NO NL Micro algae opportunities in aquaculture

JOINED DUTCH-NORWEGIAN BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES IN
Micro algae and Nordic Aquaculture
BY SYTSE YBEMA, SUSTAINOVATE AS
SUPPORTED BY MARELIFE BIOMARINE INNOVATION NETWORK
Oslo, 05 May 2013
Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs
“Programma Internationale Agroketens”
Assignment
Inventory of Norwegian strategies, instruments and key players that actively develop micro algae business and to identify areas of cooperation,
potential partners and strategies that The Netherlands could follow to connect. More info at Sustainovate.com/norway-trade
B U S I N E S S
O P P O R T U N I T Y S C A N
- Public document-

Table of content
Summary 2
Growing global interest in micro-algae based aquafeeds 4
Need for increased supply of Omega-3 fatty acids 6
Nordic micro algae competence and potentials for aquaculture 7
.........................................................................................................Market development & potentials as seen by Nordic countries 8
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................Opportunities 10
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................Threats 10
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................Nordic Needs 10
Opening aquaculture feed market for micro algae 11
..............................................................................................................................................................Main market uncertainties 11
...........................................................................................................................................................Algae production challenges 11
..................................................................................................................................Commercialisation bottleneck in the Nordics 12
..............................................................................................Recent Norwegian initiatives and contributions to open the market 12
...............................................................................................................................................................Development of Knowledge Networks 12
..........................................................................................................................................................................Algae commercialisation efforts 13
..............................................................................................................................................................Recent workshops / Business meetings 14
..............................................................................................................................................Where Dutch competence could fit in 15
................................................................................................................................................Aquafeed market to team up with algae industry 16
........................................................................................Opportunities for Dutch-Norwegian collaboration - Proposed collaboration strategy 16
Used sources 18
Appendix I Norwegian algae playing field in a nutshell 19
Appendix II Dutch algae playing field in a nutshell 23
Micro Algae and Nordic aquaculture - Business opportunities between The Netherlands and Norway Sustainovate AS
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Summary
With a growing interest in the development of a Norwegian bio-based economy, the Dutch Ministry of Economic
Affairs commissioned this study to identify areas of cooperation, potential partners and strategies between Dutch
and Norwegian players in micro algae business for aquafeed. This quick scan demonstrates the current status of
micro-algae applications to the aquafeed industry; It touches upon potentials, needs but also hurdles for (Dutch)
micro algae producers and solution providers to collaborate with the (Norwegian) aquafeed industry.
Where Norway is particularly strong in aquaculture and science based knowledge of micro algae, the Netherlands is
known for its commercialisation power in general and is actively developing innovative solutions in micro-algae
production. These complementary characteristics could be used to speed up the long awaited breakthrough in
using micro algae (ingredients) in the aquafeed industry. This industry is in need for alternative Omega-3 sources
now a growing global food demand has put more pressure on existing Omega-3 (and unsaturated fatty acids and
antioxidants ) from wild fish stocks.
This report uses the result from the EU Interreg project ‘Blue Biotechnology for Sustainable Innovations’ or ‘BlueBio*’
as a basis and has been updated with opinions and facts delivered by several key actors in Norway and The
Netherlands.
* Blue Bio is a two-year project within the EU Interreg programme (IVA Kattegat-Skagerrak) that works towards knowledge-based development and integration of research and
industry. The objective of that report has been to analyse how the Nordic countries can best capitalise on its strengths in the light of current and emerging opportunities for
algal R&D, and in the context of international competition.
Need and potentials for algae in Nordic aquafeed
Global food demand is increasing rapidly. Aquaculture, heavily depending on wild fish as supplier of Omega-3 oil,
can simply not provide this increasing demand for fish and Omega-3 because wild fish stocks are at the limit of their
exploitation. One fundamental consideration for incorporating micro-algae into fish feed is that algae are the base of
the aquatic food chains that produce the food resources that fish are adapted to consume.
Micro-Algae feeds for aquaculture ("aquafeeds") are currently produced in small amounts by hundreds of
aquaculture operations and some commercial producers. Algae as an alternative seems logic since it contains
several important components that can be applied in aquaculture: Astaxanthin, vitamins and other micro ingredients,
Protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Algae have considerable potential to contribute to a bio-based economy in the Nordic countries. Both the expertise
and the will exists in the Nordic countries to develop the majority of the opportunities with algae. Norway is the
world largest producer of farmed salmon. The last decade it has also been focused on developing production and
markets for other species than Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout (mainly cod, halibut and mussels) which
contributed significantly to the emerging knowledge and experience on micro-algae cultivation.
In general, the Nordic countries benefits from an enormous span of expertise that is relevant to algae, but struggles
to capitalise on this since the relevant researchers belong to different communities, which traditionally have not been
in active dialogue.
Opening the market: Uncertainties & challenges to overcome
Despite the increasing demand for algae in the (shell)fish farming industry and the increasing number of breeding
initiatives it appears difficult to set up business that produces high quality algae on an industrial scale. The
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aquaculture sector recognises that algae play a potential important role, but neither party wants to become problem
owner or develop solutions for the entire sector. Thus, vital pilots that are needed for maturing this market are being
postponed. To attract funding, a significant number of the new companies that have been formed make unrealistic
claims about productivities and profits; this threatens the credibility of the field in general. Instead a long innovative
process is necessary to be able to scale up the algae production to meet the increasing demand for aquaculture
biomass for many different purposes. It includes technical innovations to reduce costs and increase volumes
significantly but it also concerns market uncertainties and commercialisation.
Recent Norwegian initiatives and contributions to open the market are the development of ‘Knowledge Networks’
such as the Nordic Algae Network and Algae commercialisation efforts as in the EU funded project Blue Bio and the
Nord-Østron project. In addition, numerous conferences and workshops and other business meetings actively put
the algae topic high on the agenda.
Where Dutch competence could fit in.
This report will address how algal business in the Nordic countries may capitalise with the help of Dutch know-how,
and stay competitive in a well populated and rapidly moving international field. Several Dutch players in R&D, algae
and related sectors (water, horticulture) are developing promising technologies using particularly closed systems that
can guarantee high quality algae products and have the scalability to reach industrial scale production needed by
the aquaculture industry. These Dutch stakeholders have the possibility to capture a leading market position if
matching industrial partners are found. Facilitating this matchmaking is part of this report’s goals.
Underlying report describes the Dutch micro-algae playing field in a nutshell and demonstrates that although there is
a decreasing trend in Dutch aquaculture, the Dutch sector is now seeking to gain ground again through innovation.
Algae cultivation is a relatively new activity in the Netherlands. Many projects started to investigate cultivation of
micro-algae but only a few focus on (shell)fish farming. Some Dutch companies grow algae on a small scale for a
number of years, focusing on niche markets while others have the ambition to produce on industrial scale.
