The Blue Revolution Fund, which has sector-specific knowledge and focus, including an industry-experienced management team, supports the growing demand for innovation in aquaculture while actively working to develop the sector’s sustainability.
As a result of its first closing, Hatch Blue is ready to make investments - typically with an initial account of EUR 500,000 that can increase up to EUR 5,000,000 depending on the company’s needs.
Investments will be sourced globally, nevertheless, impactful sectors, such as next-generation farming systems, regenerative farms, alternative seafood, aquaculture ingredients, nutrition, farm software/hardware, health, and genetics are the initiatives that the fund will focus on.
“We are looking for novel feed ingredients that are significantly more sustainable but cost-competitive when compared to existing ingredients. In the regenerative farming sections, we are searching for companies that align well with venture-type returns. An area of ‘next-generation’ farming systems we are especially keen to explore are high-value species that typically have a challenging environmental footprint when farmed conventionally. Technologies, health or genetic solutions that improve feed conversion ratios or survival rates are also of high interest to us given the current rise of input costs and the close alignment with the reduction in Scope 3 emissions,” said Georg Baunach, managing partner and co-founder of Hatch Blue.
“Even though I have full trust in our motivations to positively impact food systems, ocean health, and coastal communities, best practice should be to have a third-party watchdog and involve them in a meaningful way,” said Baunach.
In order to guarantee to the investors that the team is selecting companies that can positively impact the aquaculture industry, the Blue Revolution Fund sets the fund-level targets before knowing the portfolio composition. To verify the impact, the fund works with an independent third party to assess the investment before financing is approved and will continue to monitor and report on the investment’s progress.
The fund, with 10-year targets, will measure impact metrics such as the portions of sustainable seafood produced, tonnes of carbon sequestered or CO₂ equivalent avoided, hectares of habitat-forming area, and hectares of the coastal area impacted by existing farms with a focus on improved environmental outcomes, tonnes of nitrogen removed from coastal waterways and new jobs created in coastal communities.
