#earthhack Forget oil. The future is slimy and it’s growing in the small New Zealand town of Paeroa.
A new pilot plant is set to churn out 1.6 tonnes of high-performance nanocellulose hydrogel each week from, you guessed it, seaweed. This isn’t just a clever science trick. It’s a full-frontal challenge to petroleum-based plastics, foams, and gels used across everything from packaging and cosmetics to agriculture and medicine.
Source: Nano-Sea -Scientists. with beaker
The Scion–AgriSea dream team under the Nano-Sea banner, has officially hit "go" on the build phase, with equipment arriving and the technical crew assembling to commission the first seaweed biorefinery of its kind in New Zealand.
For consumers, this means a future with less plastic, more biodegradable packaging, and even eco-friendlier skincare products. For industries, it’s a game changer, offering local manufacturers a sustainable, homegrown renewable ingredient compostable, and doesn’t come with a fossil fuel hangover.
Clare Bradley, CEO of AgriSea and unapologetic seaweed champion, is already seeing industry interest explode: “We’ve got off-take partners lining up. The opportunities for this biodegradable, high-performance material are exponential,” Clare Bradley says. “We’re building a bio-refinery from our seaweed waste stream, it's next-level circular.”
Source: Nano-Sea - Virtual mock-up of new factory set-up
The project marks years of collaboration between the Rotorua based crown research centre, Scion and AgriSea, the latter a Māori-owned business known for its innovative use of seaweed in agri-inputs. Now, that same seaweed waste is getting a second life, transformed into nanocellulose, a material stronger than Kevlar (gram-for-gram) and shockingly versatile.
Think:
Hydrogels for wound care and cosmetics
Biodegradable food packaging
Foam alternatives for cushioning
Soil enhancers that don’t wreck ecosystems
And all made from a regenerating marine resource not needing fresh water, fertiliser, or land.
This isn't just a scientific achievement. It’s a statement: New Zealand is investing in a blue bioeconomy, and seaweed is no longer just sushi wrap, it's industrial, it’s scalable, and it’s real.
You can follow progress or snoop around AgriSea’s virtual plant tour HERE and keep your eye on Paeroa - it’s not just famous for fizzy drinks anymore.
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