What is asparagopsis seaweed and why does it matter for reducing cattle methane emissions?

Asparagopsis is a native red seaweed whose feed additives have been shown to cut cattle methane emissions by over 80 percent, a figure supported by CSIRO research and commercial trials conducted by Fremantle Seaweed off the coast of Western Australia. Methane from livestock digestion is one of agriculture's hardest emissions problems, and asparagopsis represents one of the few scientifically validated solutions at commercial scale. The challenge is not the science; it is growing enough seaweed, reliably and cheaply enough, to supply an entire industry.

How does Fremantle Seaweed grow asparagopsis differently from its competitors?

Fremantle Seaweed cultivates asparagopsis on lines in the ocean rather than in onshore tanks, which keeps production costs lower and allows the company to grow both a warm-water and a cold-water variety year-round along the Western Australian coast. That year-round growing window is a genuine competitive advantage: operators working with a single variety or a single growing season cannot match it. The company is currently scaling from a 32-hectare pilot toward a planned 3,000-hectare operation in Cockburn Sound, giving Western Australia a clear head start in the global asparagopsis supply chain.

Why did Third Hemisphere invest in Fremantle Seaweed as its first venture investment?

Third Hemisphere's venture arm was built on a specific thesis: back founders who have a scientifically proven solution to a real problem and the drive to bring that solution to market at scale. Fremantle Seaweed, led by founder Chris de Cuyper, passed both tests, combining CSIRO-backed science with an active commercial growing operation. Third Hemisphere also brought something most investors do not: years of communications and positioning expertise that early-stage climate companies need as much as capital, allowing the investment to combine balance sheet support with strategic communications from day one.

How does Third Hemisphere support climate and agri-tech companies beyond providing capital?

Third Hemisphere structures its venture investments to stay close to the businesses it backs, helping shape how founders tell their story to farmers, investors, and regulators, not just providing funding and stepping back. In the case of Fremantle Seaweed, that meant combining the agency's communications and positioning capabilities with direct investment, so both sides of the business could be built simultaneously. Third Hemisphere's Managing Director Jeremy Liddle visited the Fremantle Seaweed farm in person to maintain that close working relationship, reflecting a broader commitment to showing up at the moments that matter.

What makes a climate or agri-tech communications partner effective, and how do you choose the right one?

The most effective communications partners for climate and agri-tech companies combine deep sector credibility with the ability to translate complex science into clear narratives for multiple audiences, including farmers, institutional investors, and regulators. Third Hemisphere differentiates itself by sitting at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and influence, and by backing the companies it advises through its venture arm, which means its communications work is informed by direct operational knowledge rather than a briefing document. Founders like Chris de Cuyper at Fremantle Seaweed benefit from a partner that understands the science, the commercial model, and the investor landscape at the same time.

What is the typical timeline for a strategic communications engagement with a climate or agri-tech company?

Third Hemisphere typically structures engagements across a minimum six-month term, with a fortnightly WIP cadence, monthly reporting, and a quarterly review to assess progress against agreed milestones. For early-stage companies like Fremantle Seaweed, the first phase focuses on building the foundational narrative, identifying the right media and investor audiences, and establishing consistent key messages across every channel. Longer-term programmes, often 12 to 24 months, are common where the company is managing a multi-stage capital raise, regulatory engagement, or market expansion across Australia and Singapore.

What does a strategic communications programme for an agri-tech or climate company typically cost in Australia?

Third Hemisphere's strategic communications programmes for agri-tech and climate companies are priced as a total fee for the agreed term, payable in monthly instalments, with the investment reflecting the scope of channels, markets, and stakeholder audiences in play. A focused programme covering earned media, investor communications, and content across a 12-month term typically starts from a total fee of AUD 84,000, payable in monthly instalments of AUD 7,000, while programmes spanning multiple markets, regulatory engagement, and venture-backed positioning are scoped accordingly. Third Hemisphere recommends a discovery conversation to align the scope with the company's current stage, capital timeline, and commercial objectives before any fee is confirmed.

