Elena Martinez, co-founder of SOS Biotech on a sargassum-covered beach 37 million tonnes of the invasive seaweed has already washed up in the Caribbean this year © SOS Biotech“At the moment you have an outcome, it’s raw material – no longer waste,” says Elena Martinez, co-founder of SOS Biotech. “Waste is just waste because we don’t know what to do with it.” Martinez’s journey into biotech began in her native Galicia. “That’s crucial for these communities.” Developing a biorefinery Once harvested, the sargassum is processed in SOS Biotech’s proprietary biorefinery in the Dominican Republic. “But first, we need to address current regulations that forbid the harvesting of invasive seaweed. “In every region we operate, we try to make everything as local as possible – create local jobs, use local vessels and develop local talent,” she says.