KAS receives US$3 million in funding to scale up “dark fermentation” astaxanthin

15 Mar 2024 --- Kuehnle AgroSystems (KAS) has secured a US$3 million Series A2 funding round led by S2G Ventures to enable faster and more affordable algae-derived astaxanthin production. The microalgal innovation and production company based in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, says it will use the funding to accelerate the commercialization of its method for producing natural astaxanthin from microalgae for human nutraceuticals.

“Our patented process enables us to grow the algae by fermentation on vinegar (acetic acid) rather than in open ponds or bioreactors,” Claude Kaplan, chief executive officer of KAS, tells Nutrition Insight. “The cells grow four to five times quicker when fed vinegar and reach much higher densities.”

“This means we can grow more algae quicker and use less water and land to grow them.”

KAS’ patented process uses dark fermentation in a closed vertical tank system to produce high-quality natural algae astaxanthin. 

“Dark fermentation reduces production cost by 90%, production time from four to six weeks to four days, resource footprint — water, land and energy — by up to 90%,” he details. “It is also fully controllable and reproducible.”

Algae-derived astaxanthin
The chemical compound astaxanthin is a carotenoid with antioxidant properties. It has a red pigment and is naturally found in aquatic algae, which is consumed by salmonids and shrimp, giving these species their characteristic color. 

Claude Kaplan, chief executive officer of KAS (Image Credit: KAS).Astaxanthin is incorporated in the global aquaculture systems, which produce over 50% of the seafood consumed globally in order to provide a similar pigment. More worryingly, 95% of astaxanthin used in aquaculture feed is synthetic and derived from petrochemicals.

KAS’ algae astaxanthin aims to address this issue by replacing the synthetic alternative with natural algal astaxanthin. The aquaculture market the product is addressing is estimated to be valued at around US$2.34 billion per year.

Kaplan asserts that KAS’ method aligns well with the increasing consumer demand for natural inputs in both the aquaculture industry and human nutraceuticals. “Our products are 100% all-natural algal strains — not genetically modified or mutated.”

“We are offering these natural products at a price that can compete and replace synthetic products, whether that be replacement of synthetic astaxanthin in aquafeed or synthetic colorants used in foods and drinks.” 

KAS is set to initially launch with a production partner based in Europe but with the capacity to distribute globally. 

Addressing how KAS plans to manage quality control and consistency across different regions, Kapal states: “A great advantage of our technology is that we use standard fermentation equipment in a very controlled process.”

“We precisely control what the algae eat, how the algae are treated and how the product is made. It is no different from how other fermentation products — such as an international beer brand — can be produced in multiple countries across the world and still be very similar.”

Sustainability  
Kaplan highlights the sustainability benefits of using natural algae astaxanthin compared to synthetic versions derived from petrochemicals in aquaculture systems. 

“Our feedstock can be produced by fermentation from plant biomass and by carbon capture,” he explains. “This also means we can massively reduce our carbon footprint.”

 “Furthermore, the astaxanthin from algae is a different form from the synthetic version. The algal form, which is the form found in nature, has been shown to be a much better antioxidant with proven benefits for human health and animal health. This is why only the algal version is allowed in human supplements. The algal astaxanthin supports the health of fish and crustaceans and can help in their robustness and survival.” 

The newly secured funding will enable KAS to build upon its standard fermentation equipment and expand production by leveraging contract manufacturers, with the possibility of bringing production in-house in the future. 

The company argues that its production process is inherently more resource-efficient than that of competitors while further asserting that KAS technology could, in the future, facilitate the recycling of gas generated during fermentation to produce feedstock that can then be fed back into the fermentation process to create fully circular algal products.

 “One of the great advantages of using such a simple feedstock as vinegar, a two-carbon compound, rather than glucose, a six-carbon compound, for example, is that it can be regenerated from captured carbon dioxide,” Kaplan elaborates. 

“Our algae produce a very clean stream of carbon dioxide, which could be captured and converted back into acetic acid and fed back to the algae. The technology for this process is being developed by others, such as LanzaTech for example.”

“We hope in the future to leverage these developments so that we can have a fully circular algal product,” he concludes.

By Milana Nikolova