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ADEC acquires Southern Ocean Carbon Company

Blue carbon Seaweed / Macroalgae Startups +4 more

ADEC Innovations has announced that it has acquired Southern Ocean Carbon Company (SOCC), which is in the process of commercialising giant kelp and other seaweed production in Australaisa for carbon capture and sequestration, biomass creation and other beneficial uses.

Southern Ocean Carbon Company's pilot seaweed farm in Tasmania

The startup is trialling production of a range of seaweed species, including giant kelp. © SOCC

SOCC was established in 2020 by the founders of Kedge Proprietary Limited, which ADEC has also acquired, and is a regional leader in marine compliance and vessel certification, which also remediates marine incidents that occur within Oceania and Australasia, including oil spill containment, clean-up and environmentally-sound vessel disposal.

ADEC says that the acquisitions further expand its ESG expertise into the blue economy and “will leverage ADEC Innovations' information management capabilities and global reach to improve ocean stewardship worldwide”.

"With oceans holding nearly 97 percent of the Earth's water, ensuring economy, society, and environment are mutually prosperous is critical," said James Donovan, CEO of ADEC Innovations, in a press release. "Adding Kedge and SOCC into the ADEC Innovations portfolio, we will be able to offer more expansive, global support to a number of industries within the estimated €3+ billion (AUS$ 4.5 billion) blue economy, including international transport, fisheries, and aquaculture - and help preserve the health of this critical natural resource."

Adam Brancher, founder and managing director of Kedge and SOCC, added: "Having the support of ADEC Innovations will allow us to realise our long-held goals of expanding our established marine assurance and seaweed aquaculture practices.”

Kedge and SOCC employees will join the 4,000-strong workforce that ADEC Innovations has across 27 operating sites and 20 countries.

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