The current food system is seriously challenged by evolving consumers needs and by the rapid world population growth, which could peak to 9.7 billion people in 2060. To provide food system with high nutritional value ingredients, it becomes of paramount important to harness the potential of the oceans in an environmentally responsible manner. Microalgae are a highly promising source of aquatic biomasses and find applications in a wide range of fields, including nutrition and well-being. Currently, no large-scale industrial production site provides access to the exceptional biodiversity of microalgae in an efficient way. Only a few species are produced globally with dedicated production sites. For instance, 70% of the market is currently represented by Spirulina and Chlorella. The SCALE project strives to build and operate a first of its kind Flagship plant producing ingredients with high nutritional value derived from the untapped microalgae diversity, for food, food supplements, feed and cosmetics sectors, through economically-sound processes and in an environmentally friendly way. This Flagship project is based on the unique and cutting-edge CAMARGUE photobioreactor technology developed and patented by Microphyt, a French leading SME in microalgae-based natural solutions for nutrition and well-being. The CAMARGUE technology currently operating and running at demo plant offers both high differentiation potential and the ability to supply natural active ingredients in an industrial and standardized way. SCALE will transfer this technology from the demo plant to the industrial Flagship plant able to produce large-scale volumes of high-value ingredients of unique microalgae species that cannot be supplied from other production technologies. To do so, SCALE project gathers 12 key EU and international partners in an integrated value chain from microalgae production to high value ingredients extraction of bioactives compounds and end-use applications in food, food supplements, feed, and cosmetic domains.

The GHaNA project aims to explore and characterize a new marine bioresource, for blue biotechnology applications in aquaculture, cosmetics and possibly food and health industry. The project will determine the biological and chemical diversity of Haslea diatoms to develop mass-scale production for viable industrial applications by maximising biomass production and associated high-value compound production, including terpenoids, marennine-like pigments, lipids and silica skeletons. The genus Haslea species type H. ostrearia, produces marennine, a water-soluble blue pigment used for greening oysters in Western France, which is also a bioactive molecule. Haslea diatoms have thus a high potential for use in (1) existing oyster farming, (2) production of pigments and bioactive compounds with natural antibacterial properties, (3) application as a colouring agent within industry, and (4) use of silica skeletons as inorganic “biocharges” in the formulation of new elastomeric materials. This will be achieved through fundamental and applied-oriented research to isolate fast- growing strains of Haslea, optimising their growth environment to increase marennine and other high-value compound productivity; to develop blue biotechnology specifically applied to benthic microalgae (biorefinery approach, processes); and to develop industrial exploitation of colouring and bioactive compounds through commercial activities of aquaculture, food, cosmetics and health.

Building up on a successful Phase 1, the French SME MICROPHYT has demonstrated its ability to industrially over-produce specific marine bioactive compounds from selected microalgae. Through innovative and patented processes, it delivers unequalled concentration of these compounds which have already shown preliminary positive effects in the nutrition & health domains. Leveraging the company initial knowledge and expertise, the SMILE program aim at delivering a ready-for-market and highly effective microalgae-based ingredient for food supplement and nutraceutical applications. This ingredient will target weight management and preservation of cognitive function, two current major societal challenges, through a differentiated and sustainable approach. The successful commercial launch of SMILE Ingredient will depend on its ability to create added-value to the industry customers and to demonstrate full safety and efficacy for the end-user. As outcomes of Phase 2, MICROPHYT will deliver demonstrated and reliable information on the future ingredient and will have secured regulatory compliance in order to market SMILE ingredient in the EU and the USA. SMILE project is of strategic importance for MICROPHYT since it allows the company to extend its expertise from microalgae culture to downstream processes, and thus to market a higher added-value product, addressing consumers’ needs for natural and safe ingredients. As the new MICROPHYT’s “star product”, SMILE is essential to foster company’s competiveness and to strengthen its position on attractive and profitable market segments. At mid-term, this disruptive innovation has the potential to change the dynamics of food supplement market. With at least two new patents filed, SMILE will represent more than 85% of MICROPHYT’s sales and create 30 jobs by 2022, accelerating and sustaining the company’s growth internationally.

The SMILE project aims at developing a microalgae-based innovative natural marine ingredient with scientifically demonstrated benefits on weight management and metabolism issues. Obesity and overweight concerning 37% of world population in 2013 (The Lancet, 2014) represent major global health challenges causing millions of deaths worldwide. Well integrated comprehensive strategies can contribute to overweight management. Specifically developed bioactive compounds used in food supplements can help people wanting to lose weight. Consumer are looking for safe, effective (scientifically proven), affordable and natural solutions on these issues that represent today an unmet need. Marine environment is full of biological compounds that could represent relevant answers to these needs. Especially, a specific marine carotenoid found in algae, has received a strong and recent interest from the industry as several scientific publications have demonstrated superior efficacy of this molecule in comparison of existing products targeting weight reduction. However, the only available sourcing (a macroalgae) presents several drawbacks such as the presence of micro-pollutants and some sustainability issues. Through an innovative and patented technology, Microphyt produces sustainably and markets unique bioactive compounds extracted from the untapped diversity of microalgae. Microphyt has identified few strains which are difficult to produce in competitors’ systems and that are able to produce high quantities of this specific marine carotenoid. Moreover, our specific process allow the optimal production of this compound combined with PUFAs which exhibit demonstrated synergistic effects on metabolism. In this context SMILE ingredient represents a high added value potential for Microphyt. Phase 1 feasibility study aims at further analyzing IPR and regulatory status of the different strains, releasing a detailed business plan based on market feedback and pursue the scale up of the best selected strain.

ABACUS gathers 2 large industries, 3 algae SMEs and 4 RTOs. It aims at a business-oriented and technology-driven development of a new algal biorefinery, thereby bringing to the market innovative algae-based ingredients for high-end applications, spanning from algal terpenes for fragrances to long-chain terpenoids (carotenoids) for nutraceuticals and cosmetic actives. One key objective of ABACUS is to obtain more than 10% photosynthates of targeted terpenoids. For this purpose, ABACUS selects and optimizes unique algae strains from 4 large culture collections owned by project’s partners. Moreover, ABACUS focuses on optimizing cultivation steps and mastering production of target products by online monitoring and automated control of photobioreactors with the development of specific sensors for terpenes and for the parameters relevant to terpene’s production (light, PO2, PCO2, nutrients). ABACUS investigates the fractionation steps to provide green low-cost downstream processing with a view to reduce operational expenses of the whole production line. Life cycle analysis and techno-economic analysis are fundamental guidelines of ABACUS’s developments to ensure that technologies and products are economically and environmentally sustainable. Applicability of targeted ingredients is assessed by the industrial partners (SMEs and large industries with established access to markets) considering cosmetic and nutraceutical applications. ABACUS aims to demonstrate biorefining processes allowing valorizing up to 95% of the algal biomass into high value ingredients and by-products. EU standards and market regulations associated to innovative bioprocesses and new ingredients are reviewed in order to demonstrate the acceptability of the ABACUS biorefinery. ABACUS key advantage lies in its business-oriented workplan, gathering key players along the whole product development chain and incorporating most-advanced technologies for efficient growth and fractionation of microalgae.