French Fermentalg stock jumps on news of planned Suez algae-based JV

January 5 (SeeNews) – French microalgae firm Fermentalg (EPA:FALG) saw its shares jump 35% on Tuesday after it announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with domestic waste management company Suez SA (EPA:SEV) to create an equally-owned joint venture for carbon capture through the development of algae photobioreactors.

The entity is set to be launched in the first half of 2021 as a result of a five-year technological partnership between Suez and Fermentalg launched alongside the Paris Agreement to combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

The parties plan to attract other investors during the first year of operation so as to enable the worldwide roll-out of the technology.

The joint venture will use a process that enables algae to capture carbon dioxide and can result in products that can be used in the fields of biocontrol, nutrition and animal health as well as for the improvement of air quality.

Suez and Fermentalg have developed a technology called Carbon Sink that uses algae to capture greenhouse gases and fine particles in the air, resulting in producing green energy from biogas or biomethane obtained through anaerobic digestion. In September 2020, the companies also piloted a microalgae-based air purification system at a school in the Paris region.

Shares in Fermentalg were trading nearly 36% higher at EUR 2.03 as at 1100 CET, giving it a market capitalisation of EUR 52 million (USD 63.8m).

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.227)

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