The Oldenzaal-based firm are expected to expand production from 15 tons to 200 to 300 tons per year with plans to eventually produce 1500 tons per year in the future, according to Engineer and Founder of Duplaco, Marcel Oogink.
“We currently see a strong increase in interest from the supplement and health nutrition industry,” he goes on. “Companies are looking for an alternative to Asian supply as the prices of container shipments from South East Asia have increased 10-fold.
“We furthermore understand that many companies are facing issues with the reliability of supplies, fluctuating qualities, contaminations, and more, like for example the latest issue with ethylene-oxide.
“We can offer our customers a reliable supply of stable, high quality products, reliable documentation and less transport costs.”
Founded in 2012, Duplaco, short for Dutch Plankton Company, are now looking to provide a solution to the algae originating from open cultivation ponds in Southeast Asia.
According to the firm, these ponds are characterised by impurities, supply problems and quality fluctuations. In addition, the long transport routes are anything but sustainable.
Self-developed chlorella process
Duplaco produces its Chlorella via a self-developed process in which the microalgae are “fed” with a carbon source and grown in a sterile fermenter.
The closed system ensures there is no contamination by heavy metals, dioxins or PAHs and the cultivation is independent of sunlight, weather and climate conditions.
The approach ensures that higher volumes of Chlorella can be produced with a small footprint with the harvested Chlorella spray dried and pressed into tablets upon request.