Its roles Owner Developer
Decameal ApS is a Danish biotechnology startup incorporated in December 2022 that develops sustainable ingredients from invasive European shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) harvested as by-catch from Danish coastal waters.
The company operates a pilot production facility in Grindsted and maintains offices and laboratories at Agro Food Park in Aarhus. It processes the whole crab using a proprietary, chemical-free method to produce protein meal and protein-lipid concentrate for aquaculture, pet food, poultry, and specialty feed applications. These ingredients naturally contain high levels of protein, chitin, astaxanthin, calcium, and lipids.
Decameal is also advancing extraction technology for shell-derived chitin and chitosan, with the latter marketed under the sister brand DecaBio for research, industrial, and potential pharmaceutical or human nutrition uses. The firm has raised approximately €3 million in grants and equity from investors including Delphinus Venture Capital, Rockstart, and Aller Aqua, plus support from Danish innovation funds.
With a small team of around five employees, Decameal is an early-stage player in the blue bioeconomy, focusing on circular valorization of invasive species to support marine ecosystem restoration. It plans a seed round by the end of 2027 to fund a larger industrial plant with capacity for up to 40,000 tonnes of crabs per year, though the project remains at the concept stage.
Also known as DecaBio.
chemXplore tracks 1 project involving Decameal, of which one is active.
Converts excess shore crabs via chemical-free mechanical/thermal separation into aquafeed and pet-food proteins and shell-derived chitosan; pilot 2 t/day, target 40,000 t/yr.
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