Highlights

  • The board approved an initial A$100,000 allocation for a research program expected to run for at least 12 months.
  • The work will test whether alginate from Sargassum seaweed can capture gold and silver from retired data centre hardware.
  • Rare earth recovery is a secondary objective, and the technology remains at an early, laboratory-scale research stage.
  • Preliminary discussions with Indonesia's BRIN are under way, with an initial patent application proposed in Singapore.

Retired servers hold gold, and Ocean Sciences Ltd (ASX:OSS) wants to know whether seaweed can get it out. The company announced on 28 October 2026 a research program into using alginate, a compound derived from the brown seaweed Sargassum, to recover precious metals and rare earth elements from retired data centre hardware and other electronic waste. It described the technology as early-stage and said there can be no assurance it will reach commercial performance.

What the program will examine

The initial focus is gold and silver in printed circuit boards and other electronic components, with rare earth recovery a secondary objective. The target feedstock is servers and related equipment retired during replacement cycles, which typically run for three to seven years. Metal content is to be estimated from known hardware composition and then confirmed through sampling and assay.

The program builds on published laboratory research showing that alginate-based materials can capture metals from solutions generated when e-waste is processed. The announcement does not quantify any advantage over existing methods or estimate how much metal could be recovered from a given quantity of equipment.

A three-stage process

The first stage is extraction, preparing alginate from Indonesian Sargassum. The second is capture, developing an alginate-based material that selectively binds gold and silver and possibly rare earths. The third is recovery, releasing and collecting the captured metals and reusing the alginate material where technically feasible.

The program draws on the company's existing Indonesian seaweed sourcing network and its Seaweed Innovation and Application Centre in Takalar Regency, South Sulawesi.

Funding, timing and partners

The A$100,000 is described as an initial commitment, and further spending would depend on research results and later board decisions. The company will report progress as key technical milestones are reached but gave no dates.

No commercial partners are named. Preliminary discussions are under way with Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency, known as BRIN, on Sargassum alginate extraction, and the company is exploring relationships with data centre operators, e-waste recyclers and metal refiners. Pilot-scale testing and collaboration with commercial e-waste processors depend on successful laboratory results.

Commercial ambitions

If the research succeeds, Ocean Sciences intends to develop a proprietary alginate-based metal recovery solution for e-waste recyclers and metal refiners. It said the approach could potentially reduce energy and reagent use compared with conventional methods, but that this is to be assessed during the program rather than being an established result. The company also plans to seek intellectual property protection, with an initial patent application proposed in Singapore, subject to patentability assessments.

The announcement contains no revenue, production or resource figures. Risks cited include research outcomes, funding, regulatory matters and the results of partner and intellectual property discussions.