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A delinquent state debt is expected to be repaid as part of a microalgae research facility sale announced last month.
Cellana Inc. announced it was selling its research and development plant to another local microalgae company, Cyanotech Inc., in September but declined to disclose terms of the transaction.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which owns the land under the facility, said in a staff report that Cellana had ceased major operations at the site in November and had defaulted on ground rent payments totaling $279,538.
DLNR said Cellana avoided losing its land lease by paying $100,000 on Sept. 5, two days before Cellana announced its deal to sell its plant on 6 acres at the state-owned Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority technology park on Hawaii island.
According to the DLNR report, Cyanotech is paying $495,000 for the facilities, and the state will receive the remainder of its debt, $179,538, when the sale is completed.
Transferring the land lease from Cellana to Cyanotech requires approval from DLNR’s board. The staff report recommends approving the transfer.
Cellana was formed in 2007 as a joint venture between European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Hawaii-based HR BioPetroleum Inc. to produce fuel oil from marine microalgae. Shell withdrew in 2011, and Cellana shifted research into areas including animal feed, pigment, protein and nutritional oil production. The company is seeking to build a commercial production plant on 54 acres at the tech park.
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