Published on 17 December 2024
The Insider’s Perspective series shines a spotlight on the innovative and cutting-edge partners shaping the future of the algae sector. In this thirteenth edition, we focus on BlueBurn and its pivotal contributions to bridging the gap between global supply and demand, optimising the algae value chain, and fostering sustainable growth in the industry. Read on to explore how this pioneering company is shaping advancements in the algae industry.
BlueBurn: Building a greener future powered by algae
Co-founded by Cornelia Weiner and Felix Ghyczy, BlueBurn emerged from a shared passion for sustainability and a transformative vision: to scale the algae economy and revolutionise its industry. Their mission is to make algae accessible across global industries, leveraging its potential as a sustainable solution to tackling major environmental challenges.
BlueBurn strongly believes algae are an extraordinary resource with the capacity to significantly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unmatched sustainability and versatility, algae often outperforms other renewable, low-carbon resources in both environmental impact and functionality. By championing algae-based products and solutions, BlueBurn envisions a future where algae become an indispensable resource across industries, fostering harmony between humanity and nature.
Discovering BlueBurn: Transforming the algae industry
BlueBurn was founded with the clear goal to transform the algae industry by bridging the gap between suppliers and buyers through market intelligence, thus, making algae easily accessible to industries at scale and connecting global demand across multiple industries sectors to global trusted suppliers. This approach optimises profitability, minimises costs, and ensures quality.
Through its innovative platform, BlueBurn enhances communication and coordination between stakeholders, enabling adjustments and strategic optimisations under varying circumstances. This approach tackles key industry challenges such as:
- Scarcity
- Quality and consistency
- Traceability
- Price fluctuations
- Policy Intervention: Regulatory frameworks should offer incentives, such as tax benefits, for low-GHG-emitting, biodiversity-supporting, and sustainable products. These measures can encourage industries to adopt algae-based solutions over conventional resources.
- Policy Example: Governments could mandate a 10% seaweed content in hamburgers. This could improve nutritional scores, significantly reduce meat production, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By focusing on policies that benefit human, animal, and planetary health, governments can create systemic change.
Additionally, BlueBurn empowers algae producers by providing them with valuable market insights, helping them make informed production decisions, strengthening the value chain, and attracting investments for scaling up.
Bringing innovative algae applications to the market
The market size is valued at about USD 22 billion in 2022 (outlook for 2030: USD 45 billion) with an annual compound growth rate of at least 10%. However, significant challenges exist in the algae industry. A fragmented supply chain and limited information on algae production hinder innovation and market growth. The disparity between supply and demand affects both suppliers and buyers.
BlueBurn drives innovation by connecting buyers and suppliers through an AI-driven marketplace. By gathering and analysing comprehensive data on demand, supply, pricing, and trends, BlueBurn optimises market dynamics and delivers value across the algae ecosystem.
Driving Change: BlueBurn’s Key Efforts
Operating on a commission-based model, BlueBurn reinvests in the algae value chain, playing a key role in advancing eco-friendly renewable feedstocks and supporting the transition to a more sustainable future. Key efforts include:
– Bridging Supply and Demand: Connecting industries looking for algae-based solutions with trusted global suppliers, making it easier for businesses to access and use algae as a resource.
– Optimising the Algae Supply Chain: Addressing supply chain issues like scarcity, quality, consistency, traceability, and price fluctuations, to ensure smoother operations for both buyers and suppliers.
– Leveraging Market Intelligence: Providing AI-driven data insights to algae producers, to help them make better production decisions, optimise their operations, and attract investments for scaling up.
– Promoting Industry Growth: Solving challenges in the algae ecosystem and connecting key players to scale the algae economy, enabling innovation and sustainable growth.
Unlocking algae’s potential in the EU
Despite the global algae market's €30 billion valuation, the EU algae market remains underdeveloped due to several challenges. BlueBurn emphasizes the following key areas to unlock its full potential:
– Improved Market Intelligence: Addressing the issue of market demand, availability, and pricing, particularly for industries unfamiliar with algae to foster industry trust.
– Financial Incentives for Industries: Large-scale algae cultivation and processing require significant investments. However, producers often struggle to secure funding due to limited resources. Having said that, without demand, they can't scale, and without scale, demand remains low.
– Governmental Regulations and Legislation: History shows that industries often shift to new materials and products when driven by governmental action, as seen with the regulation of CFCs and lead. Similarly, algae’s potential to support the Paris Agreement goals will remain untapped without strong government involvement. Economic incentives, such as regulatory mandates or competitive advantages, are essential to drive change.
– Collaboration and Shared Knowledge: Current research and stakeholder collaboration in the algae industry are fragmented. Better coordination across academia, industry, and the supply chain is necessary. A European body could lead the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) to centralise knowledge, identify gaps, and streamline innovation.
– Streamlined Regulations: Algae innovators face inconsistent regulatory frameworks across EU member states, creating unnecessary hurdles. Harmonising and simplifying these regulations would lower barriers to entry and accelerate the industry’s growth.
– Market Awareness: Educating both consumers and industries about the benefits of algae-based solutions is critical. Increased awareness will drive adoption and build trust in algae as a viable, sustainable alternative.
– Support for R&D: While funding exists, aligning research priorities with industry needs is crucial. Enhanced collaboration between researchers and stakeholders can lead to breakthroughs in areas like carbon capture, advanced biomaterials, and nutrition.
By addressing these challenges, BlueBurn and its partners are paving the way for a robust, sustainable algae ecosystem.
EU4Algae: Strengthening industry ties for algae advancement
The EU4Algae platform, an initiative of the European Commission, aims to accelerate the development of a robust algae industry within the European Union. By fostering collaboration, the platform connects stakeholders across the algae ecosystem – including farmers, producers, consumers, technology developers, investors, public authorities, academia, and NGOs.
This collaborative space promotes sustainable algae production and consumption while addressing challenges in the sector. A key objective of EU4Algae is to provide informed recommendations to the European Parliament, outlining the steps needed to build a sustainable and viable algae economy.
BlueBurn’s Vision: Shaping the Future of Algae
BlueBurn views algae not merely as an untapped resource but as a cornerstone for building a sustainable future. Initiatives like EU4Algae play a crucial role in fostering collaboration, driving systemic changes, and raising awareness about the potential of algae. By addressing challenges collectively, the algae industry can unlock its immense potential and establish algae as a key resource for Europe and beyond.
Stay Connected with BlueBurn
Stay updated on BlueBurn’s latest news by visiting their official website and following them on LinkedIn.
Have you heard about the EU4Algae Interactive Platform?
Designed to promote algae product awareness and increase consumer knowledge, the EU4Algae Interactive Platform offers a range of activities. Take the EU4Algae Quiz to test your algae knowledge, participate in our Survey to share your algae-eating habits (the first 200 respondents get a free eBook!) and play the interactive Game to discover which type of algae you are.