SeafoodSource is closely following the sustainable seafood movement by compiling a regular round-up of sector updates about sustainability initiatives and certifications.
- NovoNutrients has collected USD 18 million (EUR 16.5 million) in its Series A fundraising round.
The Sunnyvale, California, U.S.A.-based startup, which is pioneering a technology that uses microorganisms to convert carbon dioxide into protein for aquaculture feeds, said the funding will support its industrial pilot program, enlargement of its staff, and commercial partnerships.
"This investment brings us closer to realizing our vision of a world where industrial emissions are upcycled into essential nutrients for a growing population," NovoNutrients CEO David Tze said in a press release.
The financing includes USD 10.3 million (EUR 9.5 million) in new capital and the conversion of USD 8 million (EUR 7.3 million) in previously issued simple agreements for future equity, according to NovoNutrients. The round was led by Australian energy firm Woodside Energy and was co-led by Chinese sustainable material investment firm CM Venture Capital. IndieBio, Decarbonization Consortium, Happiness Capital, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, and Audacy Ventures also participated. NovoNutrients said it is targeting an additional USD 23 million (EUR 21.1 million) in Series A fundraising.
“With this Series A financing, NovoNutrients is well-positioned to accelerate its growth and quickly become a leading supplier of carbon capture and utilization technology that enables sustainable protein ingredients," CM Venture Capital Managing Partner Min Zhou said. "[Its] leading-edge approach aligns with our focus on renewable carbon, advanced materials science and hard-tech innovations. We have great confidence in the NovoNutrients team's ability to execute their ambitious vision."
The company previously announced it had raised USD 9 million (EUR 7.6 million) in venture capital backing following a USD 4.7 million (EUR 4 million) investment from Happiness Capital in 2021. It joined the FEED-X program in 2020.
NovoNutrients said it plans to pursue an asset-light strategy, encompassing licensing and strategic partnerships. It said it has already secured technology development agreements in the energy and nutrition sectors, including one signed in 2023 with Woodside Energy.
- Insect meal producer Innovafeed has completed its Phase 3 expansion of its production site at the company’s headquarters in Nesle, France.
The factory now measures 55,000 square meters, making it the largest insect production site in the world, according to the company. The expansion will allow Innovafeed to quintuple its larval production capacity and improve growing conditions through automated and optimized production flow management.
“This achievement not only demonstrates the viability of Innovafeed’s breakthrough technology but also its ability to scale up to large-scale, profitable, and sustainable production. Innovafeed thus proves the robustness of its innovative industrial model,” it said. The expansion project was initiated after Innovafeed raised USD 250 million (EUR 230 million) in Series D funding, bringing its cumulative funding to USD 450 million (413 million).
“After ramping up, stabilizing the technology, and demonstrating the economic performance of the site during the first two phases, this third phase will enable to reach the target production capacity and profitability,” said Innovafeed, which also operates a facility in the U.S. state of Illinois via a partnership with ADM.
- Chemical manufacturing company DSM-Firmenich has expanded its Sustell environmental life-cycle assessment service to service clients in the shrimp-farming business.
The technology allows shrimp farmers to map the full environmental footprint of their operations and meet environmental sustainability targets, according to the Geneva, Switzerland based conglomerate. It was designed in collaboration with Ecuador’s Grupo Almar, which will be the first company to implement it across its operations.
“When we partnered with DSM-Firmenich last year, we knew we wanted to implement technologies that help us improve the environmental sustainability of our shrimp production. We knew when we chose Sustell we would be able to go beyond measurement by taking ownership of our full environmental footprint, and now, with the new module for shrimp, we are able to take our sustainability efforts one step further,” Grupo Almar General Manager and COO Wolfgang Harten said.
Backed by an ISO-certified methodology, the new module offers on-demand environmental footprinting for shrimp production of all stages, from hatchery, to nursery, to growout, in addition to a feed module which is a critical contributor to LCA in any animal farming system, according to DSM-Firmenich Sustell Lead for Aqua and Global Key Account Manager Louise Buttle.
“With the introduction of a specific module for shrimp in Sustell, shrimp producers now have the platform available to conduct full life-cycle assessment at scale, ensuring a strong return on investment and providing credible and accurate footprinting. Sustell unlocks new value opportunities for producers, from improving farm productivity to eco-labeling and sustainable finance, for example,” Buttle said. “Sustell for shrimp demonstrates our commitment and continued innovations to further develop the sustainable production of seafood from aquaculture.”
DSM-Firmenish made its LCA service available to salmon farmers in 2022 and introduced its Digital SalmoFan, a portable device for measuring the color of salmon fillets, in 2023.
- Yield10 Bioscience, which is developing Camelina sativa as a sustainable platform crop to produce omega-3 oil, has been granted an exclusive global, commercial license for its technology by Harpenden, England-based Rothamsted Research Limited.
The two groups have been working together since 2020 to develop alternative sources for omega-3 oils. The new deal will see Yield10 pay licensing fees, milestone payments, and royalties based on commercialization of Rothamsted’s omega-3 technology.
“Enabled by the Rothamsted technology, we are on a promising path to commercializing elite omega-3 producing varieties of Camelina that combine good agronomics in the field while also producing high-value, high-purity omega-3 oils possessing very attractive economics,” Yield10 Bioscience President and CEO Oliver Peoples said. “In 2024, we are positioned to execute on the scale-up of omega-3 producing Camelina and to submit key regulatory filings with the goal of being ready for an initial commercial launch into the oil and meal markets. We also look forward to improving the current Camelina varieties over time particularly with the deployment of herbicide tolerance and other performance traits.”
Rothamsted Director and CEO Angela Karp said Yield10 has provided expertise and support as her team advanced the development of engineered Camelina from field testing to planting at multi-acre scale to produce omega-3 oil.
“Yield10’s innovations and capabilities in Camelina are impressive and successful commercialization of this technology could have significant benefits, offering sustainable production of an oil essential for nutrition and wellness to consumers, as well as providing crop diversification to growers,” Karp said. “We look forward to the commercialization of omega-3 oil and meal products by Yield10 in the years ahead.”
The Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S.A-based company recently won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) to grow and breed its stacked herbicide-tolerant Camelina in the U.S., and in November 2023, it signed a letter of intent with Aarhus, Denmark-based aquafeed firm BioMar to commercialize a fish oil alternative derived from Camelina.
