Centre for Solar Biotechnology prospectuses

Integrating microalgae technologies into innovative and sustainable land management practices, to improve water quality, soil biology, crop health and fertiliser efficiency.

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The vision

The Clean Water initiative is designed to advance solar powered green technologies based on microalgae to purify water.

Microalgae water purification systems are designed to capture environmental pollutants and recycle valuable resources.

This will improve the sustainability and viability of agricultural, livestock, mining and municipal wastewater treatment sectors and ensure freshwater security for our future.

The initiative

Single cell green microalgae capture sunlight, nutrients and CO2 and produce clean water, O2 and biomass.

The Clean Water initiative is focused on the integration of microalgae technologies to enable innovative and sustainable land management and

water treatment practices to improve water quality and oxygenation, soil biology, crop health and fertiliser efficiency.

Land use change over the last 100 years has had a dramatic impact on water quality. This has affected the health of many ecosystems, water security for human consumption, as well as the sustainability and effi ciency of important industries such as agriculture, livestock, mining and municipal wastewater treatment. Algal water treatment systems offer a low-cost option for water purification and oxygenation.

These clean water projects focus on the characterisation of natural and industrial wastewater streams, systems optimisation, scale up and deployment. Systems can: reduce polluting agricultural and livestock runoff to the Great Barrier Reef; extract certain heavy metals from mine tailing dams (phytomining); and treat municipal and industrial waste water.

The microalgae produced as a by-product of water treatment can be used as a feedstock to produce bio-products such as next generation biofertilisers, bio-plastics and renewable fuels.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Integrating modular microalgae systems into buildings and urban infrastructure to create eco-cityscapes. This project is focused on designing robust, economically scalable, automated high-efficiency green algae production systems that are visually striking.  

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The vision

The GreenSmart Cities initiative is designed to advance cutting edge green technologies based on microalgae that can be integrated aesthetically into evolving cityscapes.

Our vision is to re-green our cities to make them increasingly functional and livable, and to open up new sustainable employment and economic opportunities.

The initiative

Imagine the integration of modular microalgae systems into buildings to develop eco-cityscapes. These can provide thermal control, help to power buildings, abate street noise and produce bio-products whilst absorbing CO2 and pollutants from the air.

The GreenSmart Cities initiative will facilitate the integration of aesthetic, high-effi ciency architectural microalgae production units into rapidly evolving cityscapes to enhance our urban living spaces and provide a more sustainable future.

Microalgae are rapidly growing, solar-driven microscopic ‘cell factories’ which capture CO2 and can use low-grade water to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, whilst producing O2, clean water and biomass. This biomass can be used to derive valuable bio-products including renewable fuels, bio-plastics, green chemicals and bio-fertilisers.

The Centre for Solar Biotechnology has invested over 50 person years into the development of an advanced process development pipeline which can now fast track systems optimisation. The modular units for microalgae production are guided by robust techno-economic and life cycle analysis, coupled with ‘laboratory-to-pilot’ screening that identify the best production conditions. This ensures the design of robust, economically scalable, automated, high-effi ciency systems. In addition to their productive use, they can be crafted into visually striking ‘living art’ designs that will attract visitors, locals, business and innovators.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Creating robust and economic greenhouse systems—­that can be integrated with existing field production—to enhance productivity, resilience, resource efficiency and sustainability. This project will provide a fully integrated demonstration scale facility to act as an industry and technology hub.

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The vision

The vast global plant based ‘bio-economy’ provides us with a rapidly expanding range of foods, fuels and bio-products.

The Integrated Bioeconomy Project (IBP) is focused on the integration of advanced technologies to deliver the controlled biosphere, a protected cropping system that can produce 10 times more high quality food, with 10 times less water than conventional field production.

The initiative

Global food demand is forecast to increase by 2% per year to 2050 due to our expanding population and the improvement in our standard of living. This ensures a rapidly expanding market, the supply of which will increasingly be impacted by climate variability as well as access to fresh water and nutrients.

The value proposition of the Integrated Bioeconomy Project is that it will deliver an advanced integrated production system with broad reaching benefi ts. It consists of a high-tech protected cropping system (controlled biosphere) able to produce up to 10 times more food than fi eld production with 10 times less water. This can also be integrated into, and enhance, conventional fi eld production.

The project is guided by thorough economic and life cycle analysis to select and integrate the best of a range of advanced greenhouse technologies, thin fi lm photovoltaic and heat exchange systems, crop and algae production systems, CO2 enrichment technologies, soil enhancers, nutrient recycling, water purifi cation capability and biological control methods. These provide optimised production conditions in terms of temperature, humidity, CO2, light, nutrients, pest and disease control.

Our strategy will allow the conversion of abundant natural resources – sunlight, CO2, degraded land and low quality water – into high value products such as fresh nutritious food, algal products (e.g. nutraceuticals), clean energy and clean water.

