MiAlgae founder and CEO Douglas Martin.
Photo: University of Edinburgh.
MiAlgae, a Scottish company that grows nutrient-rich algae from whisky production waste, has been announced as a finalist for the prestigious Earthshot Prize 2024, a global environmental accolade which each year awards five winners a grant of £1 million to continue their environmental work.
The startup, founded at the University of Edinburgh in 2016, grows algae in specially designed fermenting vessels, and aims to provide an alternative source of Omega 3 for aquaculture feed, reducing the industry's reliance on wild fish stocks for this essential nutrient.
Douglas Martin, founder and managing director of MiAlgae, developed the concept for MiAlgae while studying synthetic biology and biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh. The startup was supported by the University with mentoring, commercialisation support and £1.5 million in investment from the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture, fund Old College Capital.
"It’s an incredible honour to have been selected as an Earthshot prize finalist. We’re truly grateful for the support we’ve had from the University of Edinburgh, in particular Old College Capital, over the years. Conservation is a team sport and we’re proud to have the University on our side," said Martin, in a University of Edinburgh press release, which described the startup's approach as "a very Scottish solution for a global problem".
According to the Earthshot website, MiAlgae has secured a 7-year offtake agreement with an unnamed aquaculture organisation, and is ramping up production tenfold, aiming to grow 3,000 tonnes of algae during 2024.
By providing an alternative source of Omega 3 for aquaculture and other industries, by 2030 the startup hopes to "save 784 million fish every year, prevent 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, and conserve 93 million litres of water," according to the Earthshot website.
MiAlgae also hit another major milestone recently, with the news it has secured £14 million (EUR 16.8m / USD 18.6m) in funding to develop an industrial-scale production facility.
The oversubscribed funding round saw new investors SWEN Blue Ocean, Clay Capital, and Rabo Ventures join MiAlgae's existing backers such as Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise.
"This expansion will boost MiAlgae’s production capacity, fuel its global growth, and create new ‘green’ jobs," the company stated. "The recent funding round will finance the new facility’s development, speed up further commercialisation, and support team growth with strategic hires."