We are looking for a partner from Japan for the following project idea:

Biogenic waste is a growing problem that significantly impacts the environment, economy, and society. It is mostly landfilled or converted into low-value products (fertilizer and fuels) using conventional waste management processes, leading to the loss of valuable resources. The proposed UrbanBio project aims to solve this problem by upcycling biogenic waste into high-quality bioactive compounds using microalga, Galdieria sulphuraria, as a bioconversion tool. G. sulphuraria is an extremophile microalga that thrives under extreme conditions (pH 2 and 45 °C) and exhibits heterotrophic growth in the dark using organic carbon as an energy source. We hypothesize that, upon proper pretreatment, biogenic waste can act as a raw material to support the heterotrophic cultivation of G. sulphuraria and yield specific products like phycocyanin, glycogen, and protein-rich microalgal biomass. Moreover, we hypothesize that the extreme cultivation conditions used for G. sulphuraria growth will help to minimize microbial contamination and allow the production of contamination-free biomass for use in food and nonfood formulations.

We are searching for partners from Japan who can contribute to the development of a decentralized process operating autonomously in urban area!

IFN Schoenow is a public research institute active in the area of bioeconomy.