Focus areas in Dutch-Norwegian collaboration
Industry wide challenges to enter the aquafeed market as seen by Dutch MSE’s are straight forward: Building of
industry trust because currently the products are simply too expensive, the volumes are too low and the product
quality to enter the feed market is insufficient. The 2 processes responsible for the high costs are waiting for a
innovative breakthroughs in separation of algae from water and de-watering/drying. Both these processes consume
large amounts of energy. Upscaling of production forms the main challenge beyond the research and R&D phase in
the industry. Modular based thinking might be the answer to overcome this hurdle. The SME’s recognise that the
integration of algae in fishfeed does not need to go to commodity products at once; instead a phased approach
might build up the needed trust.
Facilitating a sense of urgency with large Norwegian aquafeed/aquaculture players could be achieved by ‘injecting’
typical Dutch competence in Nordic commercialisation efforts as undertaken by MareLife and the Nordic Algae
Network. Second, an aquafeed pilot project could be developed with Norwegian SME’s that do have a sense of
urgency. Such collaboration would make use of complementary know-how. Third, a Dutch-Norwegian Think Tank
could be formed that can answer crucial questions regarding legal issues, production capacity/expansion, consumer
interest. Such Think Tank could at the same time identify strategists that monitor (global) market- and price
developments.
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Growing global interest in micro-algae based aquafeeds
Fishmeal is very extensively used in feeds for fish as well as other animals. Now it is becoming increasingly evident
that such continued exploitation of this natural resource will ultimately become both environmentally and
economically unsustainable. Various species of micro algae are used as aquaculture feeds. One fundamental
consideration for incorporating micro-algae into fish feed is that algae are the base of the aquatic food chains that
produce the food resources that fish are adapted to consume.
Growing amount of global players
There are more than 400 players involved in the micro-algae business or in micro-algae research and development,
according to CBDM.T, an international a market and business intelligence company. Approximately 75.2% of those
are public or private companies and 18.6% are R&D institutions. Due to dynamic financing of companies dedicated
to 3rd generation biofuel (biofuel from micro-algae) and to the development of genetic engineering technologies, this
number is expecting to grow steadily. (Source: Myhre)
The main market driver at the moment is the transition to a BIO-BASED ECONOMY. Examples of this are the
increasing production of natural astaxanthin compared to the earlier total dominance of chemical pigment from DSM
(‘carophyl pink’) and BASF (‘Lucantin pink’) and Nestle's promotion on phycocyanin from Spirulina algae in the video
"Blue Smarties commercial". The aquafeed market is currently seen as a niche market in Europe but growing rapidly.
Only a few algae species exploited
Out of an estimated close to a million micro-algae species, only around 10 are commercially produced at the
moment. These species have been selected on the basis of their size, nutritional value, culture easiness and
absence of negative side effects, such as toxicity. Their nutritional value shows a great variability not only among
different species, but also in genetically different populations of the same species (strains).
taxon product application Es#mated)produc#on)(t/a)
Chlorella vulgaris /
Chlorella pyrenoidosa
biomass
extracts
health food, food supplement,
feed, cosmetics
2000
Spirulina platensis phycocyanin
biomass, extracts
health food, functional food
Feed, cosmetic products
3000
Dunaliella salina carotenoids,
β-carotene
health food, food supplement,
feed, cosmetics
1200
Nostoc fusiforme biomass health food 600
Aphanizomenon flos-
aquae
biomass health food 500
Haematococcus
pluvialis
carotenoids
astaxanthin
pharmaceuticals
feed additives, aquaculture
50
Odontella aurita EPA, biomass cosmetics, food 20
Schizochytrium DHA baby food
Ulkenia DHA baby food
Sceletenoma life biomass aquaculture
Nitzschia/ Navicula life biomass aquaculture
Isochrysis galbana life biomass,fatty acids aquaculture, animal nutrition
Nannochloropsis life biomass aquaculture
TABLE: APPLICATION AREAS OF MOST IMPORTANT ALGAE SPECIES. AFTER PULZ 2009
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Large volume potentials
Micro-Algae feeds for aquaculture ("aquafeeds") are currently produced in small amounts by hundreds of
aquaculture operations and some commercial producers. These supply micro-algae feeds, typically as a refrigerated
paste, for use by bivalve, fish, shrimp and other aquaculture markets. However, costs are high, production systems
small, and global production of such micro-algae aquaculture feeds is at most a few hundred tons a year. Still, algae
are the largest un-exploited biomass resource, which possess vast potential as resource for an array of different
applications including ingredients for the aquatic feed industry.
Product US$ kg -1 Market Size US$ *106
Biomass health food 10 - 80 1. 100
functional food 25 – 52 growing
feed additive 10 – 130 fast growing
aquaculture 50 – 150 fast growing
soil conditioner >10 promising
Pigments astaxanthin 2.500-8.000 >250Pigments
phycocyanin 500 >15
phycoerythrin >10.000 >2
Antioxidants beta-carotene >750 >25
superoxide dismutase >1.000 promising
tocopherol 30 – 40 stagnant
AO-extract 20 – 45 12 – 20
ARA 50
EPA 300
DHA 250
PUFA-extracts 30 - 80 10
Special products toxins 1 – 3
isotopes >5
Table: Marked estimation for micro-algal products, after Pulz 2009. NOTE: Lutein is missing in this table.
So although the market for aquaculture applications is rapidly growing, high production costs, demanding volumes
and fluctuating algae quality keep the market from developing beyond R&D and small scale production.
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Need for increased supply of Omega-3 fatty acids
Global food demand is increasing rapidly, as is the consumption of fish and Omega-3 products. Aquaculture, heavily
depending on wild fish as supplier of Omega-3 oil, can simply not provide this increasing demand for fish and
Omega-3 because wild fish stocks are at the limit of their exploitation. So new sources for marine fatty acids are
urgently needed.
The table and figure below indicate a growing global importance of Omega-3 oils with a focus on Asia’s need for fish
feed.
A clear example of the need for more Omega-3 products is for example given
in the Norwegian salmon industry:
The Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF) concluded on
the need for increased supply of Omega-3 components in salmon farming:
“Insufficient supply of marine oils will change the Salmon Industry” “With 10
% Omega-3 fatty acids in fish feed, the industry has 2-3 years to find new
solutions. A reduction in Omega-3 fatty acids to 7,5 %, the industry gets
additional two years. Halving, from 10 to 5 % Omega-3 fatty acids, the critical
under-coverage will be moved to 2016.”
“Although Omega-3 fatty acids requirement in feed for optimal growth of
salmon is relatively low (1%) , it is added to salmon feed (>7%) mainly to
enrich fillets in order to meat eating qualities (feed and fillet levels are
correlated) because Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon fillet are important for
human health claims.”
