A pioneering global partnership between responsible protein specialists Livalta, an AB Agri company, and technology leader Pond Technology will create the world’s first commercially viable production of algae-based animal feed ingredients from CO2 emissions.
Algae are gaining increasing attention as potentially game-changing animal feed ingredients. Until now, the technology to produce algae at the scale, quality and cost required to be an affordable ingredient for animal feed, has remained elusive. This exclusive partnership, which brings together Pond’s ground-breaking technology with Livalta’s expertise in new proteins for animal feeds, is set to change that.
The first product will be spirulina, combining 60% protein with Omega 6 and essential vitamins and minerals. Spirulina is renowned for its nutritional and functional value both in food and animal feed, as proven in numerous scientific studies.
Plans are in place for Pond to install Livalta’s first pilot plant at British Sugar’s Wissington site in Norfolk in 2022. This will be followed by a commercial-sized plant at the same site producing 20,000 tons of spirulina from CO2 emissions, with the prospect of additional collaborations in the future to develop further production sites.
AB Agri Chief Executive José Nobre said: “At AB Agri we are committed to pioneering new and bold technologies to provide safe, high-quality nutrition, whilst minimising our environmental footprint. That is why we created Livalta as a specialist division to address the global protein challenge.”
Managing director of Livalta, Valerie Schuster, commented: “We believe that science and technology are key to turning the protein challenge into an opportunity. We are very excited about this partnership with Pond and the potential that lies in their technology to produce algae using CO2 emissions. We look forward to working together to make positive change happen.”
President & CEO at Pond Technology, Grant Smith, said: “This landmark commercial partnership with AB Agri gives Pond global access to the multi-billion-dollar animal feed market. The further validation of our model provides us significant momentum in expanding our sales funnel. Together with AB Agri and their new responsible proteins division, Livalta, we are working to develop algae as a cost-effective responsible feed ingredient, transforming climate change emissions into commercial animal feed ingredients. AB Agri and Pond joining forces to tackle producing affordable, high quality and responsible food is a major step forward and this commercialisation project will foster excellence in the way our industry produces food for people and animals. AB Agri is a perfect partner, having a strong history of bringing new animal feed ingredients to market and the vision to see responsible proteins as a key growth driver in the years to come.”
