Omega-3 fatty acids are not only healthy to consume, but may also have a large role in a new algae-based biofuel. During a research screening process intended to sift through hundreds of microorganisms that could potentially aid in omega-3 fatty acid production, Ocean Nutrition Canada, a supplier of omega-3 fatty acid supplements, found a heterotrophic strain of microalgae that is 60 times more productive compared to other strains.

The Halifax-based company has since partnered with Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), and has plans to turn the microalgae into jet fuel. The strain, which ONC has labeled ONCT18B, was found in the Bay of Fundi, and "because it is heterotrophic it doesn’t need sunlight," said Rick Whittaker, CTO and vice president of investments for SDTC, "so you get away from having to use shallow ponds, which in Canada freeze, or photobioreactors, which are expensive."

The SDTC is a nine-year-old government affiliated organization that was started by the federal government to help clean tech companies across the valley of death, Whittaker said. It mainly provides funding to promising companies. To be successful in the algae development sector, Whittaker noted, "You have to identify the right algae type and strain. You have to come up with a process that works, especially in the dead of winter, and you have to have a manufacturing and business model that gets the biofuel into the market in a reasonable fashion." According to Whittaker, ONC has done all three.

While ONC is trying to remain quiet on the find to help manage market expectations, Whittaker said the company has already partnered with some of "the names that you would expect," which include UOP LLC and military contractor Lockheed Martin among others yet to be named. "Because [ONC is] used to [operating] in the nutrecuetical spaces, they have the manufacturing processes figured out," he says on ONC’s ability to produce the fuel. "If you are using microalgae for certain types of engines you want to make sure those partners have it in their engines and have already tested it," he continued. "They have that lined up as well."

With the vessels used for omega-3 fatty acid production already in place and a background in understanding of the design needed to grow and produce fuel, SDTC will help fund testing the fuel in jet engines. "We’ve got just over a billion dollars and that is leveraged up by two to three times by the private sector," Whittaker said.

The SDTC currently has195 projects underway, and several Canadian-based companies have been able to attribute their success to the organization. Biox Corp., a biodiesel producer that utilizes waste grease went from concept to scale-up through the project, he said. "We also have a company called Quantiam Technology that is fantastic for the plastic industry. They use a catalytic coating to coat the inside of these large ethylene cracking furnaces and take the energy requirements down by 20 percent."

SDTC’s work with ONC is ongoing, but Whittaker said the work has made significant strides. For other companies interested in working with the Canadian-based organization, the SDTC issues two calls per year seeking new technologies and developers. "The biggest thing is to have the end in mind," he says, "which means you have to have an innovative technology that has a large market that is going to pull through significant environmental benefits if you achieve that market."