Micro-algae as source of Omega-3
As alternatives for fish marine oils, plant oil might potentially be available to
aquaculture in 5-10 years since genetically modified oils are currently not
TABLE: GLOBAL FEED M TONNAGE BY SPECIES (SOURCE: ALLTECH).
FIGURE: SIMPLE EXTRAPOLATION OF THE GLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF
FINISHED OMEGA-3 FISH OIL. THIS EXTRAPOLATION INDICATES THE
PRESSURE THAT HUMAN CONSUMPTION SECTORS WILL PUT ON THE FISH
OIL MARKET IN THE COMING YEARS.
NILF-REPORT «FØRE VAR» I LAKSENÆRINGEN:
TID FOR KOLLEKTIV HÅNDTERING AV
UNDERDEKNING AV FISKEOLJE. SOURCE:
HTTP://WWW.NILF.NO
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accepted in EU; Microbes as an alternative suggests relatively high prices because of the fermentation process and
genetic modification; Krill, new fish species, other marine organisms form a large potential biomass but is costly to
catch. Also precautionary management policies will not allow heavy harvesting volumes. Algae as an alternative
seems much more logic since it contains several important components that can be applied in aquaculture:
1. Astaxanthin, vitamins and other micro ingredients have been on the market for several years and will remain a
micro market,
2. Protein alternative for fishmeal replacement. This application is relevant, but is experiencing high competition
from terrestrial plant protein;
3. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA + DHA source to replace fish oil has big potentials. A very large market for
aquaculture feeds could be developed for micro-algae biomass containing long chain omega-3 fatty acids, to
replace fish meal and oil, but for this production costs must be reduced from $50-$100 to between $1 and 2/kg
of algal biomass (dried or wet).
Nordic micro algae competence and potentials for aquaculture
Global interest in micro-algae is rapidly increasing and the North Sea region may have a competitive advantage when
it comes to knowledge, R&D and innovative aquaculture applications.
Algae have considerable potential to contribute to a bio-based economy in the Nordic countries. Both the expertise
and the will exists in the Nordic countries to develop the majority of the opportunities with algae. The Nordic
countries could make a number of key contributions to the global algal field. Its strength in engineering of intensive
aquaculture with highly controlling the production parameters can be transferred and contribute to the development
of large-scale micro-algae production. Unification of the research community will be an essential step, as will making
both the commercial world and the international academic arena aware of the value of what it has to offer. The
Nordic countries have a wealth of biological expertise to offer to establish algae as part of a bio-based economy,
both through high tech approaches to build algae as an industrial biotechnology platform, and by developing algal
products and services in the concept of integrated bio-refining. This is complemented by extensive ecological
expertise that helps to understand and model the role of algae in climate change and develop them as bio-indicators
for environmental impact.
The Blue Bio project report identified 25 universities and R&Ds working on algal topics while only 7 companies are
working on commercial algae projects in the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries are world leaders in aquaculture
and Omega-3 industry in which are suffering from shortage of ingredient source due to the wild fish stock depletion.
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The image below visualises the micro algae R&D playing ﬁeld as communicated by Jon Aulie, MareLife.
See Appendix I for an overview of the Norwegian commercial players.
Market development & potentials as seen by Nordic countries
While it is essential to be fully aware of the strengths the Nordic countries have to oﬀer, in order to draw informed
conclusions it is also valuable to put them in the context of known weaknesses of the general Nordic countries set-
up, and to be mindful of both opportunities and threats associated with algal research in the Nordic countries. To
facilitate this process, an outline SWOT analysis made by the Blue Bio report is given in the table below.
Part of BlueBio SWOT Analysis
Nordic strengths
ILLUSTRATION BY SUSTAINOVATE
• World leading aquaculture
industry
• World leading aquaculture feed
industry
• World leader in aquaculture R&D
• World leading Omega-3 industry
and R&D
• Strong Marine Biotechnology
infrastructure
• Ecological / environmental R&D,
especially marine, impacts of
climate change
• Fundamental biological R&D:
photosynthesis, physiology,
phylogeny, taxonomy, whole
organism biology, biochemistry,
systems/molecular/
microbiology, biotechnology
• Diversity of research base
• International microalgal culture
collections
• Focus on integrated systems in
applications
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Nordic weaknesses
• Lack of cohesion between the
constituent research communities
• Small number of people with
combined engineering and biological
expertise
• Decline in freshwater expertise (e.g.
relevant to aquaculture waste water
treatment).
• In common with other scientific
endeavours: Less flexible in
responding to new opportunities than
US / BRIC countries; Comparatively
poor track record of successful
commercialisation of R&D outputs,
compared e.g. to US
TABLE: OUTLINE SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALGAL RESEARCH IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES. SOURCE: BLUE BIO REPORT
Potentials for other species than salmon
A significant contribution to the emerging knowledge and experience on micro-algae cultivation may be addressed
to the focus on bringing in new marine species (halibut, turbot, sea bass, sea bream, cod, crustaceans and bivalves)
to the aquaculture industry.
Micro-Algae for halibut and turbot reproduction dominated the 80-ties and 90-ties while cod, scallop and oyster
reproduction have been the main species later on. Cod farming industry was growing until its collapse in 2009 and
there were about 24 small and medium size cod hatcheries consuming around 90 thousands litres of Chlorella sp
and about 3 thousands litres of Nannochloropsis oculata on its peak. During the 80-ties and 90-ties, while halibut
was focused as new specie, every hatchery had their own micro-algae department producing the necessary
biomass. The cod farming industry had a higher micro-algae biomass requirement and tended to import frozen and
live biomass from Asia (Chlorella sp.) and USA (Nannochloropsis oculata). This turned out to be a business in which
a Norwegian company Micro-Algae AS started to trade imported algae biomass into the cod hatcheries (http://
www.micro-algae.no/). Other companies, such as Algaetech Industrier AS and MicroA AS, started to plan production
of wet, live biomass to supply the growing cod farming industry. After the collapse in 2009, there were only about 3
or 4 cod hatcheries left and little business in algae.
This wealth of knowledge has not been made best use of in the Nordic countries, for two principal reasons in
relation to research funding (Source: BlueBio report):
1. A lack of integration of the research community across the breadth of relevant disciplines: this needs to be
catalysed by providing funding for multidisciplinary research programmes, where possible linked to
collaborative demonstration sites with industry.
2. Progress in the field has been seriously hampered by lack of funding. The Nordic countries are in grave danger
of being marginalised on an international scale, since especially the US and BRIC countries have been and are
investing heavily in this arena. Unless this situation is remedied, further opportunities will be lost. The quality
and size of the knowledge base is likely to diminish through brain-drain to well-funded RD&D activities abroad.
