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Thalasso
Aerial drone view of a Caribbean beach with sargassum accumulation and Thalasso team on the sand

Advisory

Real-world knowledge, built in the field

Thalasso has spent years engaging with governments, researchers, industry stakeholders, and affected communities across the sargassum challenge. We make that accumulated knowledge available to organizations seeking guidance, technical perspective, or strategic support.

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Years

of sector engagement

Multi-

region experience

Full

value chain knowledge

Gov &

industry stakeholder access

The sargassum challenge

A complex problem across multiple sectors

Sargassum has evolved from a seasonal nuisance into a persistent challenge affecting coastlines, ecosystems, industries, and communities across the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and West Africa.

Tourism & Hospitality

Beach accumulations affect visitor experience, hotel operations, and destination reputation at scale.

Ports & Marinas

Dense accumulations disrupt vessel traffic, clog intake systems, and increase operational costs.

Coastal Ecology

Mass strandings alter ecosystems, impact fisheries, and create long-term environmental pressures.

Government & Policy

Governments face mounting pressure to develop sustainable, cost-effective management strategies.

Investment & Commerce

The challenge has created genuine market interest in processing, valorization, and commercial applications.

Research & Innovation

Scientific and technical communities are actively exploring collection methods, uses, and broader ecological implications.

Advisory services

Knowledge applied to your situation

Our advisory services are designed to make Thalasso's accumulated sector knowledge directly useful to organizations navigating the sargassum challenge — whether as a problem to manage, an opportunity to explore, or a sector to understand. Each engagement is tailored to the specific needs and context of the organization involved.

Assessment

Situation Assessment

A structured engagement to help an organization understand the sargassum challenge as it relates to their specific context, geography, operations, stakeholders, and objectives. We bring sector knowledge to help you ask better questions and frame appropriate responses.

  • Clarity on the scope and nature of the challenge in your context
  • Identification of relevant technical, operational, and stakeholder considerations
  • A grounded starting point for further planning or action

Opportunity Studies

Opportunity & Market Studies

For organizations exploring the commercial or strategic dimensions of sargassum — as investors, developers, or companies seeking new applications — we provide structured insight into what the market looks like, what is technically feasible, and where the most credible pathways exist.

  • Market landscape and opportunity mapping
  • Technical and commercial feasibility perspective
  • Realistic assessment of risks, timelines, and constraints

Deployment Planning

Deployment Planning Support

Organizations considering pilot projects, procurement, or operational responses to sargassum can benefit from our practical knowledge of what is involved, from logistics and technology selection to stakeholder alignment and site considerations.

  • Operational and logistical planning input
  • Technology and approach evaluation
  • Stakeholder and coordination considerations

Strategic Advisory

Strategic Advisory

For governments, NGOs, development organizations, and companies seeking ongoing access to sector expertise, we provide a structured relationship that makes our knowledge, networks, and perspective available as your work evolves.

  • Ongoing access to sector knowledge and contacts
  • Support for stakeholder engagement and positioning
  • Input into strategy, communications, and decision-making

Who we work with

Organizations we work with

National GovernmentsRegional AuthoritiesMunicipalitiesTourism BoardsHotel AssociationsPort AuthoritiesMarinasDevelopment BanksNGOsEnvironmental OrganizationsResearch InstitutionsPrivate InvestorsImpact FundsCompanies affected by sargassumCompanies exploring sargassum applicationsTechnology developers

Why Thalasso

Experience built in the field, not in theory

Over the years, Thalasso and its team have engaged directly with the sargassum challenge — through conversations with governments and institutions, technical development work, stakeholder engagement, and the practical complexity of developing real-world solutions. That engagement forms the basis of our advisory work.

I

Harvesting & Processing

We are actively developing harvesting technologies and a mobile biorefinery concept, giving us direct technical knowledge of collection methods, processing constraints, and operational realities — not secondhand familiarity.

II

Stakeholder & Government Engagement

Over years of engagement across the Caribbean and beyond, we have participated in discussions with government bodies, NGOs, development organizations, and industry, and understand how decisions in this sector are shaped.

III

Commercialization & Market Knowledge

We have developed practical understanding of commercialization pathways, market opportunities, and the realistic challenges involved in moving sargassum from challenge to resource.

IV

International Reach

Our engagement spans multiple geographies, regulatory environments, and stakeholder communities, giving us a broad view of how the sargassum challenge manifests differently in different contexts.

V

Project Development

We understand the complexity of developing and advancing projects in this sector, from early planning and stakeholder alignment through to deployment considerations and funding pathways.

VI

Sector Knowledge

Accumulated knowledge covering the technical, commercial, policy, logistical, and environmental dimensions of sargassum, available to organizations who need it.

The advisors

The people behind the knowledge

Frode Sønstebø

Frode Sønstebø

Founder & Commercial Director, Thalasso

Frode founded Thalasso and has led it from inception through R&D, investor engagement, and the delivery of its first commercial biorefinery. He has engaged directly with governments, industry partners, and affected communities across Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. His broader background spans venture development, government and NGO negotiations on infrastructure projects in Panama and Colombia, and business development across Europe and Latin America — giving him practical experience navigating the institutional, commercial, and operational dimensions that define work in this sector.

Sargassum Sector ExperienceGovernment & NGO EngagementBiorefinery & HarvestingCommercializationLatin America & Caribbean
Steven J. Keays

Steven J. Keays

CEO, Thalasso

A licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) with graduate-level engineering credentials and three decades of experience across aerospace, defense, energy, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, Steven understands technology from the inside out. He has led complex capital projects, directed engineering and manufacturing operations, and built companies at the intersection of technical and commercial imperatives. His involvement with Thalasso brings the rigour of an engineer who has worked at the frontier of difficult problems, combined with the perspective of an executive who has structured, financed, and delivered large-scale projects across multiple industries and geographies.

Stakeholder EngagementProject DevelopmentInvestor RelationsStrategic AdvisoryInternational Engagement

Areas of engagement

Knowledge developed across the sector

Our advisory work draws on knowledge built across technology, processing, policy, stakeholders, markets, and logistics.

Technology

Harvesting Technology Development

Active development of sargassum harvesting equipment and approaches, including evaluation of collection methods, equipment design considerations, and operational constraints across different coastal environments.

Processing

Mobile Biorefinery Concept

Development of a mobile biorefinery concept for processing sargassum into commercially relevant outputs, informing our understanding of processing requirements, value chain logistics, and technology selection.

Government

Government & Institutional Dialogue

Engagement in discussions with government bodies across the Caribbean and beyond, providing practical familiarity with how sargassum is addressed at a policy and institutional level in different jurisdictions.

Stakeholders

Multi-Stakeholder Engagement

Sustained engagement with NGOs, development organizations, researchers, industry bodies, tourism stakeholders, and community representatives involved in sargassum-related work across multiple regions.

Market

Commercialization Pathways

Practical exploration of applications, markets, and commercialization pathways for sargassum-derived products, including an informed view of what is technically feasible and commercially realistic.

Logistics

Collection & Logistics Planning

Direct experience with the logistical complexity of sargassum collection, including transport, storage, moisture management, and the operational realities that affect the economics of any response or processing approach.

If sargassum is relevant to your work, let's talk.

Whether you are managing an active challenge, exploring a commercial opportunity, seeking technical perspective, developing policy, or simply trying to understand what is happening in this sector, we welcome the conversation. There is no obligation and no commitment required to reach out.

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