© Hatch
These commitments will enable BRF to invest in more than a dozen early-stage aquaculture ventures, with the aim to improve ocean health, address the impacts of climate change and support coastal communities.
“With the right practices and technologies, aquaculture can be a force for good, providing a low-carbon food source while actively supporting ocean health,” said Robert Jones, director of global aquatic food systems for The Nature Conservancy. “Through strategic investments, BRF aims to accelerate the development and adoption of technologies and farming practices that have the potential to move aquaculture closer to realising its nature-positive potential.”
BRF’s unique structure promotes both its financial and environmental success. As BRF’s investment manager, Hatch Blue is using its previous fund management experience and expertise in aquaculture, alternative seafood and blue carbon to oversee fund operations, investment execution and asset management.
“We are a knowledge-driven specialist firm with synergetic business activities,” said Georg Baunach, managing partner and co-founder of Hatch Blue. “Across 32 team members, we consist of two investment teams, a consulting team, an innovation programmes team, and a media marketing agency with an adjacent news website. Our setup generates unique insights that allow us to add value to our portfolio firms, investors and other clients. The final closing of the BRF above our target of €75 million is a promising sign that the investment community values this approach.”
A global environmental nonprofit grounded in rigorous science, The Nature Conservancy acts as BRF’s conservation manager, ensuring that investments deliver meaningful environmental outcomes.
“Private capital needs to play a crucial role in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises,” emphasised Lauren Ferstandig, managing director of NatureVest, TNC’s in-house impact investing and sustainable finance team, which worked closely with Hatch Blue to build impact outcomes into BRF investment structure.
“The Blue Revolution Fund is an example of a scalable investment solution that not only delivers a financial return to investors but also models a more sustainable approach to aquaculture investing by building measurable conservation outcomes into every investment.”
BRF is targeting investments into in next-generation fish farms, regenerative seaweed and bivalve farming, nutrition, enabling technology, health and genetics, and alternative seafood. To date, the fund has made investment into the following companies:
- CageEye (formerly Bluegrove): A Norwegian company focused on improving feeding processes in aquaculture. CageEye uses echo-sounding devices to monitor fish behavior in real time, allowing improved efficiency of feeding strategies.
- ChucaoTec: An Irish-Chilean company producing nanobubble oxygenation technology for the salmon and shrimp farming sectors. Chucaotech's innovative technology is set to revolutionise oxygenation practices in aquaculture, enhancing sustainability and efficiency.
- DeNova: A Canada-based fully integrated single-cell protein producer. DeNova aims to replace soy protein and fishmeal in aqua feeds, addressing crucial environmental challenges in many aquaculture supply chains.
- New School Foods: A Canada-based food technology company focused on developing new plant-based seafood alternatives. New School Food’s unique technology delivers an animal-like structure and a familiar cooking experience.
- Peptobiotics: A Singapore-based biotechnology company developing innovative recombinant antimicrobial peptides to combat vibrio, improve health and survival rate of aquaculture shrimp, and decrease farmers’ reliance on antibiotics.
- Wholechain: A US-based company with a SaaS business model-based traceability solution. Wholechain's solution caters to multiple protein and non-protein products, offering comprehensive traceability across various supply chains.
“The fund focuses on solutions that provide both financial and environmental returns, such as innovative feed ingredients that surpass existing ingredients in sustainability while maintaining cost-competitiveness,” said Baunach. “Technologies, health, or genetic solutions that enhance feed conversion ratios or survival rates also present interesting opportunities due to the current surge in input costs and their close alignment with reducing Scope 3 emissions.”
In the coming months, BRF anticipates investing in around nine additional companies. Early next year, TNC and Hatch Blue will release guidance resources for pre-investment conservation diligence and portfolio impact measurement and reporting in the aquaculture impact investment sector. These resources will support other investors in choosing investment opportunities that generative attractive financial returns and positive environmental impacts.
