Kokkola biorefinery confirmed – seaweed processor Origin by Ocean receives giant funding from the European Investment Bank

The EU investment bank EIB has granted Origin by Ocean a loan of just over 30 million euros for the construction of the world's first kelp refinery.

Origin by Ocean The project partner is the chemical company Cabb Oy, based in Kokkola, in whose area construction of an industrial-scale biorefinery will begin next autumn.

The total value of the factory investment is EUR 65 million, of which the EU Investment Bank loan covers approximately half. Origin by Ocean plans to raise the remaining financing from private investors.

Founder and CEO of Origin by Ocean Mari Granström's According to him, the large-scale financing granted by the EIB sends a strong and important message.

“It demonstrates the EU's commitment to supporting green transition projects and bringing high-value-added production back to Europe,” says Granström.

EU support accelerates the Finnish company's progress from breakthrough to full-scale production.

“It also opens doors for private investors who want to be involved in creating the next generation of high-performance biomaterials.”

The Espoo-based company ambitiously aims to become the market leader in its own product categories.

Kokkola production plant opens bottleneck

Origin by Ocean has developed and patented a technology that converts algae into a variety of bio-based raw materials for use in the chemical, cosmetics and food industries.

The company's flagship products are fucoidan sold under the brand name OceanBoost and alginate called OceanThix.

Fucoidan is a functional bioactive compound that, among other things, enhances the protective properties of sunscreens. Sodium alginate is used as a thickening agent, for example, in the food and pharmaceutical industries and in biotechnology products.

The raw material for the biochemicals, sargassum, is shipped to Kokkola from the Caribbean. Collecting harmful brown algae from the sea also cleans the sensitive aquatic environment. The company plans to use European algae later.

According to Granström, the EIB's loan decision opens a critical bottleneck, as the products of the factory being built in Kokkola are already in high demand.

"The alginate production from the first years has already been largely sold and fucoidan sales are at a good pace."

The Kokkola biorefinery will become a reference plant that demonstrates both the profitability and environmental impacts of the products. In the future, factories are planned to be built around the world.

Two-year construction project

Cabbi, a fine chemicals manufacturer in Kokkola, will also become the operator of Origin by Ocean's biorefinery through the service agreement. The algae refinery is scheduled to be completed in 2028 and reach full production in 2029.

“We are excited about the partnership with Origin by Ocean and the opportunity to advance our sustainability agenda and growth strategy in life science,” said Cabb Oy’s CEO. Ari Venninen commented even before EIB financing was secured.

Cabb and Origin by Ocean shared a joint booth at the ChemBio Finland event held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre on 15–16 April. Mari Granström spent two days presenting the refinery project and product samples that the company is producing at its pilot plant in Otaniemi, Espoo. She thanks Cabb for being the best possible partner.

“Cabb brings to our collaboration solid experience in complex chemical industry operations, strict safety standards and proven scaling expertise.”

Granström has a PhD in chemistry. At the previous ChemBio Finland event, held in spring 2024, he was awarded the Chemistry Society's Award for Excellence.

“The beginning of a new industrial revolution”

At the ChemBio fair in April, Mari Granström was anxiously awaiting confirmation of the EIB's loan decision and said that industrial growth had been focused outside Europe for too long.

“We must not lose the expertise of the chemical industry in Finland or in Europe.”

After a positive loan decision, the innovator is full of energy and faith in the future.

“The refinery to be established is the beginning of a new industrial revolution that is not based on the utilization of fossil raw materials,” says Granström.

“The upcoming manufacturing facility demonstrates that humanity can simultaneously renew the planet and build a successful, world-class business.”

Text: Leena Joutsen, Kemiamedia.fi

Photo: Leena Joutsen. Origin by Ocean shared a stand with its partner CABB at the ChemBio Finland fair in April. “It feels like home, because I used to go to Chemistry Days with my mother as a child,” smiles award-winning chemist Mari Granström.