Two waste streams.
One value-building cascade.

Converting aquaculture sludge and forestry residuals into premium soil amendments, liquid fertilizer, and carbon credits in Chile's Los Lagos region. Currently in development - pilot facility 2026.

The Opportunity
The Opportunity
🐟🌲
Two of Chile's top exports generate massive organic waste
Chile is the world's second-largest salmon producer. The Los Lagos region concentrates both aquaculture and forestry industries. Aquaculture sludge is routinely dumped or poorly managed - dead zones have been documented near land-based facilities. Forestry residuals from Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus plantations are abundant and undervalued. No operation in Chile is extracting the full value from either stream.
🍇☀️
Chile's vineyards are running out of water
A megadrought since 2010 - 16 consecutive years, the worst in a millennium - is directly impacting wine production. Over 80% of Chilean wine exports carry sustainability certification, and the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is raising the bar on carbon footprint documentation. Vineyard operators need soil amendments that hold water and sequester carbon. No Chilean producer offers biochar formulated for viticulture.
How It Works

A Cascading Bioprocessing System

Biological
Water/Liquid
Product
🐟
Aquaculture Sludge
RAS facility waste
🌲
Forestry Residuals
Pinus radiata & Eucalyptus
⚗️
Solid-Liquid Separation
Two value streams
🔥
Pyrolysis
Retort kiln 400-700°C
Solids
Liquids
Heat
Biochar
🌡️
Composting
55°C+ pathogen kill
🫧
Nitrification
Aerated conversion
♨️
Waste Heat
Thermal storage
⬛
Biochar
Porous carbon base
💧
Concentration
Waste heat evaporation
5-10x volume reduction
🧪
Charging
Biochar soaked in
concentrated nutrients
🔄
Blending
Charged biochar + compost
🌱
Soil Amendment
Target: $500-$1,000/t
💧
Liquid Fertilizer
Target: $800-$2,500/1000L
🌍
Carbon Credits
Target: $100-$200+/t CO₂e
📋
Waste Docs
Included
✓ Zero Waste OutputEvery input becomes a product or feeds the next process
What We're Building

4 Revenue Streams from 2 Waste Inputs

🌱
Biochar Soil Amendment
Target: $500-$1,000/tonne
Biochar from forestry waste, charged with aquaculture-derived nutrients, blended with compost. Improves water retention, delivers nutrients, sequesters carbon for centuries.
💧
Concentrated Liquid Fertilizer
Target: $800-$2,500/1000L
Aquaculture sludge liquid fraction, biologically processed and concentrated using captured waste heat. A premium product made viable by near-zero energy cost.
🌍
Carbon Credits
Target: $100-$200+/tonne CO₂e
Each tonne of biochar sequesters 2.5-3 tonnes of CO₂e for centuries. Auto-generated by production with zero additional cost.
📋
Waste Processing Documentation
Included with service
Verified proof of proper sludge collection, transport, and conversion. Increasingly valuable as environmental enforcement tightens in Chile.
Location

Why Los Lagos, Chile

Los Lagos is one of the few places in the world where salmon aquaculture, commercial forestry, and premium agriculture all operate in the same region. That means both of our feedstock streams and our primary customer base are within driving distance. We're building the pilot facility in 2026.
0
Years of megadrought
#2
Global salmon producer
2020
Carbon neutrality target
Who We Are

The Founding Team

Caterina Franco
Caterina Franco
CEO & Business Lead
BA Global Socioeconomics & Politics, UCSB. Founded Santa Barbara's first sustainable clothing line and retail store. Leads regulatory navigation, CORFO applications, and SAG compliance strategy.
Aaron Thomen
Aaron Thomen
CTO & Systems Architect
As Director of Innovative Technologies for Cooler Master, led the team that designed the Dyn X simulator, adopted by Max Verstappen's F1 team. 25 years in biological systems and regenerative design. Designed the complete Cascada Bio processing architecture.
Myriam Parra
Myriam Parra
Co-Founder, IT & Industry Lead
Aquaculture IT consultant working directly with RAS operators in Los Lagos. IT architecture and sensor integration expertise for the IoT monitoring platform.