Our decision to join this program reflects the alignment of our goals: AirMiners provides critical support to emerging companies, does not take equity, and brings together experts and partners dedicated to climate solutions that focus on decarbonization. We look forward to learning from their network and leveraging their resources to amplify our impact.

This milestone comes after key achievements at Fiora Mara, including developing a deployable seaweed hatchery, growing plantlets from both gametophytes and spores on deployable grow lines in our hatchery, testing biodegradable materials on the ocean, launching our first prototype seaweed farm, and establishing vital partnerships. Participating in AirMiners Launchpad marks a pivotal step in our journey as we build toward scaling our solution and securing future investment.

We are excited for this next chapter in our journey to become a force in carbon sequestration

Step by Step – How we got here

Reaching this point has been a journey filled with challenges, learnings, and triumphs. Here’s how we got here:

1. Building and Preparing the Seaweed Hatchery: We began by designing, configuring, and building our seaweed hatchery. This facility would serve as the critical starting point for nurturing seaweed from its earliest stages to deployment readiness in the purposefully challenging environment of a shared warehouse space.
2. Obtaining Gametophytes: The process continued with sourcing gametophytes from Bigelow Labs, renowned for their expertise in ocean science and for their robust collection of live gametophytes from across the globe. These tiny organisms were the foundation of our work.
3. Hatchery Nurturing: At our seaweed hatchery, we processed the gametophytes, attaching them to grow lines and carefully nurturing them in our grow tank. This required constant monitoring, balancing of nutrients, and ocean water maintenance to ensure their health and growth.
4. Transition to Deployment: Once these microscopic organisms matured into plantlets on our grow lines – in our grow tank, we prepared them for deployment. This involved moving them to a specially designed capsule, optimized for their safe transition to the open water.
5. Farm Construction: Drawing on our earlier material studies, we constructed our pilot seaweed farm—a design that is scalable, eco-friendly, and perfectly suited to our mission of carbon sequestration.
6. The Launch: Finally, at the RETI Center, we launched our seaweed farm into the water. This moment was the culmination of months of preparation, research, and practice.

Reflecting on the First Step

The journey to this launch was not simply smooth sailing. At every stage, there was a sense of nervousness—a natural byproduct of attempting something new and uncharted. But that energy drove us. It pushed us to dig deeper into our research, refine our methods, and practice tirelessly until we could confidently execute each step.

This experience reminded us that progress isn’t just about having a great idea. It’s about translating that idea into action, one deliberate step at a time. We’ve learned that doing the work—in the lab, gathering supplies from ocean water to a chiller, and out on the water—is where true innovation happens. While this first launch was exhilarating, we’re looking ahead to our next steps with the confidence of a team that’s been through the gauntlet and emerged stronger.

What’s Next?

This launch is just the beginning. With the the lessons learned from this pilot, we’re ready to scale up our efforts and continue refining our approach. Next time we’ll be able to complete these tasks with the steadiness of experience and the excitement of knowing we’re contributing to a healthier planet.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and grateful for everyone who’s been part of this journey. The first time is always the most exciting, but it’s also the foundation for what comes next. Stay tuned—we’re just getting started.

Controlled Clean-Room Environment

At the heart of our new facility is a meticulously designed clean-room environment. This space is housed within a warehouse and features positive pressure to prevent contaminants, ensuring our seaweed thrives in optimized conditions. This level of care underscores our commitment to preventing contamination, enhancing growth conditions and overcoming obstacles when our design is moved to a barge on the ocean.

Aquaculture Tanks Ready for Action

We’ve also completed the setup of our first two aquaculture tanks. The first tank is dedicated to growing sugar kelp on grow lines, promising a robust and healthy yield. The second tank is set aside for experimental purposes, where we are excited to be the first hatchery to explore the potential of growing Ulva plantlets on grow lines – with the hopes of establishing a summer crop.

Ready Access to Sea Water

To streamline our operations, we’ve collected many gallons of ocean water that are stored on-site for easy access. This ensures that our tanks will always be supplied with the most suitable water, which is crucial for optimizing the growth of our seaweed.

Advanced Transitional Working Area

Our transitional working area is now fully developed and equipped. Here, we measure our progress with high-precision microscopes, organize additional nutrients to maintain a healthy water environment, perform miscellaneous tasks and manage spools of seed-lines that are cut and configured to perfection.

This space is designed to be the versatile nerve center of our operations, where our progress meets practical application.

The Next Stage: Introducing Seaweed Spores

With everything in place, we are now prepared for the next stage: introducing seaweed spores. This step will officially kick off the growth phase for our seaweed grow lines, enabling us to both verify our methods and make changes as needed.

Stay tuned for more updates as Fiora Mara pushes forward in the goal to help save the planet.  Our journey has just begun, and we can’t wait to share our progress with you!

Fiora Mara is experimenting with several natural materials:

• Bamboo
• Hemp Rope – Made from the Abaca plant
• Marijuana Hemp Rope – Made from the Cannabis Sativa plant
• BioRope – An experimental rope from a Stealth Company
• Jute Rope – Made from the Jute plant
• 2 Types of Hemp Twine – Each made from the Cannibas Sativa plant

Focus on Durability, Functionality and the Safety of our Environment

The selection of these materials is driven by their biodegradable properties, which are crucial for developing our 100% bio-friendly, floating seaweed farms and ensuring that our farms safely disintegrate over time, preventing the pollution of the marine environment.

Fiora Mara is rigorously testing these materials to evaluate their strength, durability, and performance in the challenging conditions of the open ocean, where the free-floating seaweed farms will be located. This involves assessing their ability to withstand constant movement, varying weather conditions, and exposure to saltwater.

Enhancing Marine Ecosystems

The free-floating design of the farm is a novel approach that leverages ocean currents to enhance nutrient distribution, fostering robust seaweed growth and improving overall ecosystem health. This method not only supports carbon sequestration but also creates new habitats for marine life, increasing biodiversity.

Building for a Better Future

As testing progresses, Fiora Mara hopes to refine the materials and methods used before launching a prototype seaweed farm on the water.

Fiora Mara is not just building a seaweed farm; it’s cultivating a vision for a world that we can all live and breathe in and a future without mass extinction due to climate change. We are making progress towards this goal one natural fiber at a time.

The clean-room is a controlled environment with low levels of contaminants, used for the sensitive biological processes. This setup marks a significant step in preparing our seaweed hatchery for the cultivation of seed strings for use in our long term goals of absorbing massive amounts of carbon on the open ocean.

To create the clean-room, we used wood and painter’s plastic, ensuring the hatchery remains contaminant-free while minimizing odors that may impact our neighbors. Additionally, we cut PVC pipes and wrapped the seed strings, configured the chiller and bubbler, and added tank lighting to prepare our aquariums’ environment for cultivation

In the pilot’s next phase, we are testing various biodegradable seed strings such as manilla-based hemp rope, cannabis-based hemp, and jute rope for strength and degradation. As we wait for our new source of seaweed spores, we’re continuing to make improvements to our hatchery, such as better air circulation, smaller diameter PVC pipes to maximize output, and improved seawater filtration methods.

As we build and experiment with our hatchery, we’re always keeping our vision in mind: construct a sinkable seaweed farm to sequester carbon at the bottom of the ocean.