Julie Encausse, Founder and Director of Marea, strikes an agreement with Algalif CEO Orri Bjornsson to co-develop food coatings from leftover algae biomass.
At Algalif Iceland’s 10th anniversary celebration, the company’s CEO Orri Bjornsson signed an agreement with start-up company Marea’s Founder and Director, Julie Encausse, to work together on the development of food coatings from leftover algae biomass.
Algalif produces astaxanthin from microalgae. Their indoor production process is designed to deliver high yields of premium astaxanthin using pure Icelandic water and renewable energy. Leftover biomass and oxygen are the only significant by-products. Currently, the leftover biomass is used as a fertilizer.
A finalist of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, Marea is a new Icelandic company developing a seaweed-derived bioplastic with the name Tharaplast. “We see great opportunities in marine innovation and in contributing to increased sustainable development,” said Ms. Encausse.
“We intend our project to improve the full utilization of local resources in Iceland and to become an important part of the circular global economy. We are dedicated to creating a world without thin-film plastic waste.”
The biodegradable food coating the companies are co-producing will both reduce plastic use and reduce food waste by increasing the shelf life of food.
In a separate development reported by Nutritional Outlook, Alglif and Divi Nutraceuticals, of Basel, Switzerland, have partnered to develop a product called AstaBead — highly concentrated natural astaxanthin beadlets which contain 5% astaxanthin.
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