Provectus Algae expands microalgae facility, new food coloring on the horizon

01 Sep 2021 --- Australian biotechnology platform company specializing in the bio-manufacturing of high-value compounds using microalgae, Provectus Algae, is expanding into an additional large-scale manufacturing facility.

Located in Noosaville, Australia, the new site is expected to be operational by the end of this year. It will complement the company’s existing facility to deliver new algae-made products to the market.

The facility will support the production of a high-performance food coloring which is currently in the late stage of development. 

It will have a 200,000-liter production capacity and expanded R&D operations to support early-stage product development and partnerships for the F&B industry.

Provectus’s inaugural pilot facility will be converted to support the commercial production of a separate high-value product currently undergoing product testing. 

The new site will complement the company’s existing facility to deliver new algae-made products to the market.Optimizing microalgae 
Further expansion is on the horizon, with plans for a supplementary one million liter facility already underway to support the commercialization of multiple products already in the development pipeline.

By accelerating nature, the company optimizes unique microalgae to produce a range of natural products in a process described as “precision photosynthesis.” 

Provectus Algae has also developed a synthetic biology stack that complements and competes with existing production platforms to deliver high-performance and sustainable products.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg for us. The stage of development we are now at with our production platform gives us a clear line of sight to deliver some really exciting products to the food and beverage marketplace,” says Nusqe Spanton, founder and CEO of the company.

Overcoming supply chain hurdles
Spanton says what the company is able to achieve for its commercial partners is simply not comparable to any other offering in the marketplace. 

“Thanks to algae, we are able to benefit from a 3.5-billion-year head start in producing some of the world’s most coveted ingredients.”

The Provectus platform addresses supply chain challenges by providing end-to-end services from product development to large-scale biomanufacturing. Importantly, the company stresses, the manufacturing platform can go from bench to industrial-scale seamlessly with continuity of their novel production technology.

“Since closing our seed round last year, we have been in full swing growing the team, developing products and building capacity with our proprietary production system. We are now in a strong position as we push into this next phase of the company’s growth.” adds Spanton.

By Gaynor Selby