Companies partner to optimize fresh-spirulina production and make it more sustainable

Photo © AdobeStock.com/lumerb

Haifa Group Ltd. (Herzliya, Israel), a specialist in crop-nutrition optimization via specialty fertilizers and nutrients, is partnering with startup company SimpliiGood (Herzliya, Israel) by AlgaeCore Technologies Ltd., a producer of fresh spirulina for food and nutrition use. The companies are working together to optimize the growing of fresh spirulina biomass, which SimpliiGood does under controlled conditions.

Under the partnership, Haifa Group will “perfect its ready-to-use nutrient mixtures for commercial spirulina cultivation, leveraging distinct SimpliiGood know-how and experience” in spirulina growing. At the end of the day, the companies hope optimized growing will reduce raw material expenses and decrease the cost of spirulina. Haifa Group plans to expand its product portfolio with the new mixtures it develops as a result of the partnership.

The partnership will also help SimpliiGood get its products to market quicker, including its development of what it says is the first smoked salmon alternative made entirely from whole fresh spirulina.

The companies are also collaborating to upcycle their waste streams and invest them back into production. For instance, the companies are building side-by-side production plants that will see carbon dioxide produced by Haifa Group’s facilities passed along to the SimpliiGood spirulina production facility, reducing waste.

The companies say they also plan to evaluate the rest of Haifa Group’s waste stream to identify additional components that can be used in microalgae production. They will assess heat, nutrients, and compounds such as nitrogen, which is a key building block of protein. The companies say their goal is to achieve net-zero production.