It would lead to first-rate Nordic countries R&D outputs again being commercially exploited mainly abroad, with
little benefit coming back, and the Nordic countries would be forced to adopt technologies from abroad which
could and should have been developed nationally.
Integration of algal growth with aquaculture promises ecological and economic benefit on a national as well as
global level, and the Nordic countries research community (especially Nofima, SINTEF, IMR and the universities) is
well placed to increase sustainability of the aquaculture industry.
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In short:
Opportunities
a) Rising prices of fish oil and fish meal due to the aquaculture expansion in relation to fish stock depletions
while breakthroughs in large-scale algal production may turn micro-algae to be a sustainable source for
Omega-3 and aquaculture feed
b) Increased availability of micro-algae expertise from countries suffering high rate of unemployment due to
economic crises
c) Increase sustainability of CO2/heat/waste water producing industries and aquaculture through integrated
algal growth systems and bioremediation
d) Exploit benefits if coordinated interdisciplinary work, if Nordic countries research community can be united
e) Increase collaboration on international scale, access international funding
Threats
a) Loss of lead in current strengths due to being diluted / crowded out by well-funded international
competition (especially US and BRIC countries; loss of funding for the Carbon Trust ABC is an example of
how expertise and momentum is being wasted through lack of support)
b) Loss of expertise: through staff retiring and insufficient numbers of new people entering the field (especially
in traditional disciplines such as taxonomy)
c) First-rate Nordic R&D outputs being commercially exploited mainly abroad, with little benefit coming back
to Nordic countries
d) Disappointment of unrealistic expectations may lead to blindness in funding bodies, politicians, business
and the public for real opportunities algae offer.
Nordic Needs
Some key recommendations have been made in the Blue Bio project report:
a) The Nordic countries needs to develop a focused and integrated approach to algae.
b) Algal production should follow integrated approaches and be developed in demonstration projects.
c) High value products from algae should have higher priority than fuel production.
d) The Nordic countries have world-class algal expertise which has suffered from scarce and disperse
funding; strategic and linked-up funding packages with industry input are required to move forward.
In addition:
e) The Nordic countries with emphasis on Norway need expertise in commercialisation of promising concepts
and applications.
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Opening aquaculture feed market for micro algae
Despite the increasing demand for algae in the fish and shellfish farming industry and the increasing number of
breeding initiatives it appears difficult to set up business that produces high quality algae on an industrial scale as
explained above. The aquaculture sector recognises that algae play a potential important role, but neither party
wants to become problem owner or develop solutions for the entire sector. Thus, vital pilots that are needed for
maturing this market are being postponed. To attract funding, a significant number of the new companies that have
been formed make unrealistic claims about productivities and profits; this threatens the credibility of the field in
general.
Main market uncertainties
Industrial scale utilisation of marine algae requires intensive development of growth, harvest and conditioning
systems that secure reliable delivery of large amount of biomass at the right time, -quality and -condition. A long
innovative process is necessary to be able to scale up the algae production to meet the increasing demand for
aquaculture biomass for many different purposes.
The main questions regarding opening the aquaculture feeds' market for algae derived products are:
1. Which ingredients can be sourced from industrial micro-algae production?
2. Which barriers and challenges need to be resolved to secure market entry both technical and business-
wise?
3. How to develop the market to algal ingredients?
4. What is needed to start commercial algae production for use in shellfish and fish farming
5. Who are potential investors in this field?
6. How to reduce delay due to registration and legislation? This route is costly ad time consuming. The
government could facilitate and allow temporary exemption of the use of certain algae for pilot/test
purposes.
Algae production challenges
Reducing costs and increasing volumes to compete with fish oil
The Algae Industry calls for cost reduction. In the market for aquaculture bulk production of high quality algae,
reduction of production costs is vital as these products must compete with already existing raw materials. The price
of algal oil should approach the price level of commodity fish oils before algae can be used for commercial
production of feeds at large scale. In the past 10 years the industry has reduced the production costs of several
hundreds of Euro per kilo to € 20,- (low quality) - € 80-120 (high quality). To compete with other fish feed, the
economical viable price should be ten-fold lower than currently! Possible solutions put forward in the Oslo (March
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2012) open discussion were related to energy reduction, reduction of hectares (work in height instead of the
hectares) and finding methods where no light is needed.
In order to penetrate the fish feed market, large volumes are needed (ambitions must be in the area of producing
minimum 100.000 tons of fish oils equivalents).
Keeping algae quality at constant level
It seems that a constant quality level of micro algae is an important issue for farming of juveniles (now up to 80%
dies in the Dutch shellfish industry due to poor diet!). many open system algae producers are not able to maintain
this constant quality level.
Commercialisation bottleneck in the Nordics
There might be several reasons for the lack of commercialisation of this wealth of algal expertise in the Nordic
Countries:
Although aquafeed companies are willing to explore including algae (components) into their aquafeed they often do
not have the in-house competence to judge which technology or algae producing company is future proof. In this
case neutral institutions such as the Norwegian ‘Lipid Forum’ or ‘Algae Network’ might take a guiding role.
Another bottleneck in the Nordic countries put forward in the Blue Bio report is presented by the fact that
researchers often are still not too familiar with how to take brilliant ideas, inventions and developments further:
starting with appropriate IP protection combined with identifying industries for which the IP is relevant, and then by
building teams with the right mix of skills to move to the next stage. An increased awareness among researchers of
the relevance of their expertise to commercial applications, and of the opportunities that could arise from taking
their research outputs further through development, would accelerate the flow of algal R&D into novel
biotechnological applications. Other helpful skills include knowing when to draw in other expertise (e.g. business
know-how), and when to let go – understandably scientists who have developed a new process or product tend to
be keen to retain control; however, to get to the next level, business and marketing experts increasingly need to be
in charge if commercialisation is to be successful.
Lack of integration of the research community across relevant disciplines: this needs to be catalysed by providing
funding for multidisciplinary research programmes, where possible linked to collaborative demonstration sites with
industry. Progress in the field has been seriously hampered by lack of public funding. The Nordic countries are in
danger of being marginalised on an international scale, since especially the US and BRIC countries have been and
are investing heavily in this arena.
Recent Norwegian initiatives and contributions to open the market
Development of Knowledge Networks
Nordic Algae Network is a network project with focus on a majority of industrial partners in dialogue with research
institutions. The network is to increase the ability of the involved industries to evaluate their business opportunities
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for production based on algae raw materials, and the network is to strengthen the cooperation and sparring
between the Nordic partners. In addition the newsletters and the website will give a large network for algae activities
in the North Atlantic hemisphere including England, Scotland, Ireland, Faroe Island, Greenland and the east coast of
Canada.
Participants:
• Iceland: Matis, Marinox, Blue Lagoon International, Green in Blue, Islensk Bláskel, Nýland Biotech.
