World’s first brown seaweed biorefinery secures over €30 million EU loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a loan exceeding €30 million for Origin by Ocean, a Finnish green chemistry startup, to build the world’s first brown seaweed biorefinery in Kokkola, reports Yle. The facility will process sargassum seaweed sourced from the Caribbean into high-value products like alginate and fucoidan.

The EIB loan covers half of the €65 million investment required for the plant, with the remaining funds to be raised from private sources. Construction is set to begin in autumn 2026, with operations expected to start in 2028, employing around 50 people.

Origin by Ocean’s CEO Mari Granström stated that the loan underscores the EU’s commitment to supporting high-value green industrial transitions. The refinery’s primary market will be the United States, despite global trade challenges.

Sargassum, a brown macroalgae, has proliferated rapidly in the Caribbean, reaching 40 million tons in 2025. The Kokkola plant will convert it into alginate—used in food, pharmaceuticals, and special effects—and fucoidan. Granström noted that the facility’s entire alginate output for 2030–31 has already been pre-sold.

The project is a joint venture with CABB, a German fine chemicals manufacturer already operating in Kokkola.