Danish microalgae company Algiecel has opened a new production facility to provide omega-3-rich microalgal biomass for a variety of applications including pet nutrition.
The new plant, which has been built at biotechnology giant Novonesis’ Kalundborg site in Denmark, will produce 12 tonnes of biomass annually from next year, increasing Algiecel’s production capacity nearly fivefold.
The new plant runs on captured CO₂ from an on-site biogas plant, and the biomass output is intended to provide an alternative to fish oil in pet products.
Algiecel chief executive Susanne Palsten Buchardt said: “Our customers are looking for a scalable, high-quality and sustainable alternative to the fish oil they are sourcing today. Algiecel is on a path to deliver just that.
“We’ve run our pilot reactor for more than 10,000 operational hours, and the biology performs as we designed it to. At a moment when fish oil supply is under real pressure, this facility is where we prove we can deliver a reliable alternative, produced under industrial conditions, at the volumes our customers need. It’s the starting platform we’ll use to scale further as demand grows.”
