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We Lead with Experience from Across Ocean Science, Seaweed Entrepreneurship, and the Blue Bioeconomy

 Our combined know-how in cultivating a variety of seaweed species, processing them efficiently, and transforming them into a range of drop-in products makes us the ideal partner for industries that want to move fast into a sustainable transition.

From the Artic to the Caribbean, Our Team Builds on Years of Macro Algae Research and Go-To-Market Success.

Macrocarbon SL was born from a fusion of scientific expertise and innovative technical vision. In January 2022, Dr. Mar Fernandez-Mendez, a marine and algal ecologist from the Alfred Wegener Institute, joined forces with Dr. Jason Cole, then Chief Innovation Officer at Carbonwave, a pioneer in processing wild Sargassum at scale in the Caribbean. Their collaboration led to the creation of the “C-CAUSE” project, aimed at developing a Sargassum-based carbon utilization economy.

The project’s potential was quickly recognized, winning a 700,000 euro grant from the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) in May 2022. After a rigorous pilot phase, Macrocarbon SL was officially spun out from AWI and Carbonwave in 2023. Our roadmap was further validated with an additional 2.3 million euros in SPRIND funding to scale up valuable seaweed chains across the East Atlantic, and potentially, across the world.

Our Team

We are an international team of experts in biological oceanography, macroalgae cultivation, marine engineering, and biomass processing.

Dr. Mar Fernández-Méndez

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Dr. Jason Cole

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Dr. Joaquin Ortiz Cortes

Head of Macroalgal Research

Alvaro Ponce

Head of Engineering

Tatiana Torres, J.D/D.C.L.

Operations Facilitator & Researcher

Jan Jacob

Intern, Macroalgal Research

Mirian Arellano San Martin

Science Lead and Local Partnership Manager

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Macrocarbon is always looking for partners and collaborators. Share your contact info and we will reach out!

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ALGANARIA

As we work to scale offshore operations, we will establish on-land cultivation of the green seaweed Ulva with fish-farming company Aquanaria’s aquaculture facility. Our algae will absorb nutrients as it grows to bio-remediate the water effluent from the fish tanks. We will extract high value compounds for use in materials and nutrition.

Location: Onshore, Gran Canaria (SPA)

Partners: Aquanaria

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PLAQUAFARM

In 2025, together with PLOCAN, we will establish our 40.000 m2 aquafarm off-shore in Gran Canaria. Based on the knowledge collected during PORTAL G, we will start upscaling our operations to cultivate and harvest local seaweeds in the ocean. We will process the seaweed to produce biofuels and biochar to help us defossilize our economy and sequester carbon permanently.

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Location: Offshore, Gran Canaria (SPA)

Partners: PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands)

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PORTAL G

Our 2000 m2 pilot aquafarm is located at the harbor of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria since August 2024. This innovative pilot Here we will research new innovative methods to grow local seaweeds floating.

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Location: Las Palmas in Gran Canaria (SPA)

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Pelagic Sargassum Pilot

In collaboration with Seafields, we validated our approach t o growing pelagic Sargassum within a 150 m2 barrier in St Vincent and the Grenadines (Caribbean) in spring 2023.  Together with the Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany), we also developed our proprietary methods to quantify & monitor floating seaweed growth, carbon uptake and environmental impact.

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Location: St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)

Partners: Seafields Solutions Ltd., Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research