KALY Group Ltd, a natural capital investment company focused on developing marine environment projects, has made significant strides in the six months since receiving an initial investment from The TRICAPITAL Syndicate LLP and Scottish Enterprise. Kaly’s first kelp farm in Loch Bay near Stein, northwest Skye, is well underway with Marine Scotland. Two further farm locations are also in the works, making for a total of around 300 hectares of seabed available for seaweed farming – the largest concession of its kind in Europe.
Kaly’s go-to-market strategy has expanded to include the fast-growing biostimulant product, and the company is developing seaweed biostimulants for use on land-based crops and soil. This move aims to enhance topsoil quality and reduce synthetic nitrogen and mined phosphorus use in agriculture while simultaneously remediating harmful nutrient loads in the sea from agricultural runoffs and finfish aquaculture. Working with the Scottish Institute for Marine Sciences and the James Hutton Institute, Kaly is developing a methodology to quantify the environmental benefits of this process.
Kaly is also working on other natural capital projects, including native oyster bed restoration. The company aims to become the leading developer and advocate for the inclusion of marine habitats in emerging nature markets in the UK.
Seaweed farming is an industry with great potential for growth, as the global seaweed market has more than tripled since 2000, with most market forecasts predicting a double-digit compound annual growth rate over the next decade.
TRICAPITAL’s Managing Partner, Moray Martin, commented on the investment, saying,
“Kaly aims to add significant capacity to the Scottish seaweed industry in the next few years. As well as significant economic benefits, seaweed farming can play a huge part in pushing back against climate change by absorbing carbon, regenerating marine ecosystems, creating biofuel and renewable plastics as well as generating marine protein.”
By investing in Kaly Group, TRICAPITAL and Scottish Enterprise have set a model for the future of the seaweed farming industry in Scotland, creating a prosperous and healthy future for both the industry and the communities it supports.
