The world’s second largest seafood producer has invested in a Portarlington seaweed start-up in a mission to reduce methane emissions.
The Bellarine-based Immersion Group cultivates Asparagopsis – a species of red seaweed known to lower methane emissions.
Cash from the cornerstone investment by the Japan-based Nissui Corporation will be used to build an onshore Asparagopsis production facility on the peninsula.
It’s understood the constructed value of the full-production plant will be in excess of $5m.
Immersion Group chief executive Scott Elliott said the plant would fund up to 30 new jobs in both construction and operation phases.
“There are one billion cattle in the world, and to have a cornerstone investor and strategic partner in Nissui puts us at the forefront of servicing this unheralded demand,” he said.
“We didn’t want to be the biggest Asparagopsis producer immediately, but we did want to be the best.”
It comes on the back of growing global investment in seaweed as a methane-reducing food for a variety of livestock.
Direct livestock emissions account for about 10 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gases and are the nation’s third largest contributor.
The production plant will supply trials targeting Wagyu beef and dairy cattle in Australia and Japan.
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Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in stages, kicking off later this year.
Last year the seafood giant announced revenues of $8bn.
Nissui Corporation chief executive Shingo Hamada welcomed the announcement.
“We see an incredible opportunity to produce Asparagopsis, targeting premium beef markets
in Australia and Japan,” he said.
Mr Hamada said the Portarlington investment represented an expansion of the company’s seaweed division.
“Nissui’s existing marketing and distribution channels present an opportunity to develop a global Asparagopsis brand with Immersion Group, capable of servicing markets worldwide,” he said.
The proposed facility will complement the Immersion Group’s existing operations on the Bellarine Peninsula and in Perth.
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