Swedish Algae Factory - a visionary algae lab
Swedish Algae Factory operates in harmony with nature, in real-time. We cultivate our algae based on a circular economic mindset where carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and phosphorus emissions are converted into valuable products.
Swedish Algae Factory was founded on many years of research by Professor Angela Wulff and our research team, in combination with Sofie Allert’s entrepreneurial drive. It started in 2014 with the purpose of utilizing the algae group diatoms unique traits in industry and has been growing as a company since 2016.
Through our controlled algae bloom in our factory, we prevent nitrogen and phosphorus from overfertilizing our seas and oceans. In the process, we also clean water for re-use and produce a unique high-tech material that can be utilized in ocean safe personal care products.
Diatoms - jewels of the ocean
These are diatoms under a microscope. These beautiful algae are present in our seas today and are sometimes called “the jewels of the ocean”. The cell wall of the diatom has a very specific pattern of tiny pores, allowing exchange of nutrients and waste products. Each pattern is species specific.
It is of great importance to protect our fragile oceans from harmful and unnatural chemical substances that endanger ocean life. Algica originated from the sea and is completely safe for oceans and sea life.
From the Swedish west coast to the world
Our new commercial plant in Sweden - Kungshamn, the Municipality of the ocean, is where we produce Algica, our amazing ocean-safe multifunctional active ingredient. This plant gives us the opportunity to meet the growing demand for Algica and to boost our production capacity in the coming years.
By 2030 our goal is to have at least 10 larger Swedish Algae Factories up and running that are contributing to a more sustainable industry.
“I took the step from being a passionate SCUBA diver to a PhD in marine ecology with focus on microalgae. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became and I was particularly interested in microalgae living in extreme environments, like inside ice. I wanted to further explore their potential in industrial applications and luckily I met Sofie.”
Angela Wulff, co-founder
Creating a climate positive industry with the help of algae
The choice to offer our algae to the personal care industry was easy, we are now well aware of all the positive properties that Algica has and how these properties can be used within the industry.
We believe that the beauty industry needs ingredients like Algica. Personal care products must be effective but at the same time safe and should not affect your health, the environment and especially our oceans in a negative way.
We are inspired by nature towards a more sustainable industry.
"I fell in love with algae during my bachelor thesis in biotechnology. For me, it was an extremely sustainable underused resource since algae grow fast and can be cultivated on saltwater and wastewater. Back then most algae species that had been studied for industrial use preferred warm and sunny climates.
I met my co-founder Angela in 2013. She had recently joined a research expedition to Antarctica sampling ice-inhabiting microalgae. Together we thought that if algae could grow in the ice it would also be possible to create an algae industry in the cold and dark climates of the Nordics. With our love for algae and our passion to contribute to a better world we decided to set out to show that it is possible to create a climate positive industry with the help of algae.”
Sofie Allert, CEO and co-founder