INAUGURAL WORKSHOP OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIOECONOMY & MACROALGAE
CENTER (IBMC) AT UC BERKELEY, May 2025
The University of California at Berkeley launched the International Bioeconomy & Macroalgae Center (IBMC) on May 1, 2025 on the campus with 2 days of presentations from some of the leading academic and business leaders working in the seaweed industry.
The workshop generated thoughtful dialogue around advancing the global seaweed industry. A shared consensus emerged around the need for a global network to tackle key challenges including bringing cultivation costs below $100 per dry metric tonne, creating stronger market demand and streamlining permitting processes, especially outside of Asia.
Co-Founder Mike Blakeley shared results from the “Lessons Learned: Marketing Seaweed Products in the U.S.” study conducted in 2024. Among the key points he raised to the audience was that product efficacy and performance outweigh a buyer's interest in sustainability while food consumers care deeply about the origin of the products, especially valuing local products.
Photo (right): Alyssa Miky, Founder and CEO of Aquatheon
Seagreen Insights had a great turnout for its event during SF Climate Week 2025:
Seaweed as a Nature-Based Solution
Thank you so much to the speakers and our co-host 9Zero and to the +100 people who showed up to learn about seaweed as a nature-based solution.
In Photo Left to Right: Michael Blakeley, Founder of Seagreen Insights, and Host of SF Climate Week event; Sally Aaron, Marine Biologics; Geoff Chapin, Carbonwave; Julia Marsh, Sway; Kaira Wallace, Ocean Rainforest. Photo by Elaine Blakeley