SCHOTT, Algatech announce joint R&D

THE biotechnology company, Algatechnologies Ltd, cultivates algae as a source of natural astaxanthin for the production of the antioxidant, AstaPure? . As with other organisms containing chlorophyll, algae requires sufficient light to propagate. 

So for about a year, the company worked with SCHOTT AG, which makes thin-walled glass tubes under the brand DURAN?, to find out how the glass tubes, which increase sun exposure, would boost algae growth. They discovered that with the tubes, algae production increased by 10%.

Following this development, the companies have agreed to further their R&D partnership, specifically to optimise the tubing in order to increase algae production. Their findings will be presented at the Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego, USA, on 29 September to 2 October 2014.

“The partnership with SCHOTT is an additional step toward achieving our objectives of optimising production efficiency, and widens our capabilities in the development of new microalgae-based products,” says Hagai Stadler, CEO of Algatech. “This case study was an additional step in developing the highest purity AstaPure? astaxanthin plus other innovative algae-based ingredients.”

Raz Rashelbach, R&D manager at Algatech said, “The success of thin-walled DURAN? tubing helped increase algae production efficiency on a small scale, and now will be replicated on a larger scale. This is to support our strategy to double astaxanthin production capacity. The increase in sun exposure through the use of DURAN tubing helps produce the purest AstaPure? astaxanthin available in the market today.”