• Norway: University of Norway (NUL), Algetech Industrier A/S, Due Miljø A/S, Biopharmia, MareLife A/S, Norges Vel, AstaNovo A/S
• Sweden: Tångbrödsspecialisten, Evertsjöbod, Marin Biogas AB, N-Research, Chalmers University of Technology
• Denmark: Danish Technological Institute, Havets Hus, Orbicon A/S, Danish Shellfish Centre
Workshops held (summaries and presentations can be found online):
Workshop in Iceland 15. May 2012
Workshop in Denmark 20. September 2012
Workshop in Norway 15. November 2012
Workshop in Sweden 28. February 2013
Conference in Grenå, Denmark

09. -10. October 2013
Useful link containing presentations: http://www.nordicinnovation.org/projects/marine-innovation-projects/nordic-algae-network/nordic-algae-
network-workshops/
Algae commercialisation efforts
Key questions that are being addressed within Norwegian micro-algae communities are:
• Which nutritional components can be sourced from industrial micro-algae production ?
• Which barriers and challenges need to be resolved to secure market entry both technical and business-wise?!
• How open is the market to algal ingredients?
• What is needed to start commercial algae production for use in shellfish and fish farming
• Who are potential investors in this field?
Two desk studies on the potentials for using micro algae in aquaculture processes are in writing: one by the EU
project “Blue Bio” and another by the Centre for Applied Biotechnology that has reported about micro-algae
strategies for Norway towards omega-3 rich biomass for aquafeed production. The latter report is only preliminary at
this stage, and was intended only for the steering committee at the time of writing. The final report will be completed
in April 2013.
The Blue Bio project clearly focusses on commercialising scientific expertise. Blue Bio commissioned this study to
get a picture of the micro-algae players for the Nordic countries. A brief analyses has been performed on how the
Nordic countries best can capitalise on its strengths in the light of current and emerging opportunities for algal R&D,
and in the context of international competition.
Based on the Blue Bio analyses, there are 25 universities and R&Ds identified working on algal topics while only 7
companies are working on commercial algae projects in the Nordic countries. It is concluded that Academia in the
Nordic countries has great expertise in the environmental and ecological sectors for both micro-algae, especially
(but not exclusively) in the marine sector, however there is no great business activity related to algae identified. A
13

long innovative process is still necessary to be able to scale up the algae production to meet the increasing fish
farming demands.
The study shows that the Nordic countries has a wealth of biological expertise to offer to establish algae as part of a
bio-based economy, both through high tech approaches to build algae as an industrial biotechnology platform, and
by developing algal products and services in the concept of integrated bio-refining. This is complemented by
extensive ecological expertise that helps to understand and model the role of algae in climate change and develop
them as bio-indicators for environmental impact.
Nord-Ostron project is a cooperation between Universitet i Gøteborg, Skjellsenteret i Danmark, Norwegian
University of Life Sciences and an oyster producer. Its task is to find a good way to produce micro-algae as food for
oyster larvae.
Recent workshops / Business meetings
OCT 2011 - AquaNor 2011.
Successful algae seminar by MareLife and MARING FORUM FHL, hosted by SINTEF Fisheries &
aquaculture under AquaNor 2011. 50-60 attendees who valued listening to experts along the whole value
chain from algae biology, via production and scaling to market potentials in various segments. The seminar
was also supported and attended by the EU Interreg IVA-funded project Blue Bio Open Innovation “Blå
bioteknikk”. The successful seminar finalised with a brief strategic discussion along the maturity of the
algae production technology together with markets potentials of the various segments, here with emphasis
on omega-3 in fish feeds and human nutraceutica.
MAR 2012 - NASF 2012.
First open discussion with the salmon industry held at NASF conference, Oslo 2012. Open discussion
where Dutch and Norwegian stakeholders discussed their ideas openly without having to hold back. What
will happen in the near future, how can challenges be solved and what do we need for that? Invited
audience: Fish breeding / Fish farmers / processors, feed manufacturers and solution providers working
with this subject or seriously interested in long term collaborations. The meeting was held during the annual
North Atlantic Seafood Forum. Participants were: Marine Harvest, Salmones Friosur (Chile), EWOS Group,
Phycom BV, NiRi AS, University of Bergen, Norwegian University of Life Science, Innovation Norway,
InnovatieNetwerk, AlgaePARC-Wageningen University.
The main challenge regarding the marine sector that were discussed:
“How open is the market to algal ingredients?”
“Which barriers and challenges need to be resolved to secure market entry both technical and
business-wise?”
JUN 2012 - GreenGrowthNordic
took place in Trondheim and gathered interested parties from both the green and blue sector to identify and
discuss the green growth potential of food production sectors, including aquaculture, fisheries and
agriculture, and the links between these sectors. Algae were discussed in a separate seminar. The seminar
14

was part of the summer meeting arranged by the Council of Ministers for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
Agriculture, Food and Forestry. The goal was to increase sustainable and competitive production of food,
feed, construction materials, bio-energy and innovative new products on shore as well as off shore. Read
more on: http://www.greengrowthnordic.no
SEP 2012 - Conference ‘Macro algae from research to industry - in a Nordic perspective’.
This was the 2nd Danish Algae Conference and workshop. This year the focus of the conference was the
Nordic perspective on “Macro algae from research to industry”. Four key topics were addressed in
individual sessions including Animal feed and proteins. The second day a workshop on macro- and micro
algae was held in cooperation with the project “Nordic Algae Network” under Nordic Innovation ́s Nordic
Marine Innovation Programme.
NOV 2012 - Algae workshop at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
Organised by Nordic Algae network and BlueBio. The workshop focussed on the potential for industrial use
of micro-algae and macro-algae in the Nordic countries. The workshop was held in English.
NOV 2012 - Seminar on Novel Sources of Omega-3 for Food and Feed, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The seminar was held in cooperation with Nordiska Lipidforum and Eurofed Lipid, division for Marine
Lipids. The seminar dealt with two topics: 1) Production of novel sources of Omega-3, including GMO and
2) Use of novel sources of Omega-3 in feed, food and pharma.
Where Dutch competence could fit in
The next chapter will address how algal business in the Nordic countries may capitalise with the help of Dutch know-
how, and stay competitive in a well populated and rapidly moving international field. Several Dutch players in R&D,
algae and related sectors (water, horticulture) are developing promising technologies using particularly closed
systems that can guarantee high quality algae products and have the scalability to reach industrial scale production
needed by the aquaculture industry. These Dutch stakeholders have the possibility to capture a leading market
position if matching industrial partners are found.
Although there is increasing global aquaculture is grown, there is remarkable reverse trend in the Netherlands. This
has a reason, namely that the Dutch growers often think not to be able to compete with Asian competitors. The
Dutch sector however is now seeking to gain ground again through innovation. Algae cultivation is a relatively new
activity in the Netherlands. Many projects started to investigate cultivation of micro-algae but only a few focus on
(shell)fish farming. Some Dutch companies grow algae on a small scale for a number of years, focusing on niche
markets while others have the ambition to produce on industrial scale.
