Accelerating Algae

In large ponds in the sunny southern Indian city of Oonaiyur, Parry Nutraceuticals grows algae for people to eat. The company got started in 1977 as a research initiative to find food sources to alleviate malnutrition in poor children. Now Parry grows corkscrew-shaped microscopic algae called spirulina, which can go in bright green smoothies, along with other species that churn out beta-carotene and omega-3 fatty acids, popular nutritional supplements. In the future, the company hopes to grow algae for fuel, says Sebastian Thomas, a plant physiologist and Parry’s chief executive officer.

Several species of algae are rich in fatty acids that can be harvested and converted into fuels, such as diesel. Since algae can be grown in ponds on any kind of land, they could be a good alternative to biofuels made from foods like corn or sugarcane. Although this algae-based biofuel isn’t ready for market, Thomas believes that it could be competitive, provided that technology can reduce the price of algae to less than a dollar per kilogram. To accelerate this work, Thomas arranged a collaboration with an international research project, led by scientist Michael Borowitzka of Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

With more than three decades of experience growing algae on an industrial scale, Thomas and his colleagues make up a key piece of this collaboration. The project, funded through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, aims “to get some really solid, verifiable data, rather than some rather optimistic projections,” Borowitzka notes. “The fundamental aim of the project is to see whether one can really make it economically, at all.”

While it’s all too easy to grow an unsightly layer of algae in one’s fish tank, growing it on an industrial scale is tricky. The ponds can get contaminated with other types of algae, besides the kind intended for cultivation, and achieving high yields through the changing seasons is a challenge.

To find success in this space, companies need several algae-growing capabilities, Thomas argues. “The success or failure all depends on whether you are able to grow a selected species throughout the year, without much contamination, with continuous yield—but at the same time in a very economical way,” he adds.

That’s why partnering with Parry Nutraceuticals is crucial for Borowitzka’s project. Thomas’s company is “one of the more experienced groups in the world, and one of the few commercial producers of algae,” Borowitzka says. In addition, growing biofuels in India will make the study’s results more robust. If algae biofuels are to replace a substantial amount of the world’s oil, the feedstock needs to be grown not just in Australia, but at many sites around the world. By including Parry’s headquarters location of Chennai in its research, the project will test how economical algae biofuels could be to produce in another climate, Borowitzka says. As he points out, “Climate is crucial, because we’re harvesting solar energy.”