Founded in 2013, Blue Evolution aims to use the power of seaweed to realize a sustainable, regenerative future by developing scalable supply chains. The company seeks to revolutionize markets with seaweed-based products in food, nutraceuticals, critical mineral biomining, natural cosmetics, agricultural biostimulants, animal feed, wearable textiles, biodegradable packaging and more. Blue Evolution also supports social entrepreneurship in indigenous communities. CEO Beau Perry discussed his company’s vision and methods with Sea Technology.

Tell us about the ‘aha moment’ that led to you founding Blue Evolution.

My journey in aquaculture began around 2008 with a focus on finfish, specifically working with a friend from business school at Earth Ocean Farms. We aimed to produce protein more sustainably through aquaculture, seeing it as an alternative to the industrial fishing model that emerged post-World War II. This experience taught me about the complexities and challenges of fish farming, from the capital and operational expenses to the intricate life science management involved.

After Earth Ocean Farms was acquired by Cuña del Mar in 2008, I founded a nonprofit to further explore sustainable aquaculture solutions. My work expanded to shrimp farming, particularly a brown shrimp species native to the Gulf of California, known for consuming green seaweed before spawning. This led me to believe that incorporating seaweed into their diet could make shrimp farming much more sustainable.

During my efforts to domesticate this shrimp species, I encountered a serendipitous moment. An unexpected bumper crop of post-larvae exceeded my indoor tank capacity, forcing me to move some shrimp to outdoor tanks. There, with natural sunlight and shrimp waste, we experienced an unexpected bloom of Ulva seaweed. Observing these shrimp, I noticed they were healthier, with lower mortality rates, better growth and a more vibrant color, compared to their indoor counterparts fed on formulated pellets.

This discovery sparked extensive research into the benefits of seaweed for shrimp aquaculture, revealing its potential as a feed additive, biofilter and co-cultivation enhancer. I soon realized that seaweed’s potential extended far beyond shrimp farming. Seaweed has incredible benefits for human food, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, biomedical and biopharma applications. It serves as a plant biostimulant for terrestrial crops, feed additives for various livestock and aquaculture species, and as a sustainable material for bioplastics, textiles and construction.

Moreover, seaweed offers significant ecosystem services, including blue carbon capture, ocean de-acidification, habitat enhancement and nutrient abatement.

I also recognized seaweed’s potential to support social entrepreneurship. Unlike finfish or shrimp farming, which are capital-intensive and complex, seaweed and bivalve aquaculture have lower barriers to entry and are more accessible for rural fishing communities. This makes them ideal for transitioning communities from unsustainable fishing to sustainable aquaculture, creating economic opportunities while addressing overfishing, pollution and climate change.

Through my nonprofit work, I aimed to create community-based models that balanced coastal resource economics by combining conservation of marine protected areas with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. This comprehensive understanding of seaweed’s potential led to the founding of Blue Evolution in 2013. Our mission is to harness the power of seaweed to innovate and disrupt markets across various sectors, with our latest focus being the extraction of critical minerals from seaweed.

Where do you harvest seaweed, and why did you choose those locations?

We currently cultivate seaweed in Baja California, south of Ensenada, where we have our processing and research hub focused on green seaweed, specifically the Ulva species. As far as I know, we are the first company to build a full commercial supply chain for farmed seaweed in Mexico—from seed to finished products—selling internationally. Additionally, we pioneered seaweed aquaculture in Alaska in 2017, achieving the first commercial harvest with our local community farm partner on Kodiak Island. Again, from seed to product, starting from scratch.

We chose these locations for several reasons. Both Baja California and Kodiak have excellent growing conditions and clean ocean water, which are crucial for cultivating healthy seaweed crops. The coastline of Mexico offers environmental conditions that are ideal for our onshore farming model, which operates much like a greenhouse on land—highly productive with a high level of control and consistent output. This location is also close to the United States, with good infrastructure and logistics.

Kodiak, on the other hand, is superb for offshore farming. Here, we grow mostly brown seaweed, but also some red seaweed on longline farms around the coast. We have helped a cohort of local farmers, primarily fishing families, set up operations. Despite its remote location, Kodiak has extraordinary infrastructure, a world-class fleet with capabilities conducive to seaweed farming, and an electrical grid powered almost entirely by wind and hydroelectricity. This allows us to grow a significant amount of seaweed very efficiently while using renewable energy throughout the supply chain.

Beyond these locations, we are developing partnerships in Iceland and New Zealand, and exploring opportunities in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. Our experience has given us great insights into the criteria that define a good seaweed farming geography and production hub, enabling us to expand strategically.

What minerals do you extract from the seaweed, and what are the applicable markets?

Our discovery of critical minerals in seaweed was somewhat accidental. Initially, we considered the ‘ash’ or mineral content of seaweed to be the least valuable part of the biomass. However, while exploring biofuel opportunities under a survey with PNNL [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory] as part of an ARPA-E DOE [U.S. Department of Energy] grant, we found signals indicating the presence of both precious metals and rare earth elements in our seaweed crops.

We identified commercially valuable elements such as scandium, palladium, neodymium and dysprosium, among others. While this discovery opened new avenues for exploration, we are not yet commercially operating a critical minerals production line from seaweed. The recent grant we announced is focused on exploring several pathways for developing commercial extraction technologies to yield these minerals. These pathways may vary depending on the type of seaweed, the scale of growth, and the specific farm models used.

