area : Cermeño has a doctor’s degree in food biochemistry , and Hurtado was previously co - laminitis and chief scientific officer at Current Foods , which was antecedently known asKuleana . The company made plant - based seafood and was develop by the Wicked Kitchen in 2023 .
Poseidona is not the only one using side - watercourse to make food . There ’s also Berlin - based Pacifico Biolabs , which announced$3.3 million in pre - seed fundinglast calendar month for its unrest process to make alternative seafood .
What ’s pushed side - watercourse more into the public kingdom is that solid food scientists are acknowledge the need to find new protein sources , Hurtado said . At the same clip , those concerned with food fabrication ’s effect on the surroundings see a pot of waste and side - streams being produced .
“ For good example , in the hide of rotten tomatoes , there are a lot of estimable colors and molecules that we could use , ” Hurtado said . “ We are becoming an overpopulated world , and at some point we need to make the most of all the resources that we have because we are going to attain a degree where there wo n’t be any more resources . ”
Pacifico Biolabs emerges from stealing with fermentation operation for alternative seafood
Poseidona ’s first intersection is a soy alternative protein concentrate . Companies often need to experiment with colors and savor of the ingredient . With initial prototype , however , Hurtado and Cermeño found that the dressed ore had an umami , or mushroom - similar , smack and somewhat of a reddish color . Hurtado said they were going for more of a colouration similar to soybean , but for now , they are going with the natural color .
If everything goes well , Hurtado await to plunge the concentrate at the end of 2024 . Helping to move the R&D along is a pre - seed financial backing one shot of € 1.1 million ( $ 1.19 million ) , head by Faber , one of Europe ’s run speculation capital funds specialise in climate tech and the blue economy . The round also include Dozen Investments , Sprout & About , ProVeg International and WA4STEAM ( Women for STEAM ) .
Meanwhile , there are specific administration regulations on how to falsify and pull together the alga that Poseidona is using for its intersection . A fall in the Pisces population , run to less work for fishermen , and an idea from Hurtado ’s girl inspired Hurtado and Cermeño to play on a program that would have fishermen collect seaweed as another receipts stream . They contrive to work on that in the amount years .
Poseidona also has plans to expend other kinds of invasive seaweeds — for example , Sargassum — which Hurtado said is sham the Pacific Ocean .
“ Our finish is to be able to practice a variety of macroalgae species , using our proprietary methodology , to make grow big proteins at an affordable cost that will be able to compete with the mainstream plant - based proteins of soy and pea protein , that presently have no competition at all , ” Hurtado said . “ We ’ll at last be able to be in cost conservation of parity with soy protein . ”
Startup says the seaweed blobbing toward Florida has a facile facing
