Seaweed-Based Agricultural Film: Scale-Up and Field Trials

Optimizing and validating a 100% biobased, field-compostable agricultural mulch film made from seaweed.

The Opportunity

The agricultural biodegradable plastic films market is valued at $1.2B in 2024 and projected to reach $2.1B by 2034. Growers face rising input and disposal costs, CAD $20,000 or more annually for mid-size mushroom operations. In customer discovery, 90% of producers expressed purchase intent for a field-compostable alternative. Incoming petroleum-based plastic bans and soil-degradable mandates are creating a significant regulatory tailwind for biobased film products.

The Challenge

PhyCo’s prototypes have demonstrated promise at lab scale (TRL 5). Key uncertainties remain around feedstock variability, biorefinery scale-up, mechanical performance at extrusion scale, and real-world field behaviour under Canadian growing conditions. Bridging from lab prototype to a field-ready product requires systematic validation across each of these variables to meet growers’ performance, degradability, and regulatory requirements.

NPC’s Solution

NPC’s Proof of Concept Program is supporting PhyCo Technologies with optimization, scale-up, and field trial testing of their seaweed-based bioplastic agricultural films. The project will generate third-party validated evidence on film durability, soil compostability, and cost benefit in working farms, bridging the gap between promising lab prototypes and field-ready products that meet growers’ performance, degradability, and regulatory requirements. PhyCo’s proprietary seaweed biorefinery process uses green chemistry and enzymatic extraction to convert feedstocks into extrusion-ready biopolymers without fossil fuel additives. NPC is committed to the creation of natural products that are better for people, animals, and the planet. They propel early-stage Canadian innovators with the advice, connections, and capital needed to rapidly develop, validate, and scale transformative solutions.