Oops! We couldn’t find any results...
Pittsburgh, get ready to vote: Meet your nominees for the...
Technical.ly
·
Nov 29, 2022
It wouldn't really be the end of the year without some form of superlatives, would it? It's time again for the annual Tec...
Problem
Modern buildings trap invisible pollutants
CO2 and VOCs accumulate indoors. This is known as sick building syndrome, or SBS. And what that means for you is...
Modern, energy-efficient buildings are sealed to prevent any air from escaping. This lowers heating and cooling costs by sacrificing the health and well-being of the people inside. Because gaseous pollutants like CO2 and VOCs are trapped inside, they slowly suffocate the people inside. This causes respiratory problems like asthma and allergy symptoms, headaches, drowsiness, decreased mental clarity, and decreased cognitive function.
For 140 million Americans, their outside air is too polluted for ventilation. Meaning that the state of the art for HVAC “dilution is the solution”’ isn’t an option at all!
Solution
Living Technology:
Algae-based carbon capture to boost health & wellness
The answer to indoor air pollution is Living Technology. Living Technology is centered around nature’s best carbon sequestration tool: algae. Algae is orders of magnitude more efficient than plants at carbon sequestration. Algal bioremediation can reduce pollutants like CO2 and VOCs, while producing O2, allowing you to think, breathe, sleep, and perform at your highest level.
Around this biology, we’ve engineered patent-pending energy-efficient designs to reduce power consumption and harness the power of ambient natural light. Presented with elegant aesthetics, Living Technology improves human psychology via biophilic design—bringing nature inside to complete our indoor ecosystem.
Product
Meet the aerium:
The first natural air purifier that
uses algae to clean the air we breathe.
With living technology, you get the photosynthetic benefit of over 25 plants. That means more oxygen and less CO2 in the places you live your life.- Connect with nature through an elegant biophilic design.
- Maintain harmony with your existing plants. The aerium produces a natural fertilizer so it lives symbiotically with the plants you already love.
The aerium, is the first consumer natural air purifier that uses algae to remove as much CO2 And increase oxygen in a 10' x10' x12' room. One aerium® unit is capable of CO2 capture equivalent to 25 of the highest performing house plants.
—
This is just the start; in September 2022 we unveiled our first commercial-sized unit at the Pittsburgh International Airport as part of a paid proof-of-concept to scale our living technology. The aerium living technology installation stands at 8ft tall and holds over 100 gallons of algae with the photosynthetic capacity of 5,000 + plants. This system is designed to remove more CO2 from a larger volume of air with less maintenance than any plant-based solution. These commercial-sized units are modular in design for custom retrofitting and will eventually use automation to grow more algae faster in an energy-efficient way. These algae cells will be able to clean more air and are useful as human and animal nutrition, plant fertilizer, pigment extraction, and reduce plastic usage!
Traction
Aerium 3.0 launching summer 2022
AlgenAir launched the first version of the aerium (V1) in November 2019. Early customers received complimentary algae refills until the spirulina subscription began in May 2020. Since then, AlgenAir has sold over 500 aerium units and grown to 130+ active subscribers (May 2022) in 8 countries. In August 2022, AlgenAir launched the aerium 3.0 with upgraded electronics through their new manufacturing partner in Grove City, PA.
The aerium was only available on algenair.com until fall 2021, when AlgenAir began working with distribution channels such as Brookstone.com and Touch of Modern.
Customers
Better air for everyone,
No green thumb required.
AlgenAir ships aeriums and live spirulina refills to customers across the United States and in eight countries. Our two target customer segments are 1) millennials living in urban areas who are concerned with their air quality as well 2) men age 35+ who are interested in improving their health and productivity through clean indoor air. While some of our customers have tons of plants and use the algae for fertilizer, others lack a green thumb and see the aerium as a modern houseplant.
Our customer acquisition strategy is centered around social media and distribution channels. We ran paid ads on Facebook and Instagram as well as organic video content for Tik Tok and Instagram. This allows us to engage and educate our customer base. We have partnered with distributors such Touch of Modern and Brookstone to increase the visibility as well.
Business model
The aerium + algae refill subscription
The aerium natural air purifier retails on our website for $249. It costs $96 to produce, package, and ship which is a 61% profit margin.
