Sustainable aquaculture-focused investment fund Aqua-Spark has announced an investment in Gothenburg, Sweden-based Swedish Algae Factory.
Founded by Sofie Allert and Angela Wulff in 2016, Swedish Algae Factory uses uses algae to convert effluent water produced by recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) into organic biomass that can be used for fish feed or fertilizer. A resulting byproduct, Algica, is of value to the personal care and solar industries, according to Allert, the company’s CEO.
“We are really excited that with this injection, we’ll be able to increase production and meet the growing demand for Algica in the personal care and solar energy industries,” Allert said. “We are also very happy to bring Aqua-Spark on board, a strong investor with great expertise from the aquaculture sector.”
Swedish Algae Factory offers a circular model for RAS farmers in which its algae cleans wastewater, absorbs carbon dioxide, and creates nutrient-rich organic biomass that can be used for fish feed or fertilizer, according to Mike Velings and Amy Novogratz, Aqua-Spark’s co-founders.
“Swedish Algae Factory’s implementation of the circular economy impressed us from the start,” they said in a press release. “By upcycling wastewater into high-value products for the solar and cosmetic industries, the brand is solving a major issue for land-based aquaculture and sustaining a separate, diversified business model. Their 30,000-foot approach to aquaculture is a great fit for our industry vision and portfolio.”
Velings and Novogratz said Aqua-Spark is a primary investor in Swedish Algae Factory's latest round of funding, which will help the company scale production. Since 2015, Aqua-Spark has invested in 19 complementary companies, technologies, and inputs related to sustainable aquaculture. The fund has EUR 132 million (USD 145 million) in assets under management. The goal of the fund is “to ultimately make sustainability widespread and profitable enough that it becomes the only way to farm fish.”
Photo courtesy of Swedish Algae Factory
