John Cullen, Auranta co-founder, receives the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year award from Caroline Bocquel, CEO, BIM.
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
Irish biotech company Auranta has been named the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year, recognized for its pioneering advancements in aquaculture nutrition and fish gut health.
The company, headquartered in Cherrywood, Co. Dublin, received the prestigious award on 11 October at the "Blue Ambition" conference in Dublin, a forum exploring growth and investment in the blue bioeconomy.
Co-founded by Managing Director John Cullen and Technical Director Dr. Patrick Ward, Auranta has developed a line of functional fish feed products, including its flagship AuraAqua product, which enhances immunity and gut health in various aquaculture species such as shrimp and salmon.
Auranta’s innovative products are now available in numerous countries, backed by extensive scientific research and data. Since its founding in 2013, the company has published 18 peer-reviewed studies, cementing its reputation as a leader in aquaculture feed technology.
“We are delighted to win the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year award,” said Cullen, in a BIM press release. “This is the latest step in our journey to become the first-choice functional feed ingredient supplier in the global aquaculture industry."
“Auranta has invested heavily over the last few years to build up our data set in fish and shrimp through the four new peer reviewed scientific papers. We combined this knowledge with the experience gained on the BIM Innovation Studio programme last year and the access to the excellent contacts we have made in the industry to date."
Cullen emphasised that these activities contributed to the aquatech firm achieving a surge in global sales over the past year. “This resulted in significant growth in our business this year which has doubled compared from last year with all the AuraAqua product exported to global locations," he said.
“We believe that the future of our company lies in our ability to increase the robustness of fish and shrimp being produced under challenging conditions around the world in a safe and sustainable manner. We are part of the blue vision to produce protein in the ocean sustainably," Cullen added.
The award ceremony took place during the conference Blue Ambition – Exploring investment and growth opportunities in the blue bioeconomy, organized by Irish seafood development agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), highlighting Ireland’s expanding aquatech sector and its potential in the €300 billion global aquaculture industry.
The event also marked the culmination of this year's 2-week long BIM Innovation Studio, an initiative delivered by Hatch Blue and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), to help aquatech startups scale their technologies and commercial operation - and on which Auranta was a participant last year.
"Auranta is a fantastic example of the excellence, innovation and talent that exists in Ireland’s growing aquatech sector which is worth €226 million,” said BIM CEO Caroline Bocquel.
“BIM is delighted to partner with Hatch Blue to support Irish aquatech businesses to scale up and become investor ready through the Innovation Studio, providing them with investment and market opportunities in the €300 billion global aquaculture sector. "
“Auranta is among dozens of ambitious young Irish companies that have benefitted from their partnership in the BIM Innovation Studio over the last seven years,” said Richard Donnelly, BIM’s Development and Innovation Services Director.
“BIM is supporting aquatech companies to develop cutting-edge technologies that drive sustainable seafood farming, helping them identify opportunities to scale up and pursue new markets.”
Finalists for the Aquatech Business of the Year award also included Celtic Sea Minerals, an animal nutrition company specializing in marine minerals derived from red seaweed algae, and Impact-9, a company focused on flexible marine structures for offshore food and biomass production.