Abstract

Microalgae are unicellular aquatic organisms that live by photosynthesis and so can convert solar energy into anything from biomass for animal feed, high value compounds such as vitamins, pigments and even pharmaceuticals, to biofuel feedstocks. However, to implement this technology in a sustainable and economic manner, it will be necessary to optimize many parameters. These include establishing effective, robust and high-yielding production strains, and just as importantly working out how to grow them sustainably at scale. I will present our work tackling both how to do this for two applications. The first uses our engineered strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Phaeodactylum tricornutum to produce plant diterpenoids, high value compounds that have therapeutic applications. The other is incorporating algal production into valorisation of waste streams from agriculture, generating several products including biogas, (more) potable water and biomass for animal feed. The processes can reduce overall energy and input costs and aim to be circular. We carry out these studies in the Algal Innovation Centre, a large outdoor facility in the Cambridge Botanic Garden that provides the means to test a range of microalgal-based technological and biological solutions to address issues of sustainability and feedstock production. It is licenced for non-native and genetically modified species of algae.