See Appendix II for an overview of the Dutch players.
15

Aquafeed market to team up with algae industry
The gap
Algae products are currently positioned as niche products but have the potential to become commodity products,
also in aquafeed. The aquaculture sector recognises that algae biomass could play an important role as a feed
source in the near future. For algae biomass to become a commodity product, algae producers need to meet three
main criteria:
• production upscaling to be able to provide multi-kilotons biomass
• production costs and market prices need to be reduced
• quality of the biomass has to be improved and should at least meet international standards
Previously some enterprises such as SBAE (Belgium) and Ingrepro (Netherlands) have supplied algae to the fishfeed
industry but had to quit these activities. The gap between current technologies and the demands of the aquafeed
industry showed out to be unbridgeable. With this status quo, vital pilots are being postponed.
The bridge
To bridge that gap a phased development of technologies together with products could build a solid foundation for
both industries. The pyramid relation between market size and product prices can not be started at the bottom but
at the top gradually but steadily going to the base of the pyramid. For example: it might be impossible to integrate
algae as a commodity protein source in fishfeed with adequate prices, volumes and quality at once. Biofuel,
wastewater treatment, animal feeds all make the lower part of the value pyramid with little margins. Products at the
top of the pyramid, such as astaxanthin, are costly and produced and required in smaller volumes. An intermediate
product in the pyramid could be omega-3 products derived from algae. Here volumes can be reasonable as are the
prices. Starting with product-technology combinations higher in the pyramid forces development, acceptance and
steady integration of both industries. To catalyse this process and bridge the gap local, national and European
governmental departments could act as a strong facilitator.
Opportunities for Dutch-Norwegian collaboration - Proposed collaboration strategy
The proposed collaboration strategy takes into consideration that a market needs to be developed but that ongoing
initiatives in an with the Nordics should be exploited. Recently it was suggested by both Norwegian and Dutch
players that an entrance of the market through the Omega-3 industry would be a logic first step that seems much
more manageable.
Proposed Track 1 - Facilitate sense of urgency with large Norwegian aquafeed/aquaculture players
• Relevance / Need: Sense of urgency with aquaculture industry players. This is the most crucial requirement. Algae
producers don’t see themselves as problem owners and realise that it’s pointless to impose any solutions in
advance. With soya it took about 15 years for it to enter the market on industrial scale. With nowadays rapid
technology advances it will not take that long with algae but the sense of urgency seems not to exist with
Norwegian fish producers. Dutch SME’s clearly indicate that without a strong sense of urgency the Norwegian
aquafeed market is not interesting. Organisations and innovation networks such as MareLife (marelife.org) and the
16

Nordic Algae Network (nordicinnovation.org/nordicalgae) are making significant efforts to demonstrate the global
needs and leading role that Norway can play when it comes to global aquaculture solutions. These efforts should
contribute to the sense of urgency.
• Activity:
• Deliver active input to Nordic dialogues that should lead to a sense of urgency within the aquaculture
industry: strategic thoughts. Involved could be all Dutch players mentioned in this report.
• Continuation of open dialogue between Dutch micro algae consortium and EWOS. This would be a logic
follow-up of the business meeting at NASF 2012 joined by Phycom BV in 2012.
Proposed Track 2 - Initial contact with medium sized aquafeed/aquaculture players and pilot project
assessment
Connecting to Nordic think tanks and finding appropriate market strategists
• Relevance / Needs: There is a need for think tanks that can answer crucial questions regarding legal issues,
production capacity/expansion, consumer interest (e.g. salmon colour shift with algae based feeds). At the same
time there is a strong demand for strategists that monitor (global) market- and price developments as described
earlier in this chapter.
• Activity: Formation of a Dutch-Norwegian Think Tank starting with involving the leaders of both MareLife and
Nordic Algae networks.
Developing a aquafeed pilot project with smaller companies that do have a sense of urgency
• Relevance / Need: Given that several smaller fish producers in Norway do have a sense of urgency and feel that
their unique selling point lies within controlled sustainable aquaculture with a typical local or regional appeal. A
pilot on algae products would fit their needs and would be easier to realise than with larger, less flexible fish
farming companies.
• Activity: Assess a collaboration / pilot project between Dutch micro algae consortium focussing on closed
production systems (for example Phycom, LGem and Algaecom) and smaller individual salmon players.
Norwegian players such as united in the Salmon Group will be asked for their interest to connect to Dutch players
based on the underlying report. Interest could be in algae for aquafeed or opportunities for waste water treatment:
an additional business model for environmental income. There is a need for product specifications: What are the
feed specific algae needs? End products could be Astaxanthin, isolate, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids or even
complete algae. If proteins are required it might be more efficient to obtain those from for example soya. The
action here could be a specific business meeting with focus on concrete pilots. There are 2 options for such
pilots: partnership or solution provider. The development of a pilot could for example be phased whereby in the
first stage costly nutrients in fish feed such as astaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids can be implemented, in the
second phase mineral acids in combination with antioxidants and fatty acids can be replaced and in the last stage
also the protein. Each phase already has its own market and could run parallel to a reduction in costs and volume
expansion. N.B. The Salmon Group is involved in micro-algae activities and has communicated interest in Dutch players / expertise. A pilot study on integrated macro
algae (seaweed) salmon farming with the Dutch Hortimare BV already exists and this salmon-kelp concept recently won an innovation prize at the 2013 North Atlantic
Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen, Norway.
17

Used sources
• Blue Bio project report: Microalgae – A market analysis carried out as part of the Interreg KASK IVA project: Blue
Biotechnology for Sustainable Innovations, “Blue Bio”, January 2013.
• Personal comments from Hans Kleivdal (University of Bergen), Jon Aulie (MARING Forum FHL) and Øystein Lie
(MareLife).
• Presentation ‘Macro- and microalgae in Norway, with assessments of commercialisation, markets and
profitability’ (Nordic Algae Network Workshop on Iceland, by MATIS 15th of May 2012), presented by Anne
Mugaas
• Microalgae Market and Application Outlook Report (http://www.microalgae-market.com)
• http://www.greengrowthnordic.no
• NILF-report «Føre var» i laksenæringen: Tid for kollektiv håndtering av underdekning av fiskeolje. Source: http://
www.nilf.no
• http://www.nordicinnovation.org/projects/marine-innovation-projects/nordic-algae-network/nordic-algae-network-
workshops/
• http://marelife.org/news/top-headlines/232-algae-for-fish-feed-and-supplements.html
• http://www.fiskeridir.no/english/statistics/norwegian-aquaculture
18

Appendix I Norwegian algae playing field in a nutshell
Commercial players / potential clients
Aquaculture
Norway is the world largest producer of farmed salmon. Since the start of the 19070s there has been a consistently
strong growth in production. The last decade it has also been focused on developing production and markets for
other species than Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout (mainly cod, halibut and mussels). The Norwegian coastline
now hosts an enormous amount of sites in seawater (per 31 December 2011: 1020 (salmon/trout), 163 (other fish),
281 (shell fish)).
