Unlocking high-performance microalgae for sustainable lutein manufacturing

Project partners: Brunel University London & FutureAlgae

Project focus area: Materials and chemicals 

FutureAlgae is a UK based SME developing scalable and sustainable cultivation systems for high-value microalgae derived ingredients. The company has identified lutein as a product with strong commercial potential due to its role as a pigment and nutraceutical as it has been shown to reduce the incidence of age-related macular degeneration. A key bottleneck in the development of their process is access to strains of microalgae with sufficient lutein content to deliver viable economics at scale. This project aims to address this by:

1. Screening a range of species of microalgae to identify those most suitable for scale-up.
2. Applying engineering biology principles to develop improved strains with higher lutein contents.

The outcomes from this work will obviously have short-term benefits for FutureAlgae as it will enable them to advance their process development. Additionally, the project will benefit the team at Brunel by providing a way their research can be translated to commercial outcomes, while also enabling the development of protocols and tools which can be applied to improve the concentration of other valuable compounds. More broadly, the project will facilitate the development of UK based bio-manufacturing which contributes to national goals in sustainable food systems, resilient supply chains and the development of sustainable manufacturing capacity.

For more information

For more information on this project, contact us, or view all Engineering Biology SPARK Award winners.

This project funding is part of the Engineering Biology Innovation Network, led by Innovate UK Business Connect in collaboration with Innovate UK and UKRI’s Technology Mission Fund. The network’s goal is to progress innovations, create a commercially focused community and foster new consortia to advance innovations towards commercial applications.