Tropical Algatech Opportunities for Asia Iain C. Neish - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 1

Opportunities for Asia

Iain C. Neish

SuriaLink.com A project of Marine Botanicals Sdn. Bhd.

Tropical Algatech

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 2 10o N 10o S 20o N 20o S

About 80% of tropical coast is in East Asia

“Nusantara*” has ~ 60%

World total ~ 200 K KM of tropical seacoast

Nusantara @ “The Malay Archipelago” Includes Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Is. but the Philippines (37 K km) & Indonesia (55 K km) have most of the coast

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 3

“Algatech” is short for “Algal photo-biotechnology”

Major O2 producers Basis of aquatic and marine food chains & habitats Products useful to mankind Potential just beginning to be appreciated! Production & utilisation

• f aquatic & marine

non-vascular plants

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 4

Macroalgae

Commonly called “seaweeds” Properly called “seaplants Big enough to tie on ropes Many can be chopped down to “mini” size

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 5

Minialgae

Small seaplants Tedious to tie on ropes Grown in slurry systems or seeded on substrate Can grow in open ponds Enclosed for pure cultures

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 6

Microalgae

Too small to see with naked eye Best grown in slurry systems Some grown in open systems Must be enclosed for pure cultures

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 7

Global seaplant market

(estimated annual)

Over 2 M dry tons or 7.5 M+ wet tons Value 8 B+ USD/annum Many seaplant products exchanged in local markets Official statistics scarce Actual volumes may be many times reported figures

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 8

2 40,632 Norway 10 2 46,894 Indonesia 9 3 67,050 Korea, S 8 3 71,435 Korea, N 7 4 95,912 Philippines 6 5 109,308 Chile 5 6 123,074 Japan 4 9 205,500 U K 3 28 616,762 France 2 32 698,529 China 1 % Dry MT Country #

Production by country

All tropical Some tropical

+ 496 Kiribati + 4,000 Malaysia + 5,000 Tanzania 3 34,218 Chile 4 46,894 Indonesia 6 65,740 Korea, S 6 70,045 Korea, N 8 90,912 Philippines 10 107,360 Japan 61 675,229 China % Dry MT Country

Farmed

10 countries = 99+% of production

96% in Asia

12+% in tropical E. Asia

Total harvest

10 countries = 96% of production

50% in Asia

6% in tropical E. Asia

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 9

Macro/minialgae value

8.01 TOTAL ~0.1 Maerl 0.86 Kelp meal 0.86 Food gums 0.20 Others 1.14 Undaria 2.00 Laminaria 2.85 Porphyra Value

B USD/yr

Product

SuriaLink data after Perez et al. 1996

nori kombu wakame

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 10

Tropical macro/minialgae production…

Dominated by cultured red algal galactan seaplants (RAGS) Mainly Kappaphycus & Eucheuma Significant Gracilaria Sources of the biopolymers carrageenan and agar

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 11

Microalga production is happening…

Dunaliella Spirulina*

*Photos from spirulinasource.com

Chlorella* Spirulina*

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 12

“We estimate that demand for manufacturing capacity will exceed current supply by a factor of four by 2005.” – JP Morgan 3/01 “The biotechnology industry is at risk of losing $9b in market cap due to delayed products in the next few years.” – Contract Pharma 11/00

Production numbers hard to find & there is a large, growing manufacturing shortfall

More production capacity required Potential market - tens of billions of USD/yr

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 13

cold water production falling… warm water production rising…

The carrageenan business…

tropical crops replacing coldwater harvests

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 14

…and cultivation is the key!

Commercially utilised coldwater seaplants tend to grow in "beds“. High population density - Amenable to mechanical harvesting Most tropical macroalgae & minialgae grow individually… …or in small clumps with corals and other seaplants.

