Nutrition From Water (NXW) is a New Zealand-based biotechnology nutrition company that uses microalgae technology to create nutrition without compromise. Formerly known as NewFish, NXW sources microalgae strains from marine and freshwater environments, including species unique to the Pacific region and New Zealand.
These unique organisms have fast growth rates and high protein expression. Under the right conditions, the cells rapidly multiply, transforming small microalgae samples into a large population totalling thousands of tonnes of biomass.
Cell disruption technologies break open the microalgae cell walls, releasing the nutrients inside, separated into proteins, fats, and fibres. Marine Whey is the resulting protein, refined to meet a precise specification equivalent to dairy whey protein with price parity and lower environmental impact.
"Our founder, Alex Worker, brings a wealth of experience from Fonterra’s global dairy distribution,” said Eleni Yianna Hogg, NXW's Head of Marketing.
“His drive comes from witnessing the unsustainable economics of large-scale dairy farming in China and recognising the alarming environmental impact of animal agriculture.”
At full-scale production per site of 10,000 tonnes per year, NewFish’s WPC80 equivalent Marine Whey protein powder is a nutritious and environmentally superior substitute for or addition to whey protein.
Marine Whey also empowers food and active nutrition companies to decrease their environmental footprint without compromising taste, nutritional quality, or application functionality.
NXW has licensed its proprietary strain and production technology to partner manufacturing and infrastructure companies that produce microalgae ingredients using it. It has granted these companies access to proprietary application rights, enabling them to create delicious foods globally for athletes, health-conscious individuals, aging elderly, and everyday consumers.
“This assists in mitigating the dairy supply deficit, which is projected to reach 31.1 million tonnes by 2030.”
Since microalgae can double in biomass daily, it has ensured scalability and price stability.
Over the next two years, NXW’s fermentation and downstream processes will be scaled from the pilot plant to the commercial scale, derisking the technology for production companies at all levels. This will lay the foundation for future-proof nutrition businesses and make nutrition accessible and abundant.
NXW has also been working with GRAS and FDA-approved microalgae strains and measures protein quality using DIAAS, a globally standardised protein quality test.
However, financial constraints have been the main challenge NXW faces in promoting and implementing its technology. Acquiring substantial funding is crucial for team expansion, technology scaling, and market entry.
“We are actively pursuing seed funding of USD 8 million, enabling us to produce thousands of tonnes of Marine Whey, mitigate technological risks, and accelerate global partnerships.”
The company has also been developing a natural nutrition-from-water technology platform, leveraging microalgae’s potential as a primary source of non-GMO nutrition.
“While our current R&D focuses on Marine Whey protein, microalgae harbours various nutrients within its cell walls, including fibres, fats, and bioactive molecules.”
NXW aims to unlock all these nutrients, building upon its technology platform to create other health ingredients from microalgae.
