Lab & Technology

100% BIO-BASED FEEDSTOCK

Developed from sustainably cultivated ALGAE BIOMASS

NATURE-COMPATIBLE DEGRADATION

KICCA's ambition transcends material substitution. We transform algae-based materials into ecological repair tools:

Upcycled marine fishing nets are transformed into coral restoration substrates, which release fucoidan to stimulate coral growth during degradation, simultaneously releasing sequestered organic carbon to drive a 17% increase in coral calcification rates.
Agricultural mulch decomposes into organic fertilizer in soil, with its algae-derived humic acid increasing soil organic carbon content by 0.8% annually and enhancing land carbon sequestration capacity by 0.3 tons/hectare/year.
Naturally degraded urban packaging enters aquatic systems as a slow-release carbon source, activating methanotrophic microbial communities in mangrove sediments to boost greenhouse gas CH₄ conversion efficiency by 42%, establishing a carbon sequestration positive feedback loop.

HOW
to utilize
algae

COMPOSITION OF ALGAE-BASED MATERIALS

The production of algae-based materials primarily utilizes alginic acid in the cell wall of algae. Alginic acid is a kind of macromolecular carboxylic acid composed of mannuronic acid (M) and guluronic acid (G).

The chemical structure and physicochemical properties of alginic acid are mainly influenced by the species of algae and the extraction conditions. By applying modification technology, the properties and application efficacy of alginic acid can be enhanced. Through controlling technological conditions, alginic acid derivatives with a specific monomer structure and sequencing, branched-chain position, and degree of substitution can be prepared. This allows for the regulation of properties such as the solubility, hydrophilicity, and affinity for specific proteins of alginic acid bioproducts.

In the process of chemical and biological modification, covalent cross-linking can be employed to improve gel strength, chemical modification can be used to enhance the hydrophilicity of the main chain, and biological modification can be utilized to improve biodegradability. Thus, the application value of alginate can be effectively improved.

HOW
algae are
plasticized

THE MECHANISM OF CROSS-LINKING IN ALGINATE MOLECULES

Molecular group structures of alginate

Sodium fucoidan is mainly derived from several brown algae, including kelp, macroalgae, and sargassum. Since its sources are different, the ratio of M (mannuronic acid) to G (guluronic acid), denoted as M/G, varies. The two functional groups have three different structural combinations: GG, MM, and GM.

Egg-box structure Gulo-glucuronic acid under ionic cross-linking action

When crosslinked with Ca²⁺, the GG chain segments form a space between the two monomers that can easily contain Ca²⁺ ions, that is, an eggshell structure. Sodium fucoidan with a high G content can form a relatively strong gel with Ca²⁺. Precisely because of the strong bond between Ca²⁺ and high G sodium fucoidan, it is not easy for water to penetrate into the gel when absorbing water, so its water absorption performance is poor. Since the carboxylic acid group in M has low activity and binds poorly to Ca²⁺, it forms a gel with weak strength but good water-absorption properties.

Innovation of Algae Processing

Molecular Disordered Connections in Original Polymer Molecular

ALTOMIC™ technology enables molecular ordering bonds of the Molecular

Without ALTOMIC™ technology to optimize the algae material with molecularly disordered connections, the material has poor plasticity and thus cannot be widely used in everyday products on a large scale.

ALTOMIC™ technology optimizes the algae material by guiding the position of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. By doing so, it makes the overall molecular structure of the algae material tend to be connected in an orderly manner, resulting in a algae substrate with plasticity and a balance between strength and flexibility.

The strength of the past seaweed film is 90 MPa. However, the tensile ratio is very low (less than 15%), which does not meet the daily use needs of most products.

After using ALTOMIC™ technology, for the Algae-based bursting film, the tensile rate is increased by more than 10 times (more than 200%), and the strength can meet the usage standards of most packaging materials (more than 40 MPa). Moreover, by controlling the processing technology, the ratio of the parameters of large elongation rate and tensile strength can be controlled to meet different usage scenarios.

Key Competitor Benchmarking

METRIC	ALTOMIC™	PLA	PHA	TRADITIONAL PLASTIC
Feedstock	Algae (renewable)	Corn starch (arable land)	Microbial fermentation (sugar)	Petroleum
Production Cost ($/ton)	1,800–1,800–2,500	2,000–2,000–3,000	4,000–4,000–6,000	1,000–1,000–1,200
Degradation Conditions	Natural environments	Industrial composting (60°C)	Marine/soil (6–12 months)	500+ years (microplastics)
Carbon Footprint (kg CO₂e/kg)	-1.2	+2.5	+1.8	+6.0
Tensile Strength (MPa)	40–90	50–70	30–50	20–40
Key Applications	Films, medical, marine	Packaging, cutlery	Premium packaging, medical devices	General-purpose

Cost Efficiency: Algae cultivation costs (300/ton) are 40-50% lower than PLA (300/ton) and require no arable land (PLA occupies 0.02% of global farmland, Nature, 2022).
Performance Superiority: Tensile strength (90 MPa) exceeds PLA (70 MPa), enabling high-load applications (e.g., medical stents).
Policy Alignment: Benefits from EU's 2021 Plastic Tax (€0.8/kg for non-degradables) and Hong Kong's 2024 single-use plastic ban.
Carbon-Negative Certification: The only material with Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) blue carbon certification, offsetting 1.2 tons CO₂/ton vs. PLA/PHA's carbon-positive footprints.

Data Sources: PLA/PHA costs & performance: European Bioplastics (2023), Grand View Research (2024). Degradation data: Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Report.

LET'S TAKE PLA, THE MOST COMMON
SUBSTITUTE TODAY, AS AN EXAMPLE

Is "PLA – the biodegradable plastic" currently the
optimal solution for environmentally friendly?

The production of bio-based plastics necessitates the consumption of planted crops, which has a significant impact on land use.
Bio-based plastics have a lengthy production process with many intermediate products, requiring additional resources for treatment (such as composting). Existing domestic waste disposal facilities cannot provide sufficient degradation conditions.
Decomposition without specific and strict degradation conditions will generate microplastics.
Microplastics will be generated by decomposition without specific and strict degradation conditions.

According to data from the China Ecological Environment Publicity and Education Center: China's garbage, sanitary landfill disposal amounted to 115 million tons, accounting for 63.9 per cent, incineration disposal amounted to 361 million tons, accounting for 33.9%, and composting, anaerobic digestion and other treatment methods accounted for 2.2 %.

ALTOMIC™ 藻基技術