DSM and Evonik establish a new company, Veramaris V.O.F., for the production of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from natural marine algae. The 50:50 joint venture is headquartered at the DSM Biotech Campus in Delft (Netherlands).
Veramaris’s algal oil will enable the production of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA for animal nutrition without using fish oil from wild-caught fish, a finite resource. DSM and Evonik announced their intention to start their joint venture in March 2017. Since then, all necessary approvals have reportedly been received.
Construction of the $200 million production facility at the Evonik site in Blair, Nebraska is underway and proceeding according to plan, according to the company. Commercial quantities of the algal oil rich in the essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA will be ready for sale in 2019. Pilot quantities for market development purposes are already available. The initial annual production capacity will meet roughly 15% of the total current annual demand for EPA and DHA by the salmon aquaculture industry.
CEO Karim Kurmaly and CFO Frank Beissmann will head Veramaris. Marine biologist Kurmaly has been with DSM for more than 16 years, most recently as vice president animal nutrition & health in Asia Pacific. Beissmann, an engineer, has been with Evonik for more than 20 years and has held various positions in production, supply chain, marketing and controlling.
“Our algal oil, rich in both EPA and DHA, is our response to the industry’s call for a sustainable and traceable source of the omega- 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Veramaris will now enable our partners along the value chain to grow in a responsible way and meet the demand for healthy animal protein rich in both EPA and DHA for consumer health,” says Kurmaly.
Until recently, omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA added to animal feed have come almost exclusively from marine sources such as fish oil and fishmeal, which are finite resources. Currently, a total of 16 million metric tons of wild fish are caught for the production of fish oil and fishmeal, according to the company. By using natural marine algae, Veramaris contributes to closing the omega-3 EPA and DHA supply-demand gap, while helping to conserve marine life and biodiversity in the oceans.
For more information, visit: www.veramaris.com
