Algae Firm Partners with Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation

Health Enhancement Products Inc. (HEPI; Bloomfield, MI), a developer of algae-based human and animal health products, has formally partnered on development with the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) and the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP).

AzCATI, which is located at Arizona State University Polytechnic’s campus in Mesa, AZ, is a research facility for algae-based products. AzCATI is part of ATP’s consortium of national labs and academic and industrial partners. ATP is in part funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. AzCATI researches algae for biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals.

Thanks to the new partnership, HEPI has moved all of its algae cultures from its own Arizona grow and test facility to AzCATI, as well as moving samples to the University of Texas at Austin, an ATP partner, for cryogenic preservation.

HEPI says that the new partnership will enhance its research efforts as well as save costs. “The AzCATI/ATP partnership in particular helps us accelerate the process of going to market,” says HEPI CEO Andrew Dahl.