BPH Global (ASX:BP8) announced an expansion of its research and development initiatives, focusing on the conversion of seaweed biomass into high-value renewable biofuels.
The move positions the company to address the growing global demand for low-carbon energy alternatives across the transport, energy, and fuel sectors.
By leveraging its existing operations, the company aims to establish a seaweed biomass platform capable of partially or fully replacing traditional fossil fuels.
A primary pillar of this program involves the capture of biohydrogen and biogases.
Currently, the company utilises fermentation to extract nutraceutical compounds for functional foods and cosmetics.
However, the process naturally produces biogases, including biomethane and biohydrogen, as by-products.
As BPH Global upscales its fermentation activities to meet nutraceutical demand, it plans to commercialise the gases as a sustainable energy source, providing a dual-revenue stream from a single feedstock.
Parallel to fermentation, the company is evaluating hydrothermal liquefaction to produce biocrude. HTL is a thermochemical process that converts wet biomass into a crude-like oil under high temperature and pressure.
An operational advantage of this method is the elimination of the energy-intensive drying phase usually required for land-based feedstocks, substantially reducing production costs.
At the time of reporting, BPH Global's share price was $0.0010.