Substantial Algae Collection Enables Cellana to Use the Right Algae for the Right Job

The productivity per given area of photosynthetic microbes such as algae is over ten times greater than that of terrestrial plants. They grow up to 100 times faster than any plant on land. And the biodiversity of photosynthetic microbes is enormous—estimated at more than 100,000 species—and yet most of it remains biochemically and metabolically unexplored. To date, less than 10 species of photosynthetic microbes have been cultivated at industrial scale.

The collection of algae used by Cellana is, in part, the result of a license from the University of Hawaii. The algae from this collection, as well as additional strains of algae, have been screened through a high-throughput system in order to determine which strains have the best performance characteristics for a given range of environmental conditions. The strains have been tested under different growth conditions, such as salinity, pH, and temperature, and for optimum production of Cellana’s ReNew™ line of products, such as ReNew™ EPA and DHA (Omega-3 fatty acids), ReNew™ Fuel (biocrude oil), ReNew™ Feed (high-protein algae meal), and nutraceuticals such as astaxanthan and beta carotene