Copenhagen, Denmark, 7 October 2026 – Algiecel, a Danish microalgae ingredients company named among TIME and Statista’s World’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2026, has opened a new production facility inside Novonesis’ Kalundborg site, one of the world’s largest enzyme manufacturing sites, marking its shift from pilot-scale testing to industrial-scale supply of a marine ingredient that doesn’t rely on fish-dependent supply chains.
Global fish oil supplies are under acute strain. Cumulative fish oil supply across the leading producing regions (Peru, Chile, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the UK, Denmark, and Norway) was running roughly 31% below 2025 year-to-date levels by early June 2026 (IFFO). In June 2026, forecasters identified a new El Niño event developing for the 2026–2027 season (WMO), a phenomenon that has historically pushed fish oil prices to record highs. Fish oil is a core ingredient in both pet food formulation and cosmetic products, and the resulting volatility is intensifying demand across both sectors for a marine ingredient source that doesn’t depend on the ocean.
The Kalundborg facility increases Algiecel’s production capacity almost fivefold. The new reactor has a total volume of 5,500 litres, with 3,240 litres used to actively grow the microalgae, compared with 700 litres in its pilot system. Critically, it runs on real captured CO₂ drawn from an operational biogas plant on site, rather than commercially bottled gas, demonstrating that Algiecel’s process performs with real industrial-grade inputs and not only under controlled laboratory conditions. Because the design scales by adding identical modular units rather than re-engineering a single larger system, Algiecel has a predictable, repeatable path to further capacity as customer demand grows. The opening follows a DKK 60 million (c. €8 million) funding round that Algiecel closed in 2024.
The company expects to produce 12 tonnes of biomass annually from 2027 for the pet food and cosmetics sectors as it transitions from sample-volume production to recurring commercial supply. The global omega-3 market was valued at roughly $3.3 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $5.4 billion by 2033. It is a market increasingly seeking marine ingredient sources decoupled from wild-catch volatility. As a Danish producer working with captured CO₂ under controlled growing conditions, Algiecel offers European customers a supply chain insulated from the pressures currently affecting wild-catch sourcing.
Susanne Palsten Buchardt, Chief Executive Officer, Algiecel, said: “Our customers are looking for a scalable, high-quality and sustainable alternative to the fish oil they are sourcing today. Algiecel is on a path to deliver just that. We’ve run our pilot reactor for more than 10,000 operational hours, and the biology performs as we designed it to. At a moment when fish oil supply is under real pressure, this facility is where we prove we can deliver a reliable alternative, produced under industrial conditions, at the volumes our customers need. It’s the starting platform we’ll use to scale further as demand grows.”
Ghita Hansen, Vice President, Enzyme Production Denmark, Novonesis, remarked: “Kalundborg shows what happens when companies work together to get more value from shared infrastructure, side-streams and industrial expertise. It creates the conditions for new technologies to scale faster than they could alone. Algiecel’s new facility is a strong example of that.”
Jan Lysgaard Thomsen, Municipal Director at Kalundborg Municipality, adds: “Algiecel’s investment in Kalundborg shows what happens when a small country backs big ideas. Denmark’s strength in biosolutions and our circular-economy approach are coming together here – good news for jobs and for Denmark’s place in the industries of the future.”
Recent board and executive additions, bringing a wealth of industry experience, reflect Algiecel’s growing operational maturity. Earlier this year, Algiecel named Tove Feld, former Chief Technology Officer and Head of Engineering at Ørsted and Siemens Wind Power, with board experience including The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) and DHI as Chair of the Board. Algiecel also appointed Mette Ingeman Pedersen, previously CFO of Topsoe’s Power-to-X business and a former senior finance leader at Saxo Bank and Nordea, as Chief Financial Officer. These new senior appointments and the opening of the Kalundborg facility will enable Algiecel to embark on a new chapter towards commercial scale.
ENDS
Notes to editors
To download high-res images and learn more about Algiecel, please visit this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vptmHyAiCkpBydZYWk_ILpXh77BpYs_L
For further press information or to arrange an interview with an Algiecel executive, please contact:
Sam Salzman
PR Executive
Dan Brew
Account Manager
About Algiecel
Algiecel, founded in 2021, is a Danish marine ingredients company using microalgae to produce reliable, sustainable alternatives to fish-dependent supply chains in the food, feed and personal care markets. Using captured CO2, Algiecel cultivates microalgae in compact, modular Artificial Light Photobioreactors (AL-PBRs) that produce phototrophic microalgae ingredients with predictable and stable properties, decoupled from wild harvesting and marine supply volatility.
