Chitose Group, a Japanese group of bioventure companies, has expanded its Spirulina production capacity with a new facility in Brunei. Tavelmout Biofarm (B) Sdn Bhd (TVMB) is a newly established company in Brunei as a part of Chitose Group. In the first year, TVMB will produce six tons per month of Spirulina, increasing its capacity up to 1,000 tons.

The company is a world pioneer in the large-scale cultivation of Spirulina using photobioreactor (PBR) producing odorless fresh taste raw Spirulina. Compared to the conventional cultivation utilizing open raceways which are more susceptible to environmental and contamination factors, the company optimized the PBR cultivation resulting in a maximum production yield at a lower production cost. The cultivation technology was developed by Chitose Laboratory Corp., the research entity of Chitose Group.

Spirulina is easily digested and absorbed and rich in protein. Generally, it is sold as a supplement in the form of powder or tablets for human consumption, but the company also targets the aquaculture industry as live prey food and an alternative ingredient for aquafeeds if it’s economically justified.

The group has several microalgal challenges such as the Algal Jet Fuel project that produces a fast-growing Botryococcus strain as a fuel substitute and the microalgae project in Malaysia that produces local microalgal strains for efficient cultivation under tropical conditions. In Malaysia, microalgal biomass has been successfully applied to the local commercial production of shrimp as feed and water conditioner.