As described earlier the salmon/sea trout industry is growing rapidly and creates a interesting potential market for
the algae players as illustrated in the images below.
SOURCE: ‘KEY FIGURES FROM THE NORWEGIAN AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY’ PROVIDED BY NORWEGIAN DIRECTORATE OF FISHERIES.
Among the largest are Marine Harvest ASA, once founded by the Dutch ‘Unilever’, produces Atlantic salmon, halibut
and white fish. The group has a share of between 25 and 30% of the global salmon and trout market, making it the
world's largest company in the sector. The company has an integrated value chain, with the company making its
own broodstock in freshwater, followed by growth and maturing in seawater. In both processes algae can play
significant roles. Earlier in 2012 Marine Harvest stated that it had no R&D resources available for setting up a pilot
project on algae for fish feed; Lerøy Seafood Group is the leading exporter of seafood from Norway and is in
business of meeting the demand for food and culinary experiences in Norway and internationally by supplying
seafood products through selected distributors to producers, institutional households and consumers. The Group's
19

core activities are distribution, sale and marketing of seafood, processing of seafood, production of salmon, trout
and other species, as well as product development. The Group operates through subsidiaries in Norway, Sweden,
France and Portugal and through a network of sales offices that ensure its presence in the most important markets;
Cermaq ASA is a Norwegian fish farm and fish feed company. The company is owned 43.5% by the Government of
Norway and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange.
The Salmon Group is the world's largest network of small, family-owned farming company. It provides service for 44
shareholders which altogether manages 100 licenses for salmon and trout along the Norwegian coast, and
production of ca. 46.7 million smolts. Together with dealers they are owners of feed, vaccines, assurances and other
common solution providers. Feed companies
Aquafeed producers
Norway's four largest fish feed manufacturers are BioMar, EWOS, Skretting and PolarFeed. Skretting is the world’s
largest producer of feeds for farmed fish. Skretting is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nutreco feed group, which is
listed on the stock exchange in the Netherlands. In terms of algae use the company has positioned itself as
conservative; The BioMar group is one of the leading suppliers of high performance fish feed to the aquaculture
industry. Its main business areas are feed for salmon and trout in Norway, the United Kingdom, and Chile, and feed
for trout, eel, sea-bass, and sea-bream in Continental Europe. Roughly one out of four farmed fish produced in
Europe and Chile are fed with BioMar fish feed. Worldwide the BioMar Group supplies feed to around 60 countries
and to more than 25 different fish species. BioMar fish feed types cover the full life cycle of the fish including larvae
feed, fry feed, smolt feed, grower feed, and brood stock feed. EWOS is a business division of Cermaq ASA.
Algae production (alphabetical order)
Algalif AS, a Norwegian company that is planning large scale micro-algae production in Norway and Iceland. They
combine their experience on horticultural light (Gavita AS) with the development of photo-bioreactor (PBR)
technology (www.algalif.com).
Algetech Industrier AS: Algetech AS (1998), has during year 2008 delivered live micro-algae biomass to the cod
(Gadus Morhua) juvenile producers in Norway as well as built up the organisation and distribution channels for the
product. ALGE TECH Industries utilises closed tubular fotobioreaktorer (PBR) in the production of micro-algae. After
the collapse in 2009, there were only about 3 or 4 cod hatcheries left.
Biopharmia AS: Biopharmia AS has exclusive rights reserved to the Accordion foto-bioreaktor worldwide. Its
technology enables the industrial production of high quality products such as omega-3, EPA / DHA etc., astaxanthin,
minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, energy, etc.. from micro-algae. Spirulina (eg. spirulina platensis) - eg.: by
Biopharmia AS with patent in Norway on bioreactor Accordion, for food supplements (Omega-3), CO2 capture trials,
animal feed - much demanded and sold at high prices (incl. against malnutrition internationally).
BM Energy Group and AstaNovo AS have been focusing in large scale production of Haematococcus pluviailis,
however, today they have turned the focus on algal EPA and DHA production (http://www.bmeg.no/index.html and
http://www.astanovo.com/). Micro-Algae production for own markets is assessed as profitable.
MicroA AS, Tananger, Rogaland – a Norwegian company that aims to succeed to mass produce micro algae. MicroA
was established in 2007 by local entrepreneurs and investors with the purpose of producing “micro-
20

algaepaste” (lived feed) for the cod juveniles farming industry in Norway. MicroA decided to end this project in 2009
due to the market collapse. The MicroA's previous patented photo-bioreactor was quite small (60-70 litre volume)
and had technical limitations with regard to scalability. This project gave MicroA valuable experience in cultivation
and harvesting of micro-algae and led to the best “algae match” for rotifer production. MicroA made a new invention
in 2009 showing promising results with regards to scaling up algae production. Administration and laboratory
facilities are located in Tananger and temporary greenhouse is installed at Sola (www.microa.no). MicroA has a
patented large-scale photo bioreactor, a test centre of 300 m2 greenhouse area with bioreactors and cooperates
with EWOS Innovation (micro algae as fish feed) and Glycomar Ltd. (Production of high-value algae for the
pharmaceutical industry). Private money 20 mill. NOK and Innovation Norway 10 mill. NOK.
Niri AS, an innovative company that is rolling out a land-based integrated fish farming that includes micro algae
production;
Promar AS was established in year 2000 to pursue Intravision’s research on a production technology for micro-
algae. Using narrow bandwidth light in a reactor designed for efficient light transfer and optimal growth conditions,
Promar AS will deliver micro-algae-based high value compounds to a variety of market segments (http://
www.intravision.no/pages/promar_about.asp?nr=59).
Statoil (Børre Tore Børresen) cultivation and processing of wild grown algae, typically algae which grow attached to
surfaces. Collaboration with US partners, like College of William and Mary and Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
and University of Arkansas.
AstaReal AB (former BioReal AB). The Swedish company was founded 25 years ago in Uppsala and is today owned
by Fuji Chemical Industry CO, Japan. AstaReal is a research based biotech company, dedicated to the production,
research and marketing of natural astaxanthin. They were the first to produce natural astaxanthin commercially from
the micro-algae Haematococcus pluviailis. They have developed a unique cultivation method to yield the highest
and purest form available of natural astaxanthin and offer both bulk ingredients for use in feed, food and dietary
supplements and retail products based on natural astaxanthin (www.bioreal.se).
