When our oceans are healthy our world is healthy. Oceans play a critical role in regulating our climate and weather patterns, and provide a wide range of food and medicinal ingredients, and countless species. However, our reliance on fossil fuels is threatening the health of the world’s oceans. Carbon emissions increase ocean temperatures and acid levels, and pollutants such as microplastics threaten marine biodiversity as well as human health and safety. 

Oceans offer a variety of rapidly renewable resources that can support a petroleum-free future for design. Plants and algae that grow in or near water, such as eelgrass, kelp and seaweed, represent an exciting frontier in material science. Material innovators are discovering their potential to replace harmful, fossil fuel-based materials with carbon sequestering, healthy alternatives. 

Throughout their lifecycle, aquatic resources offer a variety of environmental and health benefits. They naturally absorb carbon dioxide while they grow and require far fewer resources than agricultural plants. Seaweed, also known as kelp or macroalgae, provides ecologies for aquatic animals and other marine life, while reducing ocean acidification. Due to their high oil content, microalgae can be harnessed as a replacement for petrochemical oil and are leading the way toward biobased replacements for a wide range of traditional plastic products. These products offer positive health benefits for end-users and can be fully biodegradable at end-of-use.

This virtual event brings together leaders at the forefront of innovative biobased materials using marine resources as ingredients to create market-ready products with a multitude of health and environmental benefits. 

Join us in conversation with these leading material innovators and a marine research scientist who will provide context for climate solutions from her perspective on the world’s oceans.

Abby Barrows is a Marine Scientist, Researcher, Oyster Farmer and has been at the forefront of global microplastic pollution research since 2013. Abby received a BSc from the University of Tasmania and a Master of Philosophy in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic. She has since built the most extensive and diverse dataset on microplastics available to date, shaping international understanding and action on plastic waste in marine environments. 

Beyond research, Abby is a hands-on field scientist and educator, committed to raising awareness about plastic pollution and advocating for sustainable solutions. She is currently  reimagining the future of aquaculture by designing and developing plastic-free gear for oyster and seaweed cultivation, paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future for our oceans.

Celine Sandberg is the CEO & founder of Agoprene, a startup on a mission to reinvent furniture foam using seaweed and natural materials including crab shells and eggshells. Born from a mix of entrepreneurial curiosity and a drive for sustainability, Celine’s journey started in a small kitchen, experimenting with seaweed during her studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. With no intention of following the typical tech startup path, she embraced the challenge of tackling foam—a material responsible for millions of tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Tobias Øhrstrøm is Co-founder and Head of R&D, Design & Creative Direction of Søuld, a Danish company pioneering the use of eelgrass as a building material. Originally trained as an engineer and architect, Tobias has a decade of experience as a project architect at high-end Danish design studios where he gained broad technical knowledge and an understanding of designers’ priorities.

He ensures Søuld’s eelgrass products are buildable with high design and materiality standards and has driven the company’s material development since its founding. With his strong sense of design and materiality, Tobias controls the creative direction of Søuld and oversees the strategic collaborations that Søuld enters into. Most recently, Søuld has embarked on an international collaboration with Spinneybeck/MillerKnoll.