Algae Research and Development Companies Join Forces

MESA, Ariz.Health Enhancement Products Inc. established  a partnership with  the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), along with  the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership, to access a broader network of algae  development and production.

AzCATI, located at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus, plays a large role in the research, testing and commercialization of algae-based products: biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and others. AzCATI measures the performance of operations across the algal value chain.

With support from AzCATI and other national labs, the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP³)  serves as a network of test-beds for algal research that supports the growth of the nascent algal fuels industry.

Health Enhancement Products Inc. (HEPI) built a grow-and-test facility in Scottsdale, AZ, to develop algae-derived substances and research feedstock production. The company's proprietary cultures were transferred to AzCATI when  the internal grow facility became redundant, and representative samples were  sent to one of the ATP³ partners for cryogenic preservation. Viable cultures have also been sent to the National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota for metabolic studies.

These partnerships give us access to world-class algae experts and facilities," said HEPI CEO Andrew Dahl. Moving the cultures to the AzCATI/ ATP³ site and to the NCMA labs opens up a vastly broader range of  scientific  capabilities and expertise and provides access to a  tremendous network of development and production partners all while realizing substantial cost savings . The AzCATI/ATP³ partnership in particular helps us accelerate the process of going to market."

There are several key steps in the algae value chain that build on AzCATIs work in biofuel development," said Thomas A. Dempster, Ph.D., research associate professor at ASUs AzCATI and the ATP³ testbed site coordinator. "Scaling up production for HEPI in a commercially viable manner is the sort of activity that we are equipped to do here; assisting companies in bringing their product to market on a larger scale."

Dempster added, "The unique substances that HEPI has already isolated have tremendous potential, and we look forward to working with HEPI in moving their process forward."