Finnish green chemicals company Origin by Ocean has partnered with CABB Group, a global contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in fine chemicals, to reportedly build a first-of-a-kind algae biorefinery at CABB’s production site in Kokkola, Finland.
The facility will extract valuable chemicals from sargassum, an invasive brown seaweed, using Origin by Ocean’s patented technology. It is expected to begin operations in 2028.
Transforming Invasive Sargassum to High-value Alginate, Fucoidan and More
As the companies explain, sargassum blooms, fueled by agricultural runoff and rising ocean temperatures, have become an ecological and economic burden — especially in the Caribbean and West Africa, where beaches are rendered unusable and fishing industries suffer. According to the Government of Jamaica, cleanup efforts cost an estimated $120 million annually.
Origin by Ocean aims to flip this crisis into an opportunity. The new biorefinery will convert sargassum into high-value ingredients such as alginate, fucoidan and biomass residue for use in products ranging from cosmetics and personal care to textiles and detergents — industries currently reliant on fossil-based chemicals.
Reimaging Value Chains
“Our fossil-based world is broken," said Mari Granström, chief executive activist and founder of Origin by Ocean. "For change to be possible at a large scale, we need to reimagine the value chains of the products that we use every day in our lives.
"As we partner with CABB and prepare for the construction of the first-of-a-kind biorefinery, we are already planning for additional biorefineries in the Caribbean, closer to the sargassum blooms." According to Granström, the advantage of Origin by Ocean's technology is that it can establish facilities anywhere around the world.
"We are ready to scale and actively looking for partners to accelerate the widespread industrial adoption of new ingredients derived from brown algae,” Granström added.
Logistics and Algal Potential
The biorefinery will be constructed by Origin by Ocean, while CABB will operate it under a manufacturing as a service model. Located in the Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP) — Northern Europe’s largest hub for inorganic chemical production — the facility will tap into CABB’s infrastructure and expertise to scale the solution.
“CABB is excited to partner with Origin by Ocean and the opportunity to advance our sustainability agenda as well as our growth strategy in Life Science,” said Ari Venninen, managing director of CABB Oy in Finland.
The addressable market for algae-based ingredients identified by Origin by Ocean is estimated at $220 billion, highlighting vast potential for sustainable transformation across sectors.
