Seaweed has emerged as an important material in the development of the Blue Economy – offering a promising alternative to fossil fuels-derived materials and land-based biomass.

Sea6 Energy, a pioneering startup based in Bangalore, India with operational presence in Indonesia, is advancing innovative solution in addressing world’s key issues. Committed to sustainability, Sea6 is scaling tropical seaweed cultivation sustainably for diverse applications in agriculture, aquaculture, bioplastic and food industries.

Navigating the Challenges

However, the challenges in tropical seaweed farming today could limit the industry’s growth and scale, such as:

• Labour Intensive: Traditional seaweed farming methods rely heavily on manual labour, from attaching individual seaweed cuttings to ropes and setting them in the seabed to the manual harvesting proces.
• Limited to Shallow Waters: Dependency on manual labour restricts seaweed farming to shallow waters, hindering scalability due to competition with fishing activities and marine vessel traffic in coastal areas.
• Geographical Constraints: Harvested seaweed has a remarkably short shelf life of 1-2 days, necessitating on-site or nearby processing facilities. This constraint limits potential aquaculture sites to areas with existing processing infrastructure, preventing centralized processing for higher-value products.

Two-pronged Innovation

Sea6 brings an innovative approach to seaweed cultivation and processing. From automated seeding & harvesting machines to exclusive processing methods that prolong shelf life, Sea6’s integrated platform boosts efficiency, improves scalability while reducing environmental impact.

Sea6 concentrate on two key areas: scaling seaweed production through automation and exploring the potential of seaweed-based products across various industries. Here’s how Sea6 is reshaping the future of seaweed farming and processing:

• Cost-effective Automation: Sea6 employs mechanized seeding and harvesting processes, improving labour productivity and enhancing scalability. Custom-designed vessels and workboats provides a platform to enable all seaweed farming activities offshore (instead of returning to shore for manual harvesting and seeding process).
• Data-driven: Using in-house developed data monitoring and management systems, Sea6 employs agile, data-driven decision-making to manage seaweed farms at scale in a dynamic marine environment.
• Extended Shelf Life: Sea6 have developed a proprietary primary conversion process, extending seaweed shelf life from 1-2 days to 6-9 months, and reducing waste.
• Versatile Applications: Sea6’s formulations, leveraging the unique properties of tropical seaweed, open up diverse applications, from agricultural enhancements to biomaterials and biofuels.

The Minds Behind Sea6

Sea6 was founded by a team of accomplished individuals with diverse expertise in engineering, agriculture, and biotechnology. Steering the company are four co-founders with extensive technical know-how and entrepreneurial experience: Shrikumar Suryanarayan serves as Managing Director, Nelson Vadassery as Chief Executive Officer, Sri Sailaja Nori as Chief Scientific Officer, and Sowmya Balendiran as Chief Business Officer. Together, they constitute a dynamic team dedicated to actualizing Sea6’s vision of sustainable seaweed cultivation and utilization.

Unlocking the Seas for a Sustainable Future

Through their relentless pursuit of innovation, Sea6 has dismantled the traditional barriers to seaweed cultivation, paving the way for a sustainable biomass production at scale. TTV is excited to see Sea6’s journey unfold.