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Oceanloop Receives US$ 36.86 Million Investment from EIB for its Sustainable Indoor Shrimp Farming Technology

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has authorized a US$ 36.86 million loan to German aquaculture technology start-up Oceanloop to help growing its business in Germany and expanding it to Gran Canaria, Spain. The EIB`s venture-debt investment will also enable the Munich-based company to accelerate the development of the technology for its sustainable recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for indoor farming.

The EIB loan will support the company’s expansion by funding two key phases: Oceanloop will invest the EIB loan in expanding its existing RDI farm in Kiel from 5 tons per year to 60 tons per year, and it will construct the first-of-a-kind large-scale in-land farm for white leg shrimp in Gran Canaria, with an annual capacity of 2,000 tons per year.

“The European Investment Bank supports European tech pioneers with European ambitions that push forward innovative solutions. Oceanloop is a perfect example of our commitment to help start-ups and scale-ups in their growth phase with the right financing solutions”, said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer.

Two pilot stage innovative land-based shrimp farms

Founded in Munich in 2012, Oceanloop is a German food-tech company that operates two pilot stage innovative land-based shrimp farms in Kiel and Munich, supplying premium-quality shrimp through its sister company Honest Catch to restaurants, supermarkets and consumers directly.

The company offers a high-quality, sustainable, traceable and animal welfare compliant alternative to imports from outside the European Union (EU). With Oceanloop technology farmers can control every parameter to improve efficiency and the use of natural resources. In addition, Oceanloop is working with digital technologies such as computer vision and AI to detect biomass and stress levels in real time to ensure a better animal welfare.

“While the demand for sustainably produced animal proteins will increase significantly in the coming years, their sources are particularly at risk today. Decades of overfishing and an unsustainable aquaculture industry that cannot be controlled in times of climate change are leading to an increasing risk of supply chain disruptions to Europe. We are thrilled that the EU has recognized this and is helping us to bring our innovative technology to industrial-scale commercialization”, said Oceanloop’s founder & CEO Fabian Riedel.

The company’s circular economy efforts aim at reducing waste through vapor-thermal carbonization to produce a bio-coal based fertilizer, and soil enhancer and anaerobic digestion to produce biogas.

US$ 391.77 billion for investment until 2027

The EIB loan is supported by the InvestEU programme, which aims to trigger more than US$ 391.77 billion in additional investment in new technologies until 2027. The deal is aligned with the InvestEU objective of promoting research, development and innovation.

“Developed here in Europe, the innovative technology of Oceanloop opens new ways to produce seafood environmentally friendly by integrating new technologies in their aquaculture-business. The reduction of water-usage and CO2-emissions supports preserving the environment while producing protein rich high- quality seafood on land,” EIB Vice-President added.

Long-term finance

The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the EU owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Its key priorities are climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium companies (SMEs), infrastructure and cohesion. It works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the development of the Union and support EU policies in more than 140 countries worldwide.

The InvestEU program provides the EU with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilize private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition.

EIB venture debt is a quasi-equity investment product suitable for early and growth stage ventures, combining a long-term loan with an instrument linking the return to the performance of the company. Since 2015, the EIB has invested US$ 6.32 billion in Venture Debt, backing over 200 companies and realizing over 50 exits. With the backing of InvestEU, the EIB aims to support European ventures and scale-ups in the cleantech, deep-tech and life sciences sectors.

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