Microalgae are recognized by the EU as an important factor in the transition to a green and
circular economy, a leap necessary for the sustainable development of the EU green deal
programme. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms able to grow on seawater using
sunlight, nutrients, CO2 with a productivity superior to agricultural crops without competing for
fertile land. It is a growing industry and many companies in various industries see microalgae as
an important source of sustainable raw materials, including vegetable proteins, oil and functional
ingredients.
A large number of SMEs/Start-ups are emerging and need a facility in which the technology can
be further developed to the technology level ready for market introduction. Technology
development among SMEs is often limited by the high investments in infrastructure required to
realize their technology on a pilot scale. The high investments in the development phase involve
great risks and are difficult to finance for an individual company.
AlgaePARC is a pilot plant where technology has been developed in the field of production and
biorefinery of microalgae for 10 years and can help reduce this risk. With the requested REACT
investments, the available lab, pilot, and demo infrastructure of AlgaePARC can be expanded
and made available to SMEs as shared infrastructure. Several SMEs can simultaneously further
develop their innovative technology on location and use the available expertise.
The REACT subsidized investments will enable AlgaePARC to implement the facilities required
by SMEs, new screening systems (accelerated selection of algae strains for faster scale-up),
increase production and testing capacity on laboratory, pilot, and demonstration scale, including
production of food-grade algae, and production of genetically modified algae, testing innovative
sensors to enable automation and efficient process control strategies for better product quality,
and developing a biorefinery unit, which will allow the isolation of functional ingredients in
addition to biomass.
Wageningen University and Research is a global leader in the field of microalgae production and
biorefinery. This has been achieved with scientific merit and valorization at AlgaePARC.
AlgaePARC 2.0, together with several SMEs, will develop business cases for new technologies
and products to attract investors and realize market access and, in this way, support the transition
to a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.
