10 fold saving in enzymes, 4 fold increase in algae oils within 2 hours reducing the process costs of Omega-3, animal feed and biofuels

Dublin, Ireland, 18th May 2015: Cellulac, the industrial biochemicals company, today announces the acquisition of Aer Sustainable Energy Limited, also known as Aer-Bio, effective 18th May 2015. The acquisition adds to the production capabilities in the bioplastic ingredients and biochemical sectors by adding foods, cosmetics, nutraceutical products and aviation biofuel to the core institutional knowledge of the Cellulac technology platform.

The combination of the Cellulac SoniqueFlo technology – an environmentally-benign, low cost production of chemicals from bio-based dairy and agriculture feedstocks – and Aer-Bios’ accelerated enzyme-expression protocols, have delivered a revolutionary ‘wet extraction’ process for the extraction of oils, proteins and other value-added products from algae. Using a pilot scale SoniqueFlo rig, with the capability of processing up to 10 tonnes per hour, the results showed a 10 fold reduction in enzyme use and 4 fold increase in lipid/oils extraction from algae over a 2 hour period.

Gerard Brandon, CEO of Cellulac, commented;

“This is a major breakthrough because of the elimination of biomass drying steps that substantially reduce production costs of oil based products from Algae along with the removal of hazardous solvents for oil recovery. Aer-Bios’ contribution has been invaluable to Cellulac within our SPLASH (biopolymer) and FUEL4ME (biofuel) EU grant supported algae projects as the results show. We have industrial scale capability and are currently only limited by the supply constraints of Algae raw materials to process.”

Dr Alan Hernon Ph.D., CEO of Aer-Bio Limited;

“We are excited to have joined one of Europe’s fastest growing bio-based industry companies and believe that joining the Cellulac group offers our combined technologies greater opportunity to reach a wider global bio-economy audience.”

Background on Aer-Bio

AER BIO, Aer Sustainable Energy Limited, trading as Aer-Bio, is an Irish industrial biotechnology company. The company has developed an enzyme-based process delivering a revolutionary ‘wet’ extraction method for manufacturing bio-based oils, proteins and other valuable products from Algae. Products that can be extracted and refined using these methods include functional food products such as Omega-3 oils, personal care ingredients, industrial oils and aviation biofuels. Shareholders include Irelandia Investments, Tedcastle Oil, AIB-Seed Fund and Enterprise Ireland.

SoniqueFlo Test Rig – 10 tonnes per hour

SoniqueFlo Industry Scale Rig – 120 tonnes per hour

This SoniqueFlo unit has built in 50% redundancy for continuous processing while one side is being cleaned or maintained.