Omega-3 production from algae

DSM and Evonik joint venture Veramaris to produce omega-3 fatty acids from algae Schizochytrium

As with essential amino acids, some long-chain fatty acids (especially the polyunsaturated ones) can’t be produced by our bodies but have to come from outside. And the most well known ones are the Omega-3 fatty acids. The most widely available dietary source is oily fish, such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies,and sardines. But overfishing makes fish farming necessary; especially salmon is being farmed on a huge scale. But these fish are not a primary source of omega-3 either for they don't produce these acids just as little as we do. They get it from little fish and krill (2.6 kg/kg salmon), who in turn get it from the primary source: algae.

DSM and Evonik have set up a 50/50 joint venture under the name Veramaris to produce omega-3 fatty acids from algae (Schizochytrium). They claim that 1 kg of their algal oil can replace 60 kg wild catch fish. That makes growing salmon a lot more sustainable.

DSM’s expertise is in the cultivation of marine organisms including algae and long-established biotechnology capabilities in development and operations, whilst Evonik’s focus has been on developing industrial biotechnology processes and operating competitively large-scale manufacturing sites for fermentative amino acids.

Worldwide fish oil production is approximately one million metric tons per year. Evonik and DSM aim at 15% of this market with their algal oil as a sustainable non-fish alternative.