Jun 7 2012
Cellana, Inc. announced the launch of its ReNew™ brand and ReNew™ Omega-3 line of algae-based products at the GOED (Global Organization for EPA and DHA) conference being held this week in Boston, Massachusetts. The ReNew™ brand was developed to meet the growing demand for more sustainable Omega-3 human health products, animal nutrition products, and biofuel feedstocks.
The ReNew™ portfolio is comprised of four main product categories:
ReNew™ Omega-3
Compelling scientific evidence continues to show the health benefits of a diet rich in the Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. This has led to an increase in worldwide consumption of fish and fish oils — the main sources of Omega-3 EPA and DHA oils currently. However, unknown to many, fish that contain these valuable Omega-3 fatty acids get them from eating microalgae — the original source of Omega-3s in the ocean — or other fish that have consumed microalgae.
Cellana's line of ReNew™ Omega-3 products includes ReNew™ EPA and ReNew™ DHA. These products enable producers to Cut Out The Middle Fish™ and supply renewable, more sustainable, and vegetarian Omega-3 products without contributing to potential overfishing or exposure to fish-based pollutants such as mercury, dioxins, and PCBs.
ReNew™ Feed
As the demand for protein increases worldwide, so does the search for sustainable, nutrient-dense feed sources and additives. ReNew™ Feed leverages algae's ability to enhance the nutritional value of feed and provide an alternative, more sustainable, high-protein feed source for the aquaculture and animal feed markets. Multiple ReNew™ Feed feeding trials for finfish, shellfish, pigs, chickens, and cattle, among other species of farmed animals, have been ongoing since 2010 in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
ReNew™ Fuel
Our dependence on fossil fuels threatens our energy security, challenges our environment, and weakens our economy. Algae-based biocrude applications provide renewable, sustainable, and economic alternatives for transportation fuels, particularly jet fuels for commercial and military aircraft. ReNew™ Fuel is currently being tested by major energy companies, as well as by large-scale producers and refiners of petroleum-based fuels and biofuels from crop-based feedstocks.
ReNew™ Algae
Algal biomass consists of natural oils, proteins, and carbohydrates from which many valuable products can be derived for human nutrition, animal nutrition, and biofuel applications. ReNew™ Algae, grown from our carefully selected microalgae strains, is available in bulk for customers to apply their own extraction technologies and develop customized solutions within these application areas. The ReNew™ product line is derived from Cellana's scalable, sustainable, and patented ALDUO™ algae production technology. This technology, refined at Cellana's six-acre Kona Demonstration Facility on Hawaii's Big Island, has produced more than nine tons of algal biomass for commercial testing.
Cellana's production facilities preserve valuable natural resources while maintaining a small carbon footprint, a small freshwater footprint, and a small land footprint. Cellana grows its algae photosynthetically — powered by sunlight — without dependence on sugar crops, which are required for competitors' fermentation-based technologies. Cellana's eco-sensitive facilities are unique in that they can be built on marginal land that neither supports land-based agriculture nor animal grazing; so they will not compete with food sources. And since Cellana's microalgae are grown in salt or brackish water, freshwater use is minimized, enabling Cellana to help preserve this valuable resource.
Cellana is planning to establish off-take agreements for its ReNew™ line of products and then deploy multiple commercial facilities around the world to satisfy these off-take agreements. Samples are currently being shipped to potential customers in the animal nutrition and biofuel industries, with the Omega-3 product samples anticipated to be available for testing by potential customers in the second half of 2012.
"We plan to target the high-value nutraceutical market with our ReNew™ Omega-3 product line, which will enable Cellana to produce simultaneously ReNew™ Feed and ReNew™ Fuel products from the same algae at competitive prices within their respective markets," stated Martin Sabarsky, president and chief executive officer of Cellana. "Our biorefinery business model involves utilizing the whole algae to produce this spectrum of products economically without the need for a 'green' premium or a carbon credit."
"The ReNew™ Omega-3 line of products is the result of the most sustainable algae-based production technology on the planet," Sabarsky continued. "It's not fish. It's not fermentation. It's the future."
SOURCE Cellana, Inc.