Sustainability In The Air From problem to solution: How sargassum seaweed could power sustainable aviation
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Mar Fernández-Méndez, founder of MacroCarbon and professor at the University of Bremen, about her journey from Arctic ice researcher to seaweed entrepreneur.
Dr. Fernández shares how she's turning pelagic sargassum into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while creating a carbon-negative process that enhances marine biodiversity.
Dr. Fernández discusses:
- How Sargassum differs from other algae approaches, avoiding the pitfalls that have plagued microalgae biofuel attempts for decades.
- MacroCarbon's integrated biorefinery that produces multiple revenue streams: bio-stimulants for agriculture, biochar for permanent carbon sequestration, carbon black for tyres and batteries, and ultimately SAF through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
- The company's unique approach to hydrogen production, generating its own hydrogen internally rather than requiring external green hydrogen inputs.
- Competitive economics at scale: producing SAF for lower than current market biofuel prices, while being species-agnostic and able to use any brown or green seaweed.
- The roadmap from pilot to first-of-a-kind commercial facility in the Canary Islands, then expansion to Morocco, Azores, Cape Verde, and the Caribbean.
- Balancing academia and entrepreneurship: maintaining her professorship while commercialising proven technology, and the parallels between academic grant-writing and startup fundraising.
- The importance of storytelling in deep tech, moving beyond just having good data to communicating vision effectively for investors.
- The "BlueSaf Plus" vision for 2035: carbon-negative biofuels that enhance marine biodiversity by maintaining floating ecosystems, proving we can have both healthy oceans and sustainable aviation.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book 'Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2'. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.
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