CJ CheilJedang invests in Australian bio startup

South Korea's food and bio company CJ CheilJedang Corp. on Wednesday said it will invest in the Australian bio startup Provectus Algae.

The former seeks to create synergy through the combination of the microbial fermentation technology capacity of its bio unit with the latter’s mass production know-how in microalgae.

Founded in 2018, Provectus Algae boasts the technology to cultivate microalgae for use in the development of high value-added materials such as food coloring and pharmaceutical peptides.

The investment amount was not disclosed.

Microalgae, also called phytoplankton, absorbs carbon dioxide and conducts photosynthesis. The sugar produced at this time is stored as lipids and starch within cells, and this enables production of substances for use as fuel and materials while reducing CO2.

Write to Jiyoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com