Cellana, PIVEG ink algae commercial development deal for algae Omega-3s and more

November 3, 2016 |

At ABLC Next in California, Cellana and PIVEG announced a letter of intent for the joint development and commercialization of Omega-3 oils and other high-value applications from algae biomass.

Initially, Cellana will supply PIVEG with material from its Kona Demonstration Facility, and PIVEG will utilize its existing processing equipment and facilities in Central Mexico, while the parties explore the development of larger-scale commercial algae biomass production facilities in Hawaii and Mexico.  Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

It’s one of the very first commercial-scale agreements in the algae industry — and a pathway for Cellana to move seamlessly from initial production out of its Kona demonstration facility to its commercial-scale farm.

Where will the algae be produced?

Currently, Cellana produces industrial-scale quantities of ReNew Algae at its Kona Demonstration Facility in Hawaii.  The algae contains high-value algae biomass rich in Omega-3 nutritional oils, proteins, fuel-grade oils, cosmetic-grade oils, acids, and polysaccharides, as well as other valuable micronutrients.

The PIVEG backgrounder

With facilities in Mexico, Peru, and the United States, PIVEG currently produces and sells a variety of high-value pigments and other products derived from diverse natural sources, including marigold, chili peppers, and algae.

Since the inception of its business in 1959, PIVEG has specialized in the production, extraction, purification, and manufacturing of naturally-occurring carotenoids, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin.  Within the algae-based products space, PIVEG already offers AstaMarine -natural Astaxanthin from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis in a variety of different forms.

“PIVEG’s has experience in processing agricultural feedstocks to produce and bring to market high-value products makes them the ideal partner to work with Cellana to rapidly commercialize material from our algae feedstocks,” stated Cellan CEO Martin Sabarsky.

“Cellana is a leader in growing diverse algae outdoors using sunlight, and our ability to process Cellana’s algae biomass using our existing equipment and facilities allows us to expand our current portfolio and rapidly introduce additional algae-based products,” said Roberto Espinoza, PIVEG’s Chief Executive Officer.  “We have spent several years exploring the idea of an expansion and additional algae biomass sources and are pleased to partner with Cellana in this endeavor.”

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