MEXICO – Carbonwave, a Puerto Rico-based company which specializes in upcycling of seaweed bloom into plant-based biomaterials, raised $5M in Series A funding.
The round, which brought total funding to date to $12M, was led by Mirova with participation from Viridios Capital, Popular Impact Fund, and Katapult Ocean.Led by CEO Geoff Chapin, Carbonwave is a developer of plant-based biomaterials from seaweed. The company transforms sargassum seaweed into biomaterials that can replace petroleum products and other harmful industrial inputs. The company intends to use the funds to expand production capacity into products that replace fossil fuel and animal-based products in the cosmetic emulsifiers, agriculture, textiles, and plastics industries.This investment will be used to build large-scale cosmetics emulsifier production facilities in Puerto Rico. The current Puerto Rico facility, used for R&D, has also developed a leather alternative from Sargassum (the floating seaweed masses), which it will be launching soon. The company has already developed Sarga Agriscience (Sarga Ag), a line of organic agricultural inputs made from Sargassum’s liquid compounds that increase yields, allow crops to survive drought more effectively, and reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer. Sarga Ag products are being tested for large-scale application by some of the leading corporate growers in the world. Additionally, Carbonwave has already sold half a ton of its SeaBalance2000, a seaweed-based cosmetic emulsifier.Carbonwave also has operations—one in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and is exploring additional ventures in the Caribbean. 06/04/2023
