The construction of a production facility in Chongqing being built by Calysta and Adisseo as part of its Calysseo joint venture is on schedule, “despite the unique challenges 2021,” according to a senior executive at Calysta.
Calysta and Adisseo have completed several seminars with customers and leading academics in China to introduce the gas-based FeedKind product to be produced at the plant, said Allan LeBlanc, vice president and aquaculture lead at Calysta.
The partners have also been working directly with feed companies to be ready for the commercial launch of the company’s product later in 2022, LeBlanc told SeafoodSource. Produced from a gas fermentation process involving a naturally occurring bacteria, FeedKind has been promoted as a sustainable feed input.
LeBlanc said he sees the “buoyant” Chinese aquafeed market as “partly driven by the rapid growth in popularity in premium segments such as largemouth bass, shrimp, and marine fish, for which FeedKind protein has been shown to be a particularly useful and effective feed ingredient.”
Demand for and production of grouper and yellow croaker are both rising in China, to the concern of environmental groups, which say they require large amounts of fishmeal-based feed input. LeBlanc said FeedKind can assuage those concerns.
“Given the benefits we've been able to demonstrate around animal health, growth, and feed-processing performance, almost all Chinese aquatic feed groups have a strong interest in this new functional protein raw material and are interested in using it in their formulas when FeedKind enters the market,” LeBlanc said.
Travel by Calysseo executives and technical experts into China was limited by lockdowns and other COVID-19-related restrictions, but much of the work on the project accomplished online.
“We've benefited greatly from China's management of COVID-19, and we're eagerly looking forward to commissioning the Calysseo facility later this year,” LeBlanc said.
Another important factor for Calysseo in 2022 will be product sourcing, according to LeBlanc.
“Our customers tell us they are managing a number of supply chain challenges, such as logistics delays in getting raw materials into the country coupled with elevated ingredient prices that don’t show signs of easing,” he said. “With that in mind, FeedKind – a sustainable feed ingredient that can be produced year-round in an on-purpose facility – is uniquely positioned to respond to this need.”
Photo courtesy of Calysseo
