Project description
Upgraded and cost-saving microalgae photobioreactor
Advanced cultivation technologies ensure sustainable biofuel production. The EU-funded BREVEL project aims to develop such a technology, significantly reducing cultivation costs for light-dependent microalgae. The landmark technology allows producers to tap into new markets in need of microalgae biomass and derived products. The patented product provides a cost reduction of as much as 90 %, allowing significantly higher yields from land compared to current outdoor state-of-the-art photobioreactors. A first pilot factory programmed to produce 400 tonnes of biomass annually will be constructed as part of the project.
Objective
Brevel developed a disruptive microalgae cultivation technology which dramatically reduces the cultivation costs for light-dependent microalgae and enables penetration into new and yet untapped markets where microalgae biomass and derived products are much desired.
The technology is based on shifting from very large, relatively inefficient and labour-intensive outdoor cultivation system to completely closed, sterile and fully automated indoor photobioreactors which are efficiently illuminated from within and are capable of continuous mixotrophic cultivation which combines photosynthesis with fermentation processes.
The patented Brevel mixotrophic cultivation technology has been successfully demonstrated on a large scale with surprising results of more than 90% cost reduction and up to 200 higher yields per land compared to current outdoor state-of-the-art photobioreactors. Conditions are finally ripe for the next big stage of mass production.
Capitalizing on the technological advancement, a first pilot factory capable of producing 400 tonnes of biomass annually will be constructed and the first use case of salmon feed supplements will be addressed to replace the current unsustainable synthetic alternative at comparable costs. Next, additional markets including protein and fatty acids from a sustainable source at affordable costs will be approached.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbotany
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybioprocessing technologiesfermentation
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
7634912 Rehovot
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.