Cultivation is essential before most tropical seaplants can enter commerce

Wild Kappaphycus striatum in Sabah, Malaysia

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 15

Cultivation technologies range from

low-tech high-tech seaweed farming cell culture

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Low + high tech can be blended…

to give optimal results ! Low-tech High-tech

Small-medium enterprise (SME) dominate current value chains Most farms are family farms SME also have a major role in “high-tech”

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 17

Ocean, pond & raceway technologies can combine low-tech + high-tech

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 18

Cross section of free-floating plastic-tube photo-bioreactor Materials & tools developed for intensive agriculture

Appropriate technologies are being adopted from intensive agriculture

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 19

Cross section of microalgae photo-bioreactor

Novel technologies… being developed for emerging biotech needs

Flexible Bioreactor produced by Cellpharm Ltd, UK, for growing algae used as aquaculture feed

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 20

Sea vegetables, food ingredients & nutraceuticals

Worth at least 5 B USD/annum Use spreading from traditional markets to global markets Massive potential for expansion Shift toward “natural” nutraceuticals is one market driver

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 21

Bioactive compounds from algae

Algae naturally synthesize anti-viral, anti-thrombic and

• ther compounds

Algal “drugs from the sea” programs still in their infancy Some products coming to market already

Monostoma – a rhamnan sulfate source – anti thrombic Cladosiphon (mozuku) – a myostatin source – muscle building

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 22

Algae as hosts to genetic material

Exciting new technologies on the way…

Energy & antibodies from Chlamydomonas (Scripps patents) Antibodies, vaccines, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids from genetic transformation of macroalgae (e.g. Porphyra in Cheney + Bradley-Metz patent) Many in development

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 23

Biopolymers

Billion USD/yr market Includes red algal galactans (RAG) such as carrageenan and agar & alginates from brown macroalgae Mainly used as food ingredients Some industrial applications Important biomedical applications Useful components of culture media

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 24

Well-being with algae

Nutritional benefits Thalassotherapy Aroma therapy Lotions and potions for spa treatment “Cosmeceuticals” Personal care products

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 25

Animal nutrition

Algal meals, powders and extracts used as nutraceutical feed components Microalgae are important aquaculture hatchery feeds Macroalgae are feed for herbivorous fish Algal biopolymers used as pet food and farm feed stabilizers

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 26

Plant nutrition

Source of plant biostimulants Source of trace elements and other nutrients Used as mulch or spray for soil conditioning Biopolymers used as stabilizer for seed emulsions Biopolymers used as culture media for specialty crops (e.g. orchids)

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 27

Industrial process aids

Biopolymers & seaplant flour used in brewery fining Biopolymers used in oil field completion fluids Biopolymers used as slurry stabilizer for pigments in ceramics & textile applications Biopolymers used in textile sizing & dyestuffs Many other possible applications

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 28

Biosorption & Waste treatment

Heavy metals are removed from water through biosorption by algae Algae can be used to remove nitrogen and

• ther nutrients from

water In polyculture systems algae can convert sea animal wastes to useful biomass

Gracilaria is produced in polyculture systems Chlamydomonas in heavy-metal biosorption systems

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 29

Energy

Algae can be used as feedstock for energy producing bioreactors Green algae such as Chlamydomonas can be stimulated to produce significant amounts of hydrogen instead of oxygen during photosynthesis

Melis Energy Inc. - concept drawing for hydrogen photo-bioreactor

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 30

Tropical East Asia…

comparative advantages

Most tropical seacoast Great human resources – half of humanity lives here Cultures that value botanical products Strongly developing regional markets

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 31

Some urgent needs

Proper protection of patents & other IP Balance between economic needs of coastal people and essential aspects of environmental protection Planning and formulation of proprietary privileges in coastal zones Further development of enabling solutions for disabling value chain problems Further empowerment of entrepreneurial, innovative individuals and firms – especially SME

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 32

Tropical algatech near-term focus…

Focus on the farming When you have the material, value-adding steps will follow Enable value chains with modern IT (e.g. “e-choupal” system in India) Empower efficient, trustworthy individuals and firms of all sizes Build strategic business alliances

SuriaLink Bulletin No. 1-0304 From the sun… through seaplants… to you SuriaLink.com Slide 33

Conclusions…

East Asia is becoming a driving force and a major market for algatech value chains Tropical algatech is still young – mostly less than 30 years old Algatech potentials are just beginning to be realized They promise to be of great value to humanity and to our environment The mission of SuriaLink is to catalyze and drive this development