Research and development
Translating research into applications.
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.
Inside the laboratory
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 rather than modification.
Bioreactor and downstream equipment, where a laboratory result starts becoming a process.
The problem we work on
Microalgae are not held back by their biology. They are held back by everything that happens after the laboratory: cost per kilogram, batch drift, and processes that will not survive a change of scale.
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 its potential, has never become part of everyday nutrition. It stayed a specialty product for a specialty market.
We want to change that. So our research route is built the other way round: we start from what people need on their plate, then develop the strain and the process that get us there together. A route is not finished until it holds at pilot volume, because a solution that only works in the lab never reaches anyone’s table.
The route
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.
Research and innovation projects
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, a Research 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
Working with us
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.
Where a company wants a defined result rather than a research collaboration, 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