Hawaii algae innovator Kuehnle AgroSystems wins prize for dark fermentation fish food

In Hawaii, algae-based technology company Kuehnle AgroSystems has won an award at the National Atlantic Seafood Forum’s Seafood Innovation Day for its astaxanthin fermentation technology.

Kuehnle AgroSystems’s process manufactures astaxanthin for aquafeeds via dark fermentation, which provides higher volumes at lower cost compared to algae production methods using light. Being too scarce to use for aquafeed, natural algae astaxanthin is currently limited to improving color in commercial seafood. 

“The competition for Seafood Innovation Award was very tight this year,” says Solveig Holm, Project Manager at NCE Seafood Innovation, a business cluster for the seafood industry. “But the audience and the expert jury concluded on a very qualified winner of the award.”

Kuehnle AgroSystems receives NOK 100.000 ($12,000), membership in NCE Seafood Innovation, participation at North Atlantic Seafood Forum 2022, and opportunity to present themselves to the industry at NASF next year. 

“We are very happy to receive this recognition of our work,” says Adelheid (Heidi) Kuehnle, CEO at Kuehnle AgroSystems. “We are looking forward to take part in the NCE Seafood Innovation network during the next years.”