Puerto Morelos Turns Its Sargassum Problem Into a Global Business |
A local processing plant is converting thousands of tons of invasive seaweed into organic fertilizer, and farmers across four continents are buying it |
Puerto Morelos Is Turning Its Biggest Headache Into a Hot Export
Every summer, sargassum rolls in by the ton along the Quintana Roo coast. But right here in Puerto Morelos, a local company is doing something most towns only talk about, turning that smelly brown seaweed into a product that farmers in the United States, Colombia, Ecuador and Europe are paying good money for.
From Beach Nuisance to Organic Fertilizer
At Carbonwave's Puerto Morelos facility, freshly collected sargassum goes through multiple rinse cycles and a conveyor-belt quality check before reaching a screw press, a large automated device that separates the seaweed's liquid and solid components.
That liquid becomes the base for organic fertilizers and biostimulants sold under the brand SargaPower.
Carbonwave is the first company to transform sargassum into commercially viable agricultural biostimulants and cosmetic emulsifiers. The fertilizer does not simply dump nutrients into the soil.
Rather than supplying nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus directly, the biostimulant improves plants' ability to absorb and utilize those nutrients more efficiently. That means farmers can cut back on synthetic fertilizers while still getting strong yields.
Growing Demand, Growing Operations
Carbonwave has launched partnerships to support biological programs for agricultural growers, with field tests completed on sugar beet crops in Hungary and barley in England, and trials now underway in Brazil and Morocco.
The Puerto Morelos plant currently processes 27 tons of sargassum per day and employs 25 people locally. The company plans to add a second production line to keep up with demand.
Carbonwave has raised approximately $12 million in total funding to develop its technology and expand production capacity.
In March 2026, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced the successful closing of an investment in Carbonwave to support its commercial expansion, research, and industrial scale-up.
Puerto Morelos at the Center of Something Bigger
The timing matters for our town. Puerto Morelos faces the open Caribbean, so sargassum rafts from the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt do reach it in the summer. The difference is the reef, a barrier reef sitting offshore that acts as a physical break before the open sea reaches the beach.
Puerto Morelos is now being positioned as a hub for turning sargassum into products, energy and building materials.
A Circular Economy Development Hub is being planned for Puerto Morelos, and research into sargassum-based biogas production continues, demonstrating that sargassum can be combined with organic waste for industrial-scale biogas production. That model is expected to be replicated at the Puerto Morelos facility.
What It Means for Locals
For years, sargassum has meant lost tourism revenue, cleanup costs and the constant rotten-egg smell that drives visitors away.
By strengthening the resilience of tourism and fishing-dependent economies, Carbonwave's project helps protect jobs in regions where sargassum accumulation has significantly reduced local economic output.
The seaweed is not going away anytime soon. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has reached unprecedented levels, with annual removals exceeding 20,000 tonnes in recent years, a significant increase over previous records.
But with a processing plant already operating here, Puerto Morelos is in a rare position, sitting at the front of a wave that, for once, might actually pay off. |