What challenge is tackling this project ?
Aquaverse’s main challenge is to depollute marine waters and to preserve natural marine ecosystems. Our oceans and seas are a very precious resource: they do not only provide food but also constitute a significant carbon sink, capturing 30% of the CO2 emitted by human activities. However, our oceans are today endangered by pollution, overfishing and other human activities.
Aquaverse focuses on a misknown but nonetheless problematic pollution: heavy metals and microplastic micro pollution.
Heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium), the first type of micro pollution that Aquaverse wants to address, is less known by the opinion. They are mainly used for batteries, coatings, chemicals, etc. Most discharges of heavy metals are due to atmospheric releases. Physical releases of heavy metals mainly result from industrial, metallurgical and mining activities and from the end of life of lead-laden products. Heavy metals are micro-pollutants that can cause nuisance even when they are discharged in very small quantities as their toxicity develops through bioaccumulation.
Plastic micro pollution, the second type of micro pollution targeted by Aquaverse, is usually not visible (<5mm), but therefore very harmful. Microplastics can be either “primary” (15% to 31%), eg derivating from washing of our synthetic clothes (35%), friction of tires on the roads (28%), urban dust (24%), cosmetics, boat coatings, … or “secondary” (69% to 81%), eg resulting from the degradation of larger plastic objects such as plastic bags, bottles, fishing nets , etc… The highest concentrations were found in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea with 40 microplastic units per liter of seawater. These tiny plastic fragments are persistent in the marine ecosystem : they are mistaken for food by marine biota of all sizes (from plankton to mammals), and then bioaccumulate, causing denutrition and reproduction issues. These micro plastics are also found in our own food: a human eats about 250g of plastic a year!
Therefore, the entire aquatic food web has been seriously compromised. But over 3 billion people depend on fish as an important source of animal protein, including people in the world’s poorest countries : overfishing and bioaccumulation of harmful particles threaten their food security.
What solution does Aquaverse provide?
Aquaverse plans to use the properties of sea sponges, resulting from 600 million years of nature R&D, to depollute the oceans and ensure sustainable food security for coastal populations.
Sea sponges are fascinating animals living in the depths of all our seas and oceans: they can be found at all latitudes, living in a wide array of ecosystems varying in temperature and depth (Van Soest et al. 2012). They have incredible filtering capabilities: a 10cm3 sea sponge can filter 10 000 liters of water a day! Some of them are under study for their capacity to bioaccumulate harmful particles such as bioplastics or heavy metals, thus sea sponges could be bio-inspired solutions to depollute marine waters. There are 10 000 different sea sponges species, and each species has specific depollution capabilities: Aquaverse’s role is to identify and boost those characteristics, and to determine which mix of sponges is most suitable to depollute a specific area or activity.
Aquaverse plans to use tanks to filter the water and depollute coastal, industrial, or port areas. Those tanks could be plugged either directly on the plant causing the pollution or next to the polluted area. According to a study led by University of Bretagne Sud, the port of Lorient (France) could be cleaned up in 2 months with only 2000 sea sponges of 10cm3.
Then, Aquaverse also plans to produce sea sponge based products such as feminine hygiene products, cosmetic products or household goods. In a long-term perspective, Aquaverse also wants to explore all the potential of sea sponges : it is still exploratory and uncertain. Studies have been conducted to develop sponge-based housing isolation materials: a special fiber made of sponges has been tested and is as performant as traditional glass fiber isolation materials. Some sponges even have more incredible powers: a species is capable of producing pure glass, and some others can produce collagen!
By replacing common polluting products by biosourced and durable products made of sponges, Aquaverse can enhance the positive impact of its model and add financial value to the firm. This production activity would be parallel to the depollution activity.
Why is this project important ? What do we like about it?
Aquaverse proposes to develop a scalable project addressing the micro pollution challenge : no solution exists right now. The other depolluting solutions for the ocean address mainly macro plastics, and are hardly scalable (cleaning by boat, by hand, …).
Aquaverse’s vision is very inspiring: harnessing the hidden powers of sea creatures to depollute and restore the oceans. The thousand species of sea sponges present a wide range of possibilities from depollution properties, to amazing physical properties (fireproof, fiber capacity, insulation…).
Aquaverse’s strength is its community : they can raise their interest, raise awareness and bring them knowledge about depolluting solutions. It can even spread awareness afterwards. This crypto-based community also has financing capabilities and is less risk averse than traditional communities.
What are your main concerns ? In your opinion, which external negativities are keys to control for this project ?
First, Aquaverse’s technology depends on a wide array of R&D results, as Aquaverse is based on sea sponges characteristics (mainly depollution capacities), that are very specific to species and localisations. Aquaverse has just started conducting those studies and mainly bases its project on existing thesis for now which results must be proved by Aquaverse’s team. Aquaverse will also have to identify the adequate sea sponge mix for each area to depollute.
Then, the economic viability of the depollution containers is uncertain: the interest of authorities and industrials in depolluting solutions is not yet well established. First experimentations are planned on the Mediterranean coast for industrial depollution.
The animal welfare might seem questionable but studies have been conducted and have proven that sea sponges don’t have a nervous system and thus can’t feel pain. The processes are to be conceived in accordance with academic research to make sure the production and depollution are not harming the sponges.
Finally, the physical sponges’ business economic viability is not guaranteed yet: the objects made of sea sponges are supposed to have a long lifespan and not to be replaced very often, which reduces recurring revenues. Moreover, mass distribution demands lots of effort and certification : those markets might not be addressable as quickly as expected. It also demands massive production capabilities that Aquaverse is not yet able to ensure.
Any follow-up questions? Want to talk directly to the founders?
Please, join their dedicated Discord channel: https://discord.gg/PR2AQgTWM2
About Cardashift
Cardashift enables citizens-investors to build the world of tomorrow.
Our first product is a community-run launchpad that raises funds, builds and accelerates startups that are solving social and environmental issues. Cardashift is based on Cardano, the blockchain platform for change-makers, innovators, and visionaries.
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