Seaweed grows well in Maine, yet little of that potential has translated into high-value products or ingredients. Atlantic BlueBio wants to build the infrastructure needed to turn abundance into economic opportunity.
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A Kittery startup wants to use “biorefinery” techniques to develop high-value marine-derived ingredients from seaweed.
Krista Rosen and Inga Potter launched Atlantic BlueBio Corp. earlier this month to turn lab-scale seaweed science into market-ready solutions for formulators, brands and manufacturers in the skincare and personal care industries.
“In Maine, we’re surrounded by an extraordinary marine resource,” said Rosen. “Farmed kelp and wild seaweed grow incredibly well here, yet relatively little of that potential has been translated into high-value products or ingredients.
“What’s been missing is the infrastructure and coordination needed to turn that abundance into economic opportunity. That’s the gap that Altantic BlueBio is working to fill.”
First seaweed biorefinery
The aim is to build Maine’s first seaweed biorefinery as a collaborative effort with seaweed farmers and scientific, nonprofit, academic and entrepreneurial resources.
Atlantic BlueBio was accepted to the Maine Blue Biotech Studio, an in-person two-week accelerator program in March for marine biotech companies from around the globe organized by investment firm Hatch Blue and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
Many people think of the energy industry when they hear the word “biorefinery,” but the term is used in other sectors as well, Rosen said.
“For us, a biorefinery means using every part of Maine-grown seaweed to produce multiple high‑value ingredients with minimal waste,” she said. “This is in contrast to simple ‘extraction,’ where you would target a single compound and discard the rest.”
Atlantic BlueBio’s model will separate seaweed into several useful components — fucoidan, alginate, laminarin and leftover pulp — each of which have separate uses.
“This maximizes value, efficiency and sustainability,” she said. “The biorefinery model is not a novel concept, but few companies in the U.S. are using this approach with seaweed.”
Pilot plant
Atlantic BlueBio has validated extraction and purification methods at bench scale and is now working with specialized U.S. engineering and fabrication partners to build a modular pilot‑scale seaweed biorefinery, Rosen said.
One of the company’s founders, Mauro Pavao, previously built a small-scale research facility in Brazil that served as a technical proof‑of‑concept. Pavao is a biochemist and marine biologist with decades of experience studying and extracting seaweed‑derived carbohydrates. He plans to relocate to Maine, Rosen said.
“The pilot facility will allow us to generate the data required for full‑scale manufacturing in Maine and begin limited market introductions,” Rosen said. “The target date to be online with the pilot facility is mid-2027.”
The company is seeing early, informal interest from companies in the personal care and biomaterials space, including a few preliminary requests for samples.
Kelp farmers
In 2021, Rosen and Potter founded Cold Current Kelp, a kelp farm and skincare company selling kelp-based skincare products direct-to-consumer. The company grows, harvests, processes and produces products from kelp raised offshore in Kittery.
Although kelp is primarily known as a specialty food and dietary supplement, Cold Current uses its farmed kelp to create skin care products. The kelp industry in the U.S. is relatively young. But Maine represents the majority of farmed seaweed in the nation.
A native Mainer and former attorney, Rosen brings a multidisciplinary background spanning product development, strategy and partnership building.
Potter is a marine biologist, educator and entrepreneur with decades of experience studying marine life off the New England coast.
They work with Bob Leipold, Rosen’s uncle and a chemical engineer with a long career in the chemical industry, biotechnology and pharmaceutical consulting.
Bob Leipold. Photo / Courtesy Atlantic BlueBio Corp.
“Our experience building Cold Current Kelp showed us that not only are consumers seeking clean, effective marine ingredients, but formulators and brands are actively doing so as well,” said Potter.
Atlantic BlueBio is designed to meet that demand at the ingredient level, targeting certain seaweed extracts that have properties “increasingly recognized for their functional performance in skincare,” according to a news release.
The company shares Cold Current Kelp’s 1,059-square-foot space at 37 Route 236, Suite 205 in Kittery, but will be looking for its own space later this year, Rosen told Mainebiz.
Founder-financed
Founder-financed investment to date has primarily supported early research and development, preliminary process design work and initial planning for the pilot‑scale plant.
“As we move toward pilot‑scale production, we expect to seek additional funding from a variety of sources,” said Rosen.
Its engineering groundwork, extraction methods and core team expertise are well established, she said.
Market case
Rosen said the biological applications of seaweed extracts “are supported by a strong scientific history, even if not widely known outside research circles. At the same time, companies are increasingly seeking natural, effective, regeneratively grown, domestically sourced ingredients.
“That convergence creates a strong fit between emerging demand and the ingredients” that Atlantic BlueBio intends to produce.”