Microalgal Biotechnology
Photosynthetic microorganisms use a direct route to convert inorganic carbon into functional molecules while employing sunlight. Our mission is to develop a commercial and sustainable production chain for food, feed, chemistry and energy from microalgae and cyanobacteria. We integrate biological and engineering studies of cellular processes, work on strain improvement, cultivation optimization and scale-up. We bridge fundamental research to applications in outdoor pilot facilities (www.AlgaePARC.com) and use techno-economic models to assess and guide our research program.
Mission
Develop sustainable processes for cost effective and sustainable conversion of sunlight into functional products by photosynthetic microorganisms.
Expertises
- Photobioreactor design
- Metabolic engineering
- Bioprocess design
Design of phototrophic bioprocesses
Industrial strains: Metabolic engineering and strain improvement
Techno-Economic and Energy analysis
We use economic and sustainability assessment of the entire chain as a guiding tool for defining the research program which integrates biological and engineering aspects of cultivation and biorefinery.
To do so, techno-economic models have been developed and we perform model-based simulations, combined with pilot-plant production data to bridge the gap between research and applications. This allows us to assess the impact of our research on the costs and energy demand of the process, and to set clear goals for our research program.