Once developed, the markets for these elements are vast. Precious metals like palladium have applications in electronics, automotive catalytic converters and jewelry. Rare earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium are critical for manufacturing high-performance magnets used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, and various electronic devices. Scandium is valuable in the aerospace industry for producing strong, lightweight alloys.

Our goal is to leverage our seaweed cultivation capabilities to develop and implement technologies that can efficiently extract these high-demand minerals, contributing to the supply of critical elements essential for modern technology and green energy solutions.

Can you describe the technology you use to extract the minerals?

Currently, we are in the exploratory phase of developing commercial extraction technologies for minerals from seaweed. Our recent grant is specifically aimed at identifying and refining these technologies. We are investigating multiple pathways that could vary, depending on the type of seaweed, the scale of cultivation and the specific farm models we use.

A key focus for us is on green chemistry principles. We are committed to developing extraction technologies that forgo the use of highly toxic chemicals, ensuring that our methods are environmentally friendly and sustainable. Some potential technologies we are exploring include advanced chemical processes that use benign solvents, bioleaching methods that utilize natural biological processes, and innovative biorefining techniques.

Each method has its own advantages and is suited to different types of seaweed and production scales. For instance, green chemical processes might be more effective for extracting certain rare earth elements, while bioleaching could offer a more sustainable approach for others. Our goal is to create efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly methods for extracting valuable minerals from seaweed.

We are collaborating with leading research institutions and leveraging our expertise in seaweed cultivation to develop these technologies. By prioritizing green chemistry, we aim to contribute to the supply chain of critical elements essential for modern technology and green energy solutions in a sustainable manner.

Your company also creates bio-based products from seaweed. What types of products do you have on the market, now and in the future?

At Blue Evolution, we embrace a comprehensive ‘co-product’ strategy, recognizing that the true potential of seaweed lies in its versatility and the range of valuable outputs it can provide. Our approach is centered on the concept of a seaweed biorefinery, where we produce a series of high-value products while delivering significant ecosystem services. We are continuously solving for the optimal configuration of the biorefinery and co-product outputs to define and improve the highest and best use of the seaweed biomass and its photosynthetic engine.

Our current and future product offerings include:

•     Proteins and peptides: Seaweed is a rich source of proteins and peptides, which have applications in food, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. These products cater to the growing demand for sustainable and plant-based protein alternatives.
•     Biostimulants and feed additives: We produce biostimulants that enhance crop growth and resilience, and feed additives that improve the health and productivity of livestock and aquaculture species. These products help reduce the reliance on synthetic chemicals and promote sustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices.
•     Feedstocks for nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, biomedical and biopharma applications: Seaweed-derived compounds have various health benefits and are used in the formulation of dietary supplements, skincare products, and pharmaceutical applications. Our research and development efforts are focused on harnessing these benefits to create innovative products for these markets.
•     Biomaterials: Seaweed can be used to produce bioplastics, textiles and construction materials. These sustainable materials help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and lower the carbon footprint of various industries. We are actively developing these biomaterials to offer environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional materials.
•     Critical minerals: Through our recent explorations, we have discovered that seaweed can yield valuable critical minerals such as scandium, palladium, neodymium and dysprosium. While we are still in the process of developing commercial extraction technologies, these minerals have significant applications in electronics, renewable energy and aerospace industries.

A key aspect of our strategy is integrating ecosystem services with physical products. Our nature-based carbon capture, utilization and storage (NBCCUS) model leverages seaweed’s ability to sequester carbon. The carbon-based molecules produced from seaweed are used in applications where they displace high-emissions feedstocks and store seaweed blue carbon. By operating within a biorefinery context and running the supply chain on renewable energy, we aim to offer carbon-negative co-product outputs, including the critical minerals.

This holistic approach not only maximizes the value derived from seaweed but also contributes to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation. By focusing on a diverse range of high-value products and ecosystem services, we are pioneering a sustainable and economically viable future for the seaweed industry.

Anything you want to add or emphasize?

At Blue Evolution, we believe it’s crucial to remember the human element and social impact as we endeavor to address climate change. We are genuinely enthusiastic about seaweed’s potential to significantly impact climate change mitigation and ocean acidification, achieving these benefits with co-benefits rather than trade-offs, if done correctly.

We understand that the best and most durable environmental solutions are also human solutions. Our business is designed to facilitate local equity and ensure that the communities we work with benefit directly from our innovations. In Alaska, we have strong partnerships with Su’naq, Native Conservancy and various other Alaska Native partners. These collaborations are essential to our success and ensure that the benefits of our work are shared with the local communities.

Additionally, our strategic partnership with the Apanui Iwi in New Zealand exemplifies our commitment to working with indigenous communities. By integrating our technology and market relationships, we aim to empower these partners, enabling the industry to grow much faster and creating lasting, multigenerational equity for those who produce these amazing crops and their outputs.

As we seek to disrupt the minerals industry with our critical mineral extraction from seaweed, we are also establishing a new model for social impact. This model prioritizes the success of local partners, ensuring that they reap the benefits of our advancements. By doing so, we not only address environmental challenges but also create economic opportunities that can sustain communities for generations to come.

Learn more here.