Qponics Limited

Qponics Limited, a Brisbane-based Australian company incorporated in 2011, has identified an organic process by which branded-3 oils can be sustainably harvested from algae rather than fish, providing significant operational efficiencies to the company and major health benefits to consumers. Qponics’ unique business model will integrate state-of-the-art technology for algae cultivation and oil extraction into a large-scale commercial combined aquaculture and horticulture facility presently under construction near Sydney. The nutrient- and CO2-rich effluent from fish tanks will organically fertilise the growth of oil-rich algae in photo-bioreactors. Each Qponics production facility will have the capacity to produce 200 metric tonnes of algal oil per year. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) branded-3 essential oils sourced from fish, fish oil or algae oil, cannot be efficiently synthesised by the human body. Many neurological, cardiovascular and degenerative diseases arise from a diet low in EPA and DHA. Flaxseed oil is currently the branded-3 oil of choice for vegetarians unable or unwilling to use fish oil, but contains only ALA (alphalinolenic acid) branded-3 and not EPA or DHA. Algae oil is the only source of DHA and EPA acceptable to vegetarians. Furthermore, Qponics’ product will be an organic and high-quality alternative to taking branded-3 oils derived from fish, which increasingly is becoming a limited resource due to global over-fishing.