IKEA’s external future-living lab — has erected the ‘algae dome’, a four-meter-high pavilion capable of growing what could be ‘the supercrop of the future’. Designed by architects, the food-producing structure houses a photo-bioreactor, a closed system that enables the high productivity of microalgae, microscopic algae that are typically found in freshwater and marine systems. It is imagined that in the future, different […]

A green microalgae rich in protein, iron, vitamins and antioxidants is set to become more affordable thanks to a French start-up team. Shown to be effective in fighting malnutrition and preventing cardiovascular disease, spirulina usage has been limited due to its high production cost. However, the Spiris start-up from Université Paris-Saclay claimed to have developed […]

Chlorella pyrenoidosa is a type of freshwater algae found around the world. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time, and in recent times, emerged as a leading candidate for the production of biodiesels. Toxic algal blooms, can be seen covering ponds and lakes, and happens due to a rapid growth […]

Though the world has recently started recognizing Spirulina, a single celled algae, as a wonder source of protein over the last few decades, the fact has been noted in Indian literature for ages, and even finds mention in books like the Charaka Samhita. Hence, a city family has taken it upon itself to try it […]

Spirulina is highly nutritious and contains about 50 to 70 percent proteins; it is rich in iron, amino fluids and carotenes and contains other micro-nutrients as well. In Mansa, it is being grown in ponds in the communities because of its high medicinal and nutritional value. Zambia has in the recent past been importing spirulina […]

Serbian scientists are leading a research project to develop the commercial production of biofuel from algae. The pioneering project is supported by the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme and is carried out by Belgrade’s Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in cooperation with Manchester University in the United Kingdom and Baylor University in the […]

Researchers from Washington State University and National University of Colombia have developed a faster way to generate microalgae on a biofilm with potential applications for feed. The aim of the project is to develop mixotrophic algal biofilm reactor incorporating glycerol and urea as sources for carbon and nitrogen, establish biomass and lipid production, estimate fatty acid […]

A new €5m European project aims to make it cheaper and easier to enrich food, nutraceuticals and cosmetics with microalgae. Improving extraction techniques and making cultivation of algae microorganisms cheaper are the main aims of the new research program, backed by European Commission, as part of its Horizon 2020 program. The VALUEMAG (Valuable Products from Algae […]

Spain and Portugal have collaborated to optimize the production and exploitation of microalgae across various sectors including aquaculture. The ALGARED+ project will be implemented by a consortium comprised of nine institutions with interests in the areas of aquaculture and biomedicine in the Algarve region in Portugal and Andalusia in Spain. The two year project, which […]

Clearas Water Recovery, a US based company has developed a process to use algae to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from public wastewater treatment plants, keeping waterways from being inundated with the compounds that starve fish and plant life of oxygen. In turn, the algae can be sold to other companies for fertilizer, biofuels and other uses. […]

Parry Nutraceuticals has partnered with Synthite Industries for technology to extract phycocyanin from spirulina. Synthite Industries with a business of $300 million has a global presence in the natural colour segment and will focus on this market. Parry Nutraceuticals has planned to cater to human nutrition segment for selling of phycocyanin. More

Microalgae manufacturer ecoduna has agreed to use SCHOTT’s DURAN glass tubes for its new PBR facility in Vienna, where Europe’s largest facility for omega-3 fatty acids will be setup. The company has chosen SCHOTT to deliver the tubes after an 18- month test period in its new vertical PBR plant. The facility will produce 100 […]

Spirulina, a green microalgae superfood rich in iron, proteins, vitamins and antioxidants would soon become affordable owing to efforts taken by a startup company. The startup Spins is researching to increase the productivity of this functional food. The researchers claim that the technology developed by the team reduces production costs by decreasing water consumption and […]

Qualitas Health has signed an agreement with commercial crop producer Green Stream Farms from Mexico, to triple its algae production capacity.  The company is already cultivating algae in open ponds in Imperial, TX. Green Stream Farms is a team of experienced commercial crop managers who recently took over an existing large pond facility of Sapphire […]

Zivo Bioscience has entered into a new cultivation contract with Algatek, Spain, to produce its proprietary algae strain in photobioreactors. The company is planning to supply its algal biomass and extracts to food and feed ingredients market. The company is also working on determining the commercial viability of incorporating a Zivo strain feed ingredient in […]

SabrTech is planning to launch its product – an easy to transport algae growing system called RiverBox. The company has spent two years in designing the system. RiverBox uses a standard shipping container with upto 10 tiers where the algae is grown. The algae could be used in aquaculture and other industries. According to the […]

Discovering the best suited algae species for biofuel production in outdoor ponds is tedious. Evaluating algae under laboratory conditions may not always suit best under outdoor pond conditions. To make that process simple, scientists at PNNL are working on a project Algae DISCOVR – Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization and Validation Research. The project […]

Scientists from Israel conducted a study where a new Arduino-based LED system was introduced for cultivation of various microalgae species. The system is based on RGB (APA102C) LEDs connected to an external Arduino microcontroller allowing flexibility via programming, modification, and upgrades. Results showed that the low cost, open source LED system could provide versatile light […]

Algae Natural Food and Cargill have partnered to grow organic microalgae in Strasbourg’s port area. As part of the partnership, a pilot plant has just been installed on the malt house site. Algae Natural Food will transform the Cargill Malt Processing Water and CO2 into a source of energy and nutrients for the cultivation of […]

Algae firms Piveg and Cellana have announced that they signed a letter of intent for joint production and commercialization of products from algae biomass including omega-3 oils. Under the new agreement for joint development and commercialization, Cellana will supply Piveg with algae material from its Kona, Hawaii facility, which Piveg will use in its existing […]

Highly alkaline solutions (pH ≥ 10) absorb CO2 rapidly from atmosphere. Hence, alkaliphilic microalgal strains, which thrive and grow in alkaline media, constitute an efficient means of atmospheric CO2 capture. In this study, scientists from Toledo performed an experiment where effect of increasing the media alkalinity on algal growth and the resulting improvement in CO2 […]

A consortium of six R&D centres in Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and France are participating in European CYCLALG project to develop an algae based biorefinery and validate technological processes designed to obtain biodiesel through algae cultivation. Apart from coordinating the project, NEKER will be responsible for establishing optimum, sustainable, cost-effective conditions for algae biomass production. […]

Scientists at Algae Systems LLC, USA have designed a novel approach to wastewater treatment using algae grown in modular, offshore photobioreactors. The experiment was carried out at the Algae Systems plant in Daphne AL, where the process was used to treat up to 50,000 gal/day of raw waste water. A combination of algal nutrient uptake, […]

Researchers from Spain have performed an experiment to scale up the production volume of marine algal dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum using bubble column photobioreactor. LEDs were used as the light source. Results showed that the final cell concentration in the scaled up photobioreactor was nearly  12 x 105 cells ml-1.  Thus the biomass of the dinoflagellate […]

Scientists from US have designed a new photobioreactor system for optimal algae productivity at large volumes. The photobioreactor system comprises photobioreactor units that may be isolated from each other to reduce culture clashes, an array of diffused acrylic rods attached to the bottom of a removable acrylic circular top to provide more light into the […]