Tocco Report: Marine Materials 2030

Oceans as infrastructures for materials & energy

The oceans are no longer seen only as fisheries or shipping lanes; they are becoming infrastructures for climate solutions, material innovation, and energy systems. Every year, more than 19–23 million tonnes of plastic leak into rivers and seas, while at the same time new ocean farms and tidal platforms demonstrate how the marine environment can become a source of regeneration rather than degradation. This duality, pollution and potential, defines the new age of marine materials.

This Tocco Report follows that transformation across five chapters. Part I examines ocean waste and its recycling into new material flows. Part II focuses on algae and their rapidly scaling bio-based chemistry. Part III turns to shells, chitosan, and fish skins as building blocks for biopolymers and leather alternatives. Part IV examines aquaculture as a biomass platform for food, fertilisers, and next-generation materials. Part V closes with the forces of the sea: energy, minerals, and current-driven systems that unlock power densities far beyond solar or wind. Together, these perspectives form a panorama of how ocean industries are scaling from niche experiments to critical infrastructures.