Minister of Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash at AgriSea. Photo / Alison Smith
Minister of Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash at AgriSea. Photo / Alison Smith
Paeroa will be home to the world's first commercial seaweed nanocellulose facility at AgriSea.
The $1.5 million project will create nine new full-time roles at AgriSea, which is receiving a $750,000 loan announced by Stuart Nash in Paeroa on Wednesday.
Nash, the Minister of Economic and Regional Development, described the project as being at the cutting edge of global innovation.
"Every now and again you come across a company and think 'If I won Lotto…'.
''This is a second generation company, you've done the mahi, you know your markets. This is the future and you guys are at the cutting edge of a global innovation in this space," Nash said.
AgriSea will diversify and produce commercial volumes of nanocellulose hydrogel using leftovers from the manufacture of its agricultural and horticultural products.
The innovation was sparked five years ago when Scion scientists Dr Stefan Hill and Dr Marie-Joo Le Guen were seated next to AgriSea directors Clare and Tane Bradley at a Matariki X conference hosted by Callaghan Innovation.
"The concept that we could make crystals out of seaweed was hard for us to compute in the beginning," says Clare Bradley.
"But Stefan and Marie-Joo are such awesome people, and we started a commercial relationship on the back of that."
Scion's Stefan Hill and Marie-Joo Le Guen with AgriSea's Clare Bradley, Stuart Nash, AgriSea's Tane Bradley and MP Angie Warren Clark. Photo / Alison Smith
AgriSea secured a Fellowship Grant to help commercialise IP that it developed in partnership with Scion to develop high value hydrogels using nanocellulose.
The bulk of the world's supply of nanocellulose is made using wood pulp treated with harsh chemicals. Drawing on Scion's wood pulping expertise, the collaboration explored a greener way to create this versatile polymer from seaweed and kelps.
The nanocellulose development technology is licensed to AgriSea.
There is a stable market for hydrogel products that include performance bio-composites, cosmetics, wound care and tissue engineering in New Zealand and offshore.
Kānoa (Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit) had spent about $4 billion across regional New Zealand including $275 million in the Waikato and the Government was still spending more after a study by Massey University Professor Paul Spoonley warned of "zombie towns" at risk of disappearing.
"You can't have a country like New Zealand where Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch thrive and the rest of the country doesn't,'' Nash said.
"We decided we've got to invest in a way that really makes a difference. It's an absolute privilege to celebrate that we are lending AgriSea $750,000 and maybe stage two we can convert that into equity.''
He said the ethos and values of AgriSea matched community aspirations and fitted the Government's goals to invest in the regions.
"We've learnt that you can't exploit the sea like perhaps we've done on certain parts of our land. We've got to do it in a way that's regenerative.
"This is living the circular economy, taking something that was waste and turning it into immense value and that's how we've got to do things."
Clare Bradley said the funding backed the company's vision to create a high value seaweed sector and thriving coastal communities throughout Aotearoa.
"The interest in seaweed is growing around the world as people look to it as not only economic wealth but opportunity for our environment. In Aotearoa there's a handful of us passionate seaweeders but that's growing."
She said it was home, habitat and food for high value fisheries such as snapper, paua and crayfish.
"While there's an opportunity, we cannot risk access to our wild stocks in the name of opportunity.
"To grow a sector, we must learn from the mistakes and success that we've had on land. How can we look at thriving ecosystems in the marine sector and mimic those rather than large monoculture farming."
AgriSea is also trialling growth of another seaweed type to clean up waterways.
Research and innovation have been the foundation for the business in establishing markets in Aotearoa and offshore, says AgriSea chief innovation officer Tane Bradley.
"We work with a range of partners on research and development, we're really collaborative and open and wanting to share knowledge to develop the knowledge that our country has.
"I think for a lot of years seaweed has been undervalued. It's exciting now meeting scientists who love seaweed and it's validating what we've been doing for 25 years."
Clare and Tane Bradley are the second generation to run the business, established by Tane's mother, Jill Bradley, and stepfather Keith Atwood.
