Bio-inspired photonics for enhanced microalgal photosynthesis in biofuels

Project Information

BioMIC-FUEL

Grant agreement ID: 702911

DOI 10.3030/702911

Project closed

EC signature date 26 February 2016

Start date 1 January 2017

End date 31 December 2019

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost € 251 857,80

EU contribution € 251 857,80

Coordinated by

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom

Objective

Algal biofuels have the potential to provide a sustainable carbon-neutral source to fossil fuels, however the scaling up of algal systems is economically challenging. Here we propose a bio inspired approach to exploiting light-matter interaction by understanding and mimicking the optical properties of corals. We aim to inspire the development of improved photonic materials that can be used to maximise algal growth in order to radically transform the algal biofuel sector. The specific objectives are to 1) explore the in vivo light field, optical properties and photosynthetic efficiency of a range of coral species from different light regimes, 2) understand the nanophotonic and structural properties of corals underlying the optimised light modulation and 3) apply the biophotonic insight to design novel photonic materials for the improved growth of microalgae. The proposal is highly interdisciplinary involving optical and photonic characterisation, photosynthesis research and the fabrication of novel materials. The successful implementation of this project will have a high societal impact, through improving the biofuel sector and working towards carbon-neutral fuel sources.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• natural sciences › biological sciences › microbiology › phycology
• natural sciences › physical sciences › optics › microscopy › super resolution microscopy
• natural sciences › physical sciences › optics › microscopy › electron microscopy
• natural sciences › biological sciences › biological behavioural sciences › ethology › biological interactions
• natural sciences › biological sciences › botany

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Programme(s)

• H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme
• H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility

Topic(s)

• MSCA-IF-2015-GF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-GF)

Call for proposal

H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

Funding Scheme

MSCA-IF-GF - Global Fellowships

Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

• Net EU contribution: € 251 857,80
• Address: TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS ; CB2 1TN Cambridge ; United Kingdom
• Region: East of England › East Anglia › Cambridgeshire CC
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Total cost: € 251 857,80

Partners (1)

Partner

Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

United States

• Net EU contribution: € 0,00
• Address: FRANKLIN STREET 1111 12 FLOOR ; 94607 Berkeley
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Total cost: € 160 130,40