T
he aerium is supported by a recurring algae subscription, which is $25 (10% off if you subscribe) and includes fresh Spirulina, nutrients for continued growth, and a sterile hydrophobic filter to prevent contamination. The refill costs $9.50 to produce, package, and ship which is a 62% profit margin.
Growth cycles vary between 30-60 days, after which, the algal biomass can be used as a fertilizer or compost. The glass is dishwasher safe, making cleaning effortless.
Modular Installations
This model is a similar hardware sale supported by recurring revenue. The initial installation can be tailored to occupancy and total air volume and changes (CFM). Larger installations will include automated maintenance to monitor growth and performance in real-time. These automated systems will be capable of cleaning more air and growing more algal biomass. We are launching our first prototype this summer in a paid pilot study.
Market
An emerging segment in a $10.6B market
AlgenAir is part of the rapidly growing $10.6B global air purifier market. Natural air purifiers are an emerging segment of this market space.
While most air purifiers target particulate matter such as dust, mold, and bacteria, the living technology used in the aerium is designed for reducing gaseous pollutants such as Co2 and VOCs. AlgenAir is the first consumer natural air purifier on the market giving us the first to market advantage. We have built a strong brand around algae and living technology and will continue to do so as we expand into the commercial space.
Competition
Living Technology
sets us apart
The air purification market is filled with a wide range of technologies targeting different types of pollutants. Natural air purifiers are an emerging segment of the market and include companies such as Breth, Natade, BiomiTech, and Ecologica.
AlgenAir is unique from its competition in that the aerium is the first consumer air purifier that uses algae to reduce carbon dioxide indoors. Additionally, while there are other algae purifiers in the commercial space, they are either focused solely on outdoor CO2 or on technologies that do not allow for secondary applications of the algae biomass. AlgenAir seeks to develop living technology that improves air quality, provides aesthetic biophilic design, and grows valuable biomass that can be used for applications such as fertilizer, nutrition, bioplastics, and more.
Vision and strategy
Revolutionizing the way we approach indoor air quality
Our mission at AlgenAir is to revolutionize the way we approach indoor air quality through living technology. By scaling our patent-pending technology, we are fundamentally rethinking green buildings. No longer do we have to sacrifice the health of the humans for the energy savings of the buildings they inhabit.
The goal of this funding round is to grow our team, scale manufacturing and sales of the aerium, and begin the development of our modular installations. These large-scale installations will be built with biophilic design in mind, connecting humans with nature like never before.
As the B2B side of the business begins to grow, we are looking to exit the consumer product side through a strategic acquisition by a distributor within the next 3-5 years.
Funding
$320k raised to date
From pitch competitions, grants, and notable accelerators
The team bootstrapped from 2018 to 2021—raising money from pitch competitions including Rice Business Plan, New Venture Championships, Heartland Challenge, and more. Grant funding included the Ratcliffe Foundation and a stipend from the inaugural F3 Tech accelerator.
In 2021 the team was accepted into the Techstars Kansas City program and received a $120K investment. Following Techstars, the team partnered with a well-known hardware investor, Innovation Works Alpha Lab Gear, in Pittsburgh, PA. They moved the company there in early 2022 .
AlgenAir is raising a $1.6M seed round and as of July 1st has $180K committed. The raise on Republic will be part of the round.
Founders
Kelsey Abernathy, PhD
Dan Fucich, PhD
AlgenAir co-founders Kelsey Abernathy, PhD and Dan Fucich, PhD met while working on their doctoral research in marine biotechnology. They both joined the Ratcliffe Environmental Entrepreneurial Fellowship program in their second year where they learned how to apply entrepreneurship to their research. Inspired by a project on building ventilation and sick building syndrome, they started brainstorming ideas to reduce indoor CO2. The self-proclaimed algae nerds quickly realized they could apply the incredible potential of algae to improve indoor air quality. They learned CAD and began bootstrapping to develop the aerium.
After completing their doctorates, the founding team was able to go full time in June 2021. They were accepted into the Techstars Kansas City program where they spent three months focused on business development and connecting with keep players in the sustainable architectural space. In early 2022 the team moved the company to Pittsburgh, PA to focus on hardware development and manufacturing. They partnered with a local manufacturer to scale production of the aerium in the USA.
