Danish startup Algiecel raised DKK 10 million (EUR 1.3 million) in combined funding from Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, a UK-based family fund and private individuals.
The company’s technology is linking CO2 utilization to the feed and food industry. After having successfully initiated operations of its pilot plant in 2022, Algiecel will allocate the new funds towards optimization of the algae-based carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology, creating further commercial interest in the high-value biomass products as well as in a design project of the first full-scale demonstration unit.
Algiecel uses natural microalgae organisms, a highly compact and high-yield photobioreactor technology fitted into standard containers and a revenue-sharing business model to offer carbon capture as a service to industrial clients. The produced products are intended to be applied in the feed, food and cosmetics industries.
In 2022, the startup finalized the design and construction of its pilot plant, and a collaboration agreement with Danish Technical Institute (TI) was signed. The pilot plant is in operation at TI’s premises in Taastrup, Denmark. The pilot technology has yielded strong initial results, seeing a major productivity increase from the initial test run in Q3 2022 to the start of 2023.
Additionally, European Union React grant and Innobooster grant funding totaling approx. DKK 3 million (EUR 0.4 million) has been obtained for the basic design of the first full-scale demonstration unit and pilot lab-scale downstream processing and shelf-life testing, respectively. On the commercial side, interest in the technology and the opportunity has been positive, demonstrated by letters of interest signed by potential technology clients and by potential buyers of the algae-based derivative products.
With the newly raised funds, Algiecel will move from pilot operations only into completing the full-scale design as well as initiating algae-product application trials with potential clients and research institutes already identified. Moreover, building additional interest from potential future clients in the CCU technology will be an important focus area, and thus securing additional funding for the upcoming demonstration full-scale project will be key to future development.
