Mexico plans to turn the Caribbean’s sargassum problem into a SAF opportunity
September 9, 2025
Mexico plans to turn one of the Caribbean’s most persistent environmental problems—massive seasonal blooms of sargassum algae—into a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The initiative addresses international aviation’s need for SAF while also offering a solution to a problem that has plagued the country’s tourism sector.
Sargassum converted from environmental crisis to SAF
Every year, millions of tons of sargassum wash up on beaches across the Caribbean coast, creating an unpleasant mess that threatens tourism and marine ecosystems. These algae release foul-smelling gases as they decompose, and pose a health risk to those involved in the daily cleanups required. Experts say that cleaning just 1km of beach can cost local communities around $1 million a year.
This May, a record-breaking 39 million tons (37.5 million metric tons) of sargassum clogged the Caribbean Sea. It even reached parts of the Atlantic Ocean, as tracked by the University of South Florida’s College of Optical Oceanography Laboratory (COOL). In their report, COOL notes “significant Sargassum inundation events” around most Caribbean nations and islands, including the Mexican Caribbean coast.
During a recent Ministerial Reunion of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Implementation of Regional Action, SEMARNAT, in partnership with the European Union, hosted a technical session proposing the establishment of a regional, possibly multinational, company to process this algae into SAF.
“Sargassum is a phenomenon without borders,” said SEMARNAT Minister Alicia Bárcena, as reported by Mexico Business News. “Today, the Caribbean faces more than 50 million metric tons of this algae. Regional cooperation is not optional—it is the only way to turn a threat into an opportunity.”
The plan would serve two strategic goals: mitigating the environmental and economic damage caused by uncontrolled sargassum arrivals, and helping airlines meet their upcoming fuel-blend obligations under ICAO’s CORSIA framework and national mandates.
Quintana Roo Circular Economy Centre
At a state level, Quintana Roo has already broken ground on a Comprehensive Sargassum Sanitation and Circular Economy Centre. The facility is designed to handle the collection, monitoring, and first-stage processing of the algae. While the initial focus is on biogas, officials say the technology roadmap leads directly to biofuels, including SAF.
According to engineer Miguel Ángel Aké Madera, director of bioenergy company Nopalimex, the energy potential is significant: processing 500 tons of sargassum can yield 20,000 cubic meters of biogas, roughly equivalent to the daily fuel sales of a typical Mexican gas station. “This is not a marginal solution—it is a scalable one,” Aké told Wired.
Building a regional model to convert sargassum to biofuel
A sargassum-based biofuel industry could convert expensive cleanup into an economic engine.
Mexico is not the only country experimenting with sargassum valorisation. Research into converting algae into energy has already been conducted in various countries and islands throughout the Caribbean.
In Puerto Rico, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with $2 million funding from the US Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, explored processing Sargasso to produce SAF and graphite for lithium batteries.
But Mexico’s plan to institutionalise production through a state-backed company could make it the first country in the region to integrate sargassum into commercial SAF supply chains.
Sargassum: a sustainable feedstock for SAF
Global demand for SAF is expected to outpace supply for years, with IATA estimating airlines will need at least 120 billion litres annually by 2050 to reach net zero. Feedstock availability remains one of the greatest bottlenecks. While waste oils, fats, and agricultural residues are already in use, scaling up requires novel, non-food-based sources.
Sargassum offers some advantages as a feedstock:
- It is a non-edible biomass, avoiding food-versus-fuel debates.
- It grows rapidly and in abundance, requiring no farmland.
- The collection solves an existing environmental and economic problem in tourism-dependent regions.
If Mexico succeeds in establishing a reliable supply chain, sargassum could become a showcase for how regional challenges can be transformed into SAF opportunities.
While Mexico’s sargassum-to-SAF initiative is still in its early stages, with growing political backing and private-sector interest, it could move quickly. For airlines, particularly those operating in Latin America and the Caribbean, the prospect of a locally sourced SAF is a development to watch closely as the industry moves toward its 2050 decarbonization targets.
