Marine ingredient startup Yemoja, Ltd, has opened the doors of its new plant dedicated to the production of high value microalgae. The facility hailed the new tight ship of microalgae cultivation located within the historic mountains of the scenic Upper Galilee region of Israel, is now fully operational.
The company already has brought production up to speed to meet the new volume of orders emanating predominantly from the global nutraceutical and cosmeceutical sectors. It cultivates microalgae customised to fit functional food, nutraceutical or cosmetic applications. The company utilises a unique, facility housing high-precision, fast-track photobioreactor technology, setting a new gold standard for microalgae production and sustainability.
Indoor cultivation operates in a next-gen, closed, contaminant-free system that maintains absolute control of key parameters such as temperature, pH, light, and CO2 emissions with capabilities to produce a broad spectrum of pure algae and in a very tightly controlled environment.
Erez Ashkenazi, COO and co-founder of Yemoja, said, “We built a ‘green’ factory in which we can create and maintain the ultimate conditions for any known microalgae species, yet with zero dependence on external environment and weather.”
“Our indoor system generates exceptional yields with proven reproducibility on a very small plot of land and using minimal resources,” he added.
The company operates a small batch production line structured in a visually intriguing arrangement of vertical luminescent columns known as illis. Each ille is allocated a specific algae species, is completely closed off and isolated from other units to prevent any cross contamination. This facilitates the simultaneous and continuous production of a variety of algae-derived products that can meet the specific requests of customers, maintaining their individualised control irrespective of batch volume.
“Our unique site runs on recycled water and minimal energy. The exploitation of artificial light for photosynthesis limits the need for cooling,” said Ashkenazi. “We meticulously designed the site to meet to the highest standards of operational efficiency in order to minimise environmental impact leaving only a tiny carbon footprint. Our specialty ingredients are cultivated in a chemical-free, all-natural process, with a full respect of our natural habitat,” he added.
The startup set up its first pilot facility in 2017. Following a series of successful proof-of-concept trials in 2018 and a fruitful seed round, the company decided last year to move on to the next phase of opening a first fully fledged manufacturing plant. A few weeks ago, the plant began rolling out microalgae production on industrial scale to meet the new influx of demand.
Eyal Shalmon, CEO of Yemoja, said, “Recently we have received heightened interest in our external polysaccharide sulphate (EPS) Porphyridium cruentum due largely to increased global demand.”
“The polysaccharide has been investigated for its ability to be merged into various biotechnological applications and industry disciplines including, cosmetics and biomedicine. The soluble polysaccharide fraction is already being used in skin care products and in a considerable number of cosmetic formulations due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties,“ he added.
The company has also teamed up with the Migal Galilee Research Institute limited and various European bodies to forward the Horizon 2020 project looking into the long-term development and synthesis of novel algae-based small molecules for functional food and supplements targeting Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Two weeks ago the project was given the green light to enter its next phase of development.