UConn Graduate Develops Seaweed Coating for Food Packaging, Targets 10x Production in 12 Months
Updated
Updated · Hartford Courant · Jun 23
UConn Graduate Develops Seaweed Coating for Food Packaging, Targets 10x Production in 12 Months
2 articles · Updated · Hartford Courant · Jun 23
Summary
$30,000 in startup funding helped Dr. Yidan Zhang move SeaSol Technologies' seaweed-based food-packaging coating from lab work toward production, with a soft launch planned within a year.
Zhang's patent-pending process turns fresh seaweed into a tasteless, scentless coating in one step, replacing an older 14-step method and cutting energy use and cost.
The coating is compostable and designed to make paper packaging easier to recycle, addressing a plastic waste stream that exceeds 400 million tons a year globally.
SeaSol says its material is about 30% more expensive than plastic, but still far cheaper than many alternatives that can cost 3 to 10 times as much.
Working with New England kelp farmers, Zhang aims to scale output more than 10-fold as states including California tighten rules on single-use packaging by 2032.
With a 30% higher cost, can this eco-friendly innovation realistically challenge the plastics industry?
Could mass seaweed farming to replace plastic create a new crisis for our oceans?
If compostable packaging ends up in landfills, is it really a solution to the plastic problem?
SeaSol’s Seaweed Packaging: Scaling for Commercial Launch in a $1.3 Trillion Global Market
Overview
SeaSol Technologies, founded by Dr. Yidan Zhang after completing her PhD, is introducing an innovative seaweed coating that replaces plastic in food packaging. This coating makes paper packaging more recyclable and compostable, directly tackling the global plastic crisis. SeaSol’s main goal is to scale up production to meet growing market demand and secure a strong position in the food service industry. Their simple process coats paper with seaweed, offering an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional plastics, and sets the stage for a more sustainable future in packaging.