Lallemand takes part in SCALE, the world’s largest microalgae biorefinery project

We are very pleased to partner in the SCALE project. The SCALE project strives to build and operate a first-of-its-kind flagship plant to valorize on an industrial scale natural active ingredients derived from microalgae for various high-valuated end-use sectors. It is led by Microphyt, a leading company in the production and marketing of microalgae-based bioactive ingredients based in France.

As part of the industrial consortium, the role of Lallemand Animal Nutrition is to evaluate the benefits and applications of microalgae ingredients in synergy with our own microbial-based solutions for animal nutrition and well-being. Our primary areas of investigation will be aquafeed applications to contribute to improved aquaculture production, as well as swine feed and pet food applications.

Why microalgae?

In the face of several global challenges, such as feeding a growing population, increasing pressure on natural resources, growing competition for land use, and other crucial problems such as obesity and malnutrition, it is considered essential to harness the untapped potential of the oceans as part of the solution to these challenges.

In this sense, microalgae are a highly promising source of aquatic biomass that could be applied to a wide range of end uses, due to their advantages of containing a high number of bioactive compounds due to their great diversity, CO₂ absorption capacity, and unlimited source of innovation for many sectors.

The SCALE project provides a unique technology to unlock the microalgal diversity in order to produce and extract bioactive compounds from microalgae for the food, food supplements, feed, and cosmetics sectors, through economically sound and environmentally friendly processes.

About Scale

The project will scale up the microalgae production process from demonstration scale to Flagship industrial scale with an annual production target of 24 tons of dry microalgae biomass and 105 tons of high-value ingredients and will be located in Baillargues near Montpellier (southern France).

SCALE brings together 11 renowned partners from 4 European countries at different stages of the value chain. The project will be carried out over 48 months, from June 2021 to May 2025, with an overall budget of € 24.5M including € 14,3M funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium.

For more information about SCALE visit: www.scaleproject.eu

 

This project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) under grant agreement No 101023593. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium.