Biomaterials

Algae are in fact both a very old and a very new crop. It is old in the sense that humans have gathered and used algae as food and fodder for thousands of years. And it is new because biotechnology research shows that many algae, in addition to having unusually good nutritional characteristics, also contain biochemical substances that can be used in medicine and industrial applications.
 

From jet fuel to health food

One specific group of algae is, completely uniquely, capable of directly separating hydrocarbons that closely resemble jet fuel. In Japan and the Netherlands, work is being done on methods to ”milk” algae without killing them in the process. The goal is to be able to make systems with algae that are continually producing fuel.
In closed systems, algae are produced for several application areas, including the mass propagation of fish fry and as a basis for a number of cosmetics and health food products. The potential would be much greater if the production costs could be made much lower.

Algae projects in Denmark

Macroalgae, i.e. seaweed, has received the greatest interest in Denmark, whereas there are quite few Danish projects involving controlled cultivation of microalgae in closed systems. In Germany, the Netherlands and France, there are large systems where work is being done on producing special substances, including for the cosmetics industry and as an ingredient in food products, for example omega 3 fatty acids.

Microalgae test centre

At AgroTech, technical experiments have commenced. We have built a test centre for both the comprehensive surveying as well as the optimisation of cultivation conditions and testing of production systems for microalgae on a substantial scale. The initial goal is to develop new production technology for the greenhouse industry, which during parts of the year has spare capacity, and where the special production of algae would be able to provide a new opportunity for revenues. In the long run, the goal is to develop new biotechnology niches to the benefit of the entire food products industry and to open the way for new agricultural products for energy, fodder, food products and biochemicals.

We aim at the beginning to produce algae with high omega 3 and protein content, which will both be used directly with minimal preparation for enriching food products as well as being able to be incorporated into aquaculture and poultry farming as a valuable fodder item.

Later, we will work in co-operation with universities on the cultivation of algae containing substances with particularly high economic value. Together with KU-LIFE, we will scale up the cultivation of gene-modified algae and in co-operation with the University of Aarhus we will comprehensively survey omega 3 profiles in various algae and see what significance the cultivation conditions have.

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