From strain to pilot scale.
We develop non-GMO microalgae strains together with the fermentation processes that make them work at industrial scale, on growth media built from agro-industrial side streams and under real-time process control.
Our bioprocess lab at CRIA, University of the Algarve, Faro.
Strain isolates on plates and heterotrophic cultures in shake flasks, the first screen for any new route.
Non-GMO strain development under sterile conditions, by selection and adaptation.
Bioreactor and downstream equipment, where a laboratory result starts becoming a process.
The biology of microalgae works. The challenge is everything after the laboratory: cost per kilogram, batch consistency and scale-up.
Conventional cultivation is light-limited, quality shifts with the season, and capital cost per tonne stays high. This is one of the reasons why algae, despite their potential, have never become part of everyday nutrition. They stayed a speciality product for a speciality market.
Our research route starts from what people need on their plate, then develop the strain and the process that get us there together. A route is finished when it holds at pilot volume, because that is where a solution starts reaching people’s plates.
Four things that have to work at the same time
Strain development
Selection, adaptation and non-recombinant improvement of non-GMO strains, screened for target compound content, productivity and robustness under industrial conditions.
Heterotrophic fermentation
Closed stirred-tank fermentation, so growth does not depend on sunlight or season and the process can be controlled, repeated and audited.
Circular growth media
Media formulated from regional agro-industrial side streams such as molasses, whey and starch residues, which is where substrate cost is won or lost.
Real-time monitoring
AI-enhanced, non-invasive Raman spectroscopy reads the fermentation while it runs, which turns process control from a post-mortem into a live decision.
Work in progress.
INNOVALG
A collaborative project developing microalgae ingredients for food and nutraceutical use, combining strain improvement, AI-driven fermentation and circular bioeconomy practices.
Role
Lead partner
Partners
Porto, IST-ID, Azores
Scale
TRL 3 to TRL 7
FERMTECH
Scaling microalgae fermentation from laboratory to pilot level, and building the in-house research and pilot capability that the rest of the platform depends on.
Focus
Pilot capability
Target
TRL 6
Framework
Portugal 2030
BIOCAP
Adding two qualified biotechnology roles to the team, an R&D Director and a Biologist, so the laboratory can carry more parallel development work.
Focus
Team capacity
Co-funded by
ESF+, Algarve 2030
Running
2026 to 2028
Four ways this capability gets used
We take part in publicly funded consortia under national and European programmes, usually as the microalgae strain and fermentation partner, and we run bilateral development projects with industrial partners.
For a defined result, the same capability is available as a fixed-fee project with full technical handover. Results developed inside public projects are validated with academic partners and published where the project calls for it.
- Consortium partner in national and European calls
- Bilateral industrial development projects
- Fixed-fee development with full technical handover
- Pilot-scale validation through partner facilities
Bring us a research problem
If you are building a consortium, planning a call, or have a microalgae process that will not scale, tell us the target and the constraints. We will tell you whether we are the right partner for it.
PhycoFerm, Lda., Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal