Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — A new Caribbean–Nordic alliance is turning a coastal challenge into a sustainability win. The Puntacana Foundation has signed a binding partnership with Finnish biotech firm Origin by Ocean to establish a sustainable sargassum supply chain and build a pretreatment terminal in Punta Cana—paving the way to convert floating seaweed into market-ready, bio-based ingredients.
Under the agreement, sargassum collected along the Eastern Dominican shoreline will be processed and shipped as feedstock to Origin by Ocean’s biorefinery in Finland. There, the company transforms marine biomass into eco-friendly inputs for cosmetics, food, and textile applications. Leveraging years of hands-on experience in harvesting and coastal management, the Puntacana Foundation is set to supply up to 4,000 tons of sargassum annually by 2027–2028.
From Environmental Burden to Circular Opportunity
The partnership tackles one of the Caribbean’s most persistent environmental pressures with a circular-economy lens: capture, pretreat, and valorize sargassum rather than treat it as waste. By converting seaweed into valuable biomaterials, the initiative:
- Reduces shoreline accumulation and its impacts on ecosystems and tourism
- Creates local jobs in collection, logistics, and pretreatment
- Channels marine biomass into global value chains that demand sustainable ingredients
Pretreatment Hub in Punta Cana
A new pretreatment terminal planned for Punta Cana will stabilize and prepare sargassum for efficient export and refinement—improving quality, traceability, and year-round supply. This infrastructure is designed to:
- Standardize moisture and composition
- Lower transport costs and emissions per ton
- Ensure consistent input for biorefinery processes
Future Vision: Local Biorefinery Potential
Beyond exports to Finland, both partners will explore the feasibility of building a biorefinery in the Dominican Republic. A local facility could:
- Shorten the value chain and retain more economic benefits in-country
- Accelerate research, innovation, and workforce development in blue bioeconomy
- Position the DR as a regional hub for sustainable marine biomaterials
Why It Matters for Punta Cana
Sargassum surges strain coastal ecosystems, air quality, and tourism infrastructure. This agreement reframes the challenge as a resource—aligning environmental stewardship with economic resilience. It complements ongoing beach management programs and signals a strategic shift: from costly cleanup to profitable valorization.
