How Algenie came to be and why
Algenie was born out of a simple realisation: algae could save the planet, but only if it makes economic sense. The journey started while Nick, our founder was searching for the red colour for v2food’s plant-based meat. We were confronted with the high cost of algae production, making it clear that a fundamental shift was needed and we started to solve it.
In nature and current production systems, algae typically operates at a tiny fraction of its biological potential. But what if we could unlock 100% of that potential? And what if we could make algae production cheap, scalable and accessible? That question has driven everything we do at Algenie.
Our mission
Our mission is to completely rethink algae production, unlocking its vast potential as a sustainable raw material to replace fossil fuels and drive gigatonne-scale carbon reduction. By developing scalable, cost-effective technologies that transform CO2 into valuable products, we can harness consumer capitalism to drive sustainability and reverse climate change.
Our vision
Algenie’s vision is simple but ambitious: to create economically attractive, scalable algae production for a range of industries. Imagine a world where the products we enjoy—our feed, fuel, plastics and building materials—are produced from algae, which captures twice its weight in CO2 as it grows.
THE FACTS
No current solution comes close. We must find a way to achieve this carbon drawdown while supporting a thriving planet and a high quality of life for all.
A seasoned entrepreneur and innovator, Nick founded v2food, raising A$120M across three funding rounds and scaling the company into a leading plant-based meat producer within four years by implementing low-cost, scalable manufacturing solutions and securing key product patents.
Nick is a Cambridge-educated manufacturing and aerospace engineer who has held senior R&D and technology leadership roles at Mars and PepsiCo in three countries, where he created groundbreaking solutions for creating healthier packaged food, food science & packaging innovation. He is also an academic, consultant and thought leader at UTS and Cambridge University.
During his time at v2food, Nick discovered the potential of algae, which led him to found Algenie, focused on harnessing algae’s power for climate solutions. As an engineer, he has been able to create world-first novel manufacturing solutions that will revolutionise the algae photobioreactor.
A world-leading expert in algae biotechnology, Mathieu spearheaded "Project Red," a groundbreaking initiative that reduced the cost of red pigment for plant-based meat by 10x. As Chief Biologist, he applies a commercial lens to biology, driving the development of algal biosystems that are biologically efficient and economically viable for industrial scale.
Mathieu is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Climate Change Cluster at UTS with 15+ years bridging academia and industry. He has held key research roles at LGEM, v2food, and CSIRO, and has published 120+ articles on sustainable biomanufacturing.
At Algenie, he optimises the biological engine of the photobioreactor for real-world deployment, helping make microalgae a scalable, competitive raw material.
A strategic commercial leader with a track record of driving rapid growth, Renske spent 10+ years at Google bringing software and hardware products to market, negotiating multimillion-dollar partnerships, and streamlining operations across 14+ markets.
Renske is an international business strategist with a Master's from the University of Groningen and executive education from Cambridge. She has held senior GTM leadership roles across Europe, JAPAC, and Oceania, including Head of Hardware Partnerships GTM for Australia. Most recently, she served as Google’s Sustainability Lead for Asia Pacific, where she aligned business growth with decarbonisation goals and brought climate tech solutions to market.
As Algenie’s Commercial Director, she leads go-to-market strategy, develops the commercial value propositions and builds the partner ecosystem to drive scale.
A multidisciplinary engineering leader with deep expertise in autonomous systems, Leo served as Vice President of Engineering at AirSeed Technologies, scaling an autonomous reforestation platform from prototype to commercial deployment while overseeing AI, robotics, and manufacturing.
Leo holds a computing degree from Oxford Brookes University and has led industrial automation R&D at Kannegiesser UK. Previously, he drove UAV innovation at Dendra Systems, spanning electronics, mechanical engineering, and field operations for mission-critical drone systems.
At Algenie, Leo leads engineering of the helical photobioreactor platform, integrating novel extrusion systems, automation, and inline sensing to reduce the cost of algae production.
An experienced senior executive with expertise in scaling high-growth ventures, Graham served as CFO at v2food, where he helped raise A$120 million and built the financial systems to scale globally. At Algenie, he oversees the financial, governance, and legal frameworks that support rapid growth.
SCIENCE PARTNER
University of Technology Sydney
As one of the worlds top universities in algae research, UTS are the scientific powerhouse behind our algae biotech. UTS Climate Change Cluster (C3) have pioneered algal strain development under the leadership of professor Peter Ralph who advises Algenie.
INVESTOR
Better Bite Ventures
Asia Pacific's leading food, agriculture and climate tech venture capital firm, backing bold founders tackling climate challenges from founding to seed stage. As Algenie's lead investor, Better Bite brings deep sector expertise and network connections across the region, supporting our mission to make algae production radically cheaper and scalable.
CUSTOMER AND SCIENCE PARTNER
University of Nantes – AlgoSolis
European leader in photobioreactor R&D and algae cultivation systems, specialising in thin-layer design and industrial-scale microalgae production. Deep expertise in translating lab breakthroughs into industrial algae processes, AlgoSolis serves as both our European research partner and first customer, accelerating validation of Algenie's helical photobioreactor technology.