Another startup looking to deal with cattle methane emissions using seaweed has raised $2.176 million in Seed funding.
The round for Fremantle Seaweed, at an $11 million pre-money valuation, comes a week after seven-year-old Sea Forest (ASX:SEA) listed on the ASX. The Tasmanian startup raised $20.5 million at $2 per share for a $112m market cap. Since last Wednesday, SEA’s share price soared, rising more than 72% to $3.88 in Monday morning trade.
Like Sea Forest, Fremantle Seaweed is focused on a native red seaweed, asparagopsis, as a solution to enteric (ie. caused by digestion) methane emissions from livestock, which are responsible for around 10% of Australia’s total emissions. CSIRO-backed FutureFeed is working on a similar solution, having raised $13 million from five of the biggest names in agriculture.
The WA startup spent the past four years building the tech, engineering, and ocean-based infrastructure to grow and process asparagopsis at scale, designing and building longline cultivation systems (ie ropes in the ocean to grow the seaweed), modular, containerised hatcheries, and even a purpose-built harvesting vessel.
The Seed raise came from 676 investors via an OnMarket crowdfunding campaign, which closed in October.
The startup is hoping to raise another $4.32 million from sophisticated investors, to take the total Seed round to $6.5 million.
The cash will go towards 3000-hectare aquaculture lease, called the North-West Hub, in Cockburn Sound, south of Freemantle, and a 13-month trial involving 60 head of cattle and 1500kg of dried asparagopsis for Pardoo Wagyu’s feedlot in the Pilbara, 1500km to the north.
Freemantle Seaweed was cofounded by Chris De Cuyper and Mick Holland in 2020 and scored a $4 million grant from the WA Government’s Investment Attraction Fund.
The latest capital injection is the company’s second crowdfunding raise in 20 months, having previously banked $1.26 million at a $6.44m pre-money valuation via Birchal in March 2024. Holland subsequently left the business in October last year.
In early 2025, the startup was part of the KPMG High Growth Ventures program in preparation for its Seed round, and three months ago, was selected for the second cohort of the start government-backed Founders Factory WA Nature Tech Accelerator, also bagging $50,000 in funding.
De Cuyper, Fremantle Seaweed’s managing director, said the project has the potential to abate nearly one million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually.
“That’s the kind of real-world impact that investors, producers, and policymakers are looking for,” he said.
“What excites me most is the sense of shared purpose. Farmers want practical, natural tools that make sense on-farm, and our job is to deliver those – technology that fits seamlessly into existing systems and creates value across the board.”
Annie Hill from investor Hill Tribe Family Office said she was attracted to the conviction of a team “taking on one of agriculture’s hardest problems” with optimism.
“Chris and the team aren’t waiting for change to happen; they’ve created it from the ground up, or in this case, from the ocean up,” she said.
“For me, this investment is about more than climate impact. It’s about regional renewal – creating skilled jobs, building capability, and proving that innovation can thrive in WA. Fremantle Seaweed is showing how local ingenuity can deliver global solutions.”
Source - https://www.startupdaily.net
