#29: Sea6 Energy with Sowmya Balendiran – The Evolution Of Mechanised Ocean Farming, Enhancing Productivity, Navigating Logistic Challenges And Regulatory Hurdles, Market Expansion and Local Impact.

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Sowmya Balendiran is Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer at Sea6 Energy, a pioneer of innovative technologies for sustainable, large-scale and mechanised ocean farming. Sea6 Energy was founded at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras with a vision to develop disruptive solutions to global problems. Sowmya has more than 10 years of executive-level experience in product development, marketing, sales and strategy. She has featured in ‘Top 50 Women in Biotech’ in India as well as in Forbes India’s ’30 under 30’ 2018 special mention in the ‘Science and Green Tech’ category and featured in women pushing boundaries by GP-ORF. Sowmya holds a degree in Biotechnology and an executive program at IIM Calcutta. 
 
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Timestamps:

 00:00:00 - Intro
 00:01:24 - The “Why” Behind Sea6 Energy
 00:02:44 - Challenges with Land Use for Biofuels
 00:06:00 - How Being Based Played a Role India
 00:07:21 - Changes in Perspective Over Time
 00:09:12 - Key Milestones and Wins
 00:10:43 - Current State and Future Goals
 00:11:32 - Timeline for Biomaterials
 00:13:19 - Balancing Farmer Income and Consumer Costs
 00:14:45 - Mechanisation and Productivity
 00:16:23 - Logistics Challenges in Seaweed Farming
 00:18:12 - Lessons Learned in Mechanisation
 00:19:23 - Regulatory and Market Acceptance Challenges
 00:21:41 - Regulatory Hurdles in Biostimulants
 00:23:10 - Evolution of Mechanisation
 00:27:16 - Ownership Models for Mechanisation Tools
 00:30:08 - Expansion to Indonesia and Focus on Tropical Seaweeds
 00:34:33 - Limited Research on Tropical Seaweeds
 00:37:02 - Exciting New Applications and Products
 00:39:08 - Importance of Site Selection
 00:40:57 - Positive Local Impact in Indonesia
 00:43:52 - Increasing Productivity 
 00:45:17 - Concerns About Mechanisation and Job Loss
 00:47:30 - What Not To Learn About Agriculture
 00:49:10 - The Link Developing Between Ocean Farming and Land Farming
 00:50:12 - Funding And Investments: The Gap Between West and East
 00:54:00 - What the West Is Misunderstanding and Underestimating
 00:56:18 - The Best and Worst Advice for Algae Entrepreneurs
 00:58:57 - Sowmya Biggest Frustration in The Industry
 01:01:12 - How to Get In Touch With Sowmya and Sea6

Useful Links:

Sowmya Balendiran on LinkedIn.
Sea6 Energy: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube.
Potato Impact Partners: Website, LinkedIn and Instagram

Get in touch Inside Seaweed's host Fed DeGobbi on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, Instagram or by emailing him directly at [e-mail] 

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