Auranta announced as BIM Aquatech Business of the Year

John Cullen, Auranta co-founder, receives the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year award from Caroline Bocquel, CEO, BIM

An Irish biotech company that uses cutting-edge technology to revolutionalise the gut health of fish worldwide has been announced as winner of the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year. 

Auranta, which is based in Cherrywood, Co Dublin, is already forging a path to international success with its ground-breaking fish feed products that boost the immunity and gut health of shrimp, salmon and other fish species. 

The company was announced as the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year at a conference in Dublin entitled “Blue Ambition – Exploring investment and growth opportunities in the blue bioeconomy”. The conference followed the BIM Innovation Studio, an intensive two-week programme that develops the technological readiness and commercial scalability of emerging aquatech startups which is funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). 

Auranta’s new fish product, AuraAqua, is now distributed in several countries around the world as import registrations are approved. AuraAqua and all Auranta products are different to other products on the market as they are backed up with a strong data set, having been fully researched and tested. The company has published 18 peer reviewed papers since it was established in 2013 by John Cullen, Managing Director, and Dr Patrick Ward, Technical Director. 

John Cullen, Managing Director, Auranta, said:  

“We are delighted to win the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year award,” said Mr Cullen. “This is the latest step in our journey to become the first-choice functional feed ingredient supplier in the global aquaculture industry. 

“Auranta has invested heavily over the last few years to build up our data set in fish and shrimp through the four new peer reviewed scientific papers. We combined this knowledge with the experience gained on the BIM Innovation Studio programme last year and the access to the excellent contacts we have made in the industry to date.   

“This resulted in significant growth in our business this year which has doubled compared from last year with all the AuraAqua product exported to global locations. 

“We believe that the future of our company lies in our ability to increase the robustness of fish and shrimp being produced under challenging conditions around the world in a safe and sustainable manner. We are part of the blue vision to produce protein in the ocean sustainably.”
 

The Blue Ambition conference heard that Ireland’s developing aquatech sector is poised to make waves in the €300 billion global aquaculture sector. 

BIM CEO Caroline Bocquel said:  

“Auranta is a fantastic example of the excellence, innovation and talent that exists in Ireland’s growing aquatech sector which is worth €226 million,” said Ms Bocquel. 

“BIM is delighted to partner with Hatch Blue to support Irish aquatech businesses to scale up and become investor ready through the Innovation Studio, providing them with investment and market opportunities in the €300 billion global aquaculture sector. 

BIM’s Development and Innovation Services Director Richard Donnelly said: 

“Auranta is among dozens of ambitious young Irish companies that have benefitted from their partnership in the BIM Innovation Studio over the last seven years,” said Mr Donnelly. 

“BIM is supporting aquatech companies to develop cutting-edge technologies that drive sustainable seafood farming, helping them identify opportunities to scale up and pursue new markets.” 

The other two Aquatech Business of the Year finalists were Celtic Sea Minerals, an animal nutrition company leading in the field of marine minerals derived from red seaweed algae, and Impact-9, which develops flexible marine structural technology for offshore food and biomass production.