Simris Alg AB is a Swedish company establishing a large scale greenhouse plant for micro-algae cultivation from
which they intend to develop unique health products, food and feed supplements. The company is located in sunny
and marine area at Hammenhög Österlen. The algae facilities will consist of 2000 square meter greenhouse and the
warehouse of another 700 square meters will house new laboratory. Products from the algae facility, such as
Omega-3, are predicted to be available from 2013.
Algae R&D
In general, the Nordic countries benefits from an enormous span of expertise that is relevant to algae, but struggles
to capitalise on this since the relevant researchers belong to different communities, which traditionally have not been
in active dialogue.
Academia in the Nordic countries has great expertise in the environmental and ecological sectors for both micro-
algae, especially in the marine sector. Fundamental biology is also a key strength; major breakthroughs in
photosynthesis research have been made in the Nordic countries, and a wealth of experience exists in taxonomy,
physiology, metabolism and biochemistry of algae. To increase the impact of algal expertise in the Nordic countries,
the Nordic countries believe it is important to connect together the various research elements that are needed to
progress the outputs of fundamental research onwards into applications (Source: Blue Bio report).
21

The main contributors of the mass production of micro-algae knowledge and experience in the Norwegian
aquaculture have been the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) together with the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF as well as University of Tromsø, University of
Life Sciences, Akvaplan-NIVA, University of Oslo, Aquaculture Protein Center and NOFIMA.
The following universities educate people with master/doctor scientific degrees related to micro algae:
- University in Tromsø.
- NTNU in Trondheim
- University in Bergen
- University in Agder.
- University in Stavanger
- University in Oslo
- University of Åss
CO2BIO is an innovation network of participants from industry and research. The network is organised as a
company where Salmon Group, Grieg Seafood, EWOS, BTO and NHIL are shareholders. CO2BIO AS was
established in 2011. The company's objective is to develop new profitable business on the basis of available CO2
capture at Mongstad. The first goal to establish a national pilot plant for the production of omega-3 rich algae
biomass and to conduct research projects in order to develop the entire value chain. The experience from the pilot
phase may trigger the creation of large-scale production at Mongstad. The pilot plant is scheduled for completion in
2013, the estimated cost is probably 11 mill (http://co2bio.no/).
Algro Freberg research institute. Arnstein Freberg established a pilot PBR production in a greenhouse in Lena in
Oppland county in order to run R&D tasks. This establishment is based on his experience from micro-algae biomass
production studies in the vertical tubular PBR Biofence system at the University of Life Sciences (UMB) together
with prof. Hans R. Gislerød.
22

Appendix II Dutch algae playing field in a nutshell
Industrial feed/food companies
Nutreco (Skretting), One of the two divisions of the international feed giant Nutreco produces feed
for aquaculture. Skretting, the division of Nutreco fish feed, is the largest producer of salmon feed
the world and has a leading position in feed for other fish species. Skretting has production
facilities in all major market regions. Stavanger, Norway, hosts the so-called 'center of excellence for
R&D activities of Skretting. The goal is to be not dependent on (the availability of) fish meal in the fish feed
composition. Skretting believes that micro-algae and marine plants are to substitute fish parts of fishmeal and fish
oil components.
Unilever (Solazyme). Solrazyme is a renewable oil and bioproducts company that has signed a
research and development deal with the Dutch Unilever in 2010 to develop an algae-based oil
that can be used in its soaps and other personal care products. This follows a year-long
collaboration between the two companies that yielded successful tests of renewable algal oils in
Unilever product formulations. The exposure is mainly about biofuels but other products are slowly introduced in the
margins of the market. Recently opened a large new plant probably to become more active in food and feed
industry.
SME’s
Phycom's proprietary algae cultivation and production process is very innovative. It belongs to
the absolute world top and receives increasing (inter)national interest. Phycom thanks it
success to the unique cultivation process to produce algae strains, which are very rich in
essential nutrients and among the highest hygienic standards. Phycom is currently exploring the aquaculture market
and needs. Current production: 60-70 thousand liter algae plant which will be upscaled to produce a daily dry-
weight of 200kg. One of the key strategies of the company is the launch of spinoff activities that target a specific
market segments. The idea behind this is simple: the structure, legal aspects and marketing of the company needs
to be in line with the demand of the specific client group. For example, in the aquafeed industry Intellectual Property
rights are crucial and requires a total different business model than in for example cosmetics.
Aquaphyto. There is little to no public news available around this enterprise. Shellfish producer
‘Koninklijke Prins & Dingemanse’ in collaboration with Aquaphyto B.V. is farming algae to feed
its mussel larvae. It’s production is solely for internal use. AquaPhyto BV is an innovative
company specialised in production of micro-algal biomass with applications of algal mass cultures such as the
polishing of wastewater and the production of bio-fuels and biomass for aquaculture.
Martek Bioscience Corporation / DSM. American company that was taken over by DSM for 1
billion dollar. It’s a large commercial enterprise focussing entirely on baby food using DHA
production from Crypthecodinium cohnii.
Algaecom. This enterprise produces algae in closed systems on open fields. It’s management
sees many innovative opportunities and understands the strategy to think from a market
perspective. Together with Phycom the company is putting significant efforts in getting more safe
23

algae registered in the EU. Upscaling and cost control will most likely be a serious challenge for this company.
LGem also serves a niche market by producing solely nanochloropsis to the American health
product industry with an annual turnover of around 1.5 million EUR. Economical viable. This
company produces algae in three closed cultivation systems of flexible tubes. LGem delivers algae
products especially to the dietary supplement industry, but also to fish farmers that cultivate fish
larvae by using algae. The company makes a good partner when it comes to technology development.
Algae Food & Fuel (AF&F) originates from a dairy farm (producing cow milk) where algae were
introduced to get rid of waste streams. The company now designs, builds, sells and installs systems
mainly for the agricultural industry. The use of innovative technologies for algae growth, process
control and harvesting results in unique scalable systems which are cost efficient, highly productive and improve the
stability of algae based processes. Algae Food & Fuel creates effective systems by using local resources for algae
growth. These resources, that would normally be seen as waste streams, are the input of a process that results in a
profitable biomass.
R&D Institutions
AlgaePARC (Wageningen University & Research Center) is a R&D
consortium that consists of 18 companies and the university, keeping
small and medium sized enterprises at distance. The latter is due to a
finance / investment construction that is not appealing to SME’s. The
consortium focusses on deriving ingredients from algae and optimised
farming. The main reason for the large commercial partners to participate
is most likely to be among the first to profit from any positive R&D results.
Although AlgaePARC has demonstrated several solutions for efficient
algae production (e.g. double glass plates) it seems so far unlikely that
these systems can be upscaled to industrial level.
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