Cellana, formerly HR BioPetroleum, Inc., (HRBP), founded in Hawaii in 2004, uses the most productive plants on earth – marine microalgae – to produce feedstocks for biofuels, skin and personal care products, nutritional oils, renewable chemicals and aquaculture and livestock feeds while simultaneously reducing industrial emissions of CO2. In 2007, HRBP and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the international energy company, formed Cellana as a separate join venture to build and operate a six-acre demonstration facility to grow marine algae and produce vegetable oil for conversion into biofuel. HRBP became the sole owner of Cellana LLC in January 2011.
Cellana’s patented ALDUO™ technology is based on the coupling of enclosed photobioreactors, in which a pure, non-GMO strain of algae is grown continuously in controlled conditions, with open ponds, in which the algae are grown at larger-scale and harvested frequently. This hybrid approach minimizes overall cost and avoids the contamination problems that have previously hampered large-scale commercialization of open-pond-based algae production.
Our goal is the economic commercial-scale production of feedstocks for biofuels, skin and personal care products, nutritional oils, renewable chemicals, aquaculture and other animal feeds from marine microalgae, by converting CO2, the primary greenhouse gas, emitted by stationary sources of fossil fuel combustion, such as power plants, oil & gas refineries, cement factories, and ethanol plants.
Cellana’s six-acre facility in Kona, Hawaii, now in the third year of production, is home to one of the most advanced operational demonstration facilities among algae-to-biofuel organizations and companies in the United States.
Cellana plans to deploy the process and technology developed at our demonstration facility to our first commercial facility to be built in Ma’alaea, Maui.
By commercializing innovative algae technology to produce biofuels and feed, Cellana is focusing on creating a more sustainable future for people, planet and profit.
Over $100 million has been invested in the technologies being developed by Cellana, including through angel investments, government grants and contracts, strategic partner/joint venture funding, and investments made in the technologies in-licensed by Cellana.
Summary
- State-of-the-art, 6-acre demonstration facility for algae-based biofuels & bioproducts through Cellana LLC (Kona Demo Facility)
- World-class strategic partnerships / collaborations
- National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts (NAABB) / Department of Energy / Department of Agriculture
- University of Hawaii
- Hawaiian Electric Co. / Alexander & Baldwin
- Commercial project pipeline begun with Maui facility MOU
- Research / management team with significant commercialization experience in algae, ag-biotech, and industrial biotech sectors
- Leveraging technology platform investment of >$100 million
Cellana Timeline