Inside Fremantle Seaweed: Why We Backed Australia's Asparagopsis Pioneer

A Day on the Water With Fremantle Seaweed

By Jeremy Liddle Managing Director, Third Hemisphere

I spent two days in Fremantle with Fremantle Seaweed's Chris de Cuyper last week, touring the company's growing operation and heading out on the water to see the asparagopsis farm that Third Hemisphere backed as our venture arm's first investment.

Seeing the operation in person sharpened my conviction that Fremantle Seaweed is exactly the kind of founder-led, science-backed company our investment arm was built to support, and it gave me a clearer view of how large this opportunity actually is.

Back Where It Started

Earlier this year, Fremantle Seaweed became the first investment through Third Hemisphere's venture arm. Hannah and I built that arm on a simple thesis: back founders who have a scientifically proven solution to a real problem, and who have the drive to get that solution to market at scale. Most climate pitches fail one half of that test. Fremantle Seaweed passed both.

We also brought something most investors do not offer. Third Hemisphere has spent years building the communications and positioning skills that early climate companies need just as much as funding. Backing Fremantle Seaweed meant combining our balance sheet with our agency, and staying close enough to the business to help build both sides at once.

Last week I finally saw what that investment looks like in the water.

A Problem Worth Solving at Sea

Cattle produce methane every time they digest food, and that methane is one of agriculture's hardest emissions problems. Feed additives made from asparagopsis, a native red seaweed, cut that methane by over 80 percent, a figure that has held up across CSIRO's research and Fremantle Seaweed's own commercial trials.

The real challenge is growing enough asparagopsis, reliably and cheaply enough, to supply an entire industry. That is the problem Chris and his team are solving off the coast of Western Australia, one lease and one harvest cycle at a time.

Out on the Water

Chris met me at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and took me out to see the farm in Cockburn Sound. The seaweed grows on lines just under the surface, in neat red rows that sway with the current like an underwater vineyard. Chris pulled a rope out of the water, thick with seaweed, and talked about grow rates and harvest cycles as casually as most people discuss the weather.

Fremantle Seaweed grows asparagopsis in the ocean rather than in onshore tanks, which keeps costs down and lets the company cultivate both a warm-water and a cold-water variety of the seaweed year-round along the WA coast. That year-round growing window is a genuine advantage. Competitors working with a single variety, or a single growing season, cannot say the same.

Chris also walked me through the company's expansion plans, including a new site the team is fitting out to support the business as it scales from its 32-hectare pilot toward a 3,000-hectare operation.

What I Took Away

The thing that struck me most was not the seaweed itself, but watching a founder who still checks the lines personally, two years into commercial trials and with a growing team depending on him.

That kind of hands-on attention is exactly why Third Hemisphere structured its investment the way we did. We stay close to the businesses we back. We help shape how they tell their story to farmers, investors, and regulators, and we show up in person when there is something worth seeing.

Founders like Chris spend years proving the science works at sea, one lease and one trial at a time, long before anyone outside the industry notices. Investors who only turn up once a company is easy to explain miss the most important part of the story.

Where This Goes

Western Australia has a clear head start here: a 10,000-kilometre coastline, a year-round growing season, and room to scale without competing for the same water as every other operator. Fremantle Seaweed's plan to expand from its current pilot toward a 3,000-hectare operation would make it a major asparagopsis producer, at a moment when beef and dairy supply chains everywhere are under pressure to cut emissions.

Regulators are moving. Supermarkets are setting supply chain targets. Banks are attaching emissions conditions to lending. Every one of those pressures becomes demand for a product like Reef4Beef, and demand for a company willing to spend years proving the science works before anyone was paying attention.

That is the bet Third Hemisphere made a year ago, and it is the bet we intend to keep making: back founders solving real problems, with science that holds up, in industries that badly need the answer.

I am already looking forward to the next trip out on the water.