This project taps into the growing horticulture and clean food markets, advancing toward more efficient, profitable and sustainable closed loop systems.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Using microalgae to produce high-value designer proteins, such as protein therapeutics, vaccines, antibody therapies, industrial enzymes and novel biomaterials.

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The vision

This initiative is focused on delivering a microalgae biotechnology platform for the commercial production of designer proteins.

The platform is based on single cell green algae (microalgae) that use sunlight, CO2 and nutrients to produce high-value designer proteins, such as protein therapeutics, vaccines, antibody therapies, industrial enzymes and novel biomaterials.

The initiative

The Protein Therapeutics initiative builds on over 50 person years of process development across our team and is focused on delivering advance microalgae cell factories for recombinant protein production.

Microalgae offer advantages in terms of functional ability, cost and safety. They can effectively fold and disulfi de-link proteins, are generally free of human viruses and pathogens, have rapid growth rates (similar to yeast), and require lowcost scalable bioreactors and growth media.

Simple protein purifi cation is enabled by the absence of pyrogenic contaminants (e.g. bacterial lipopolysaccharide). The use of CO2, rather than organic carbon sources, also inhibits yeast, bacterial and fungal contamination and simplifies the maintenance of pure cultures.

Target therapeutic peptide leads for the treatment of stroke and epilepsy, have proved difficult to produce in other systems but can now be produced in algae. In addition, the algal production of full length monoclonal antibodies, chimeric anti-cancer immunotoxins, interferon, pro-insulin, luciferase and white spot syndrome virus vaccine for tiger prawns has been reported. Our team, in partnership with industry, have put in place an advanced pipeline for the optimisation of production conditions, next generation systems design as well as technoeconomic and life cycle validation.

We are now seeking partners specialising in biotechnology and engineering to bring these systems and products to market.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Developing advanced microalgae systems that use solar energy and CO₂ to produce crude oil, biodiesel, jet fuel, ethanol, methane and hydrogen

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The vision

To develop advanced algae and bioinspired artificial photosynthetic systems that tap into the huge energy resource of the sun, and to drive the production of costcompetive solar fuels.

Currently, 80% of global energy is used in the form of fuel and only 20% as electricity.

Advanced renewable Solar Fuel systems can produce crude bio-oil, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, methane and hydrogen.

Solar fuels are urgently needed to minimise global CO2 emissions and maintain fuel security.

The initiative

The US$119 trillion global economy is powered by a US$6 trillion energy sector. Of this energy, 80% is used in the form of fuel. Only 20% is in the form of electricity.

Global energy demand is forecast to increase a further 50% by 2050 due to the rise in population from 7.4 to 9.6 billion people and an increased standard of living. Simultaneously CO2 emissions will have to be reduced by ~80% to safeguard climate, social and political stability.

Over 3 billion years, microalgae have evolved intricate solar interfaces that contain the photosynthesis nano-machinery. This taps into the huge energy resoure of the sun (~2,600 times the global energy demand) and uses this solar energy, along with CO2, to produce the food, fuel and atmospheric oxygen that supports life on Earth.

Microalgae feedstocks can be used for a wide range of advanced fuels on non-arable land, including crude oil, biodiesel, jet fuel, ethanol, methane and even solar-driven hydrogen from water.

The Solar Fuels initiative builds on synergies of biology, engineering and economics to increase system eff ciency and drive down fuel production costs. Process development is enabled by structure guided design as well as sophisticated techno-economic and life cycle analysis to fast track systems optimisation, de-risk scale up and develop commercial business models.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Delivering enhanced human nutrition options in the food and health industries. Expanding this niche market by targeting and overcoming existing barriers such as high production costs, poor taste and a lack of consumer awareness as to the health benefits.

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The vision

The Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals initiative is focused on the delivery of advanced microalgae systems and products to enhance human nutrition options for the food and health industries.

Microalgae can deliver superfoods rich in proteins, omega-3 oils and potent phytonutrients including super antioxidants.

The initiative

The Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals initiative is focused on the delivery of advanced microalgae systems and products for the food and health industries.

Microalgae are already commercially produced for niche human health markets. In Australia these are largely dominated by tablets and powders of three species: Spirulina, Chlorella, and Dunaliella.

The Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals initiative is designed to cost-effectively scale up production and increase the quality, effi cacy and range of microalgae products. This will open up significant new market opportunities in emerging food and nutraceutical sectors.

Microalgae strains providing high quality protein, high levels of omega-3 oils and potent phytonutrients will be selected and refined to maximise their health benefi ts. Productivity and quality will be enhanced through the optimisation of production conditions at our advanced facilities as well as refinements in downstream processing.

The development of functional food products will be supported through innovations in product efficacy, food taste and programmes in consumer awareness.

The Centre for Solar Biotechnology provides extensive skills and over 50 person years of experience in the optimisation of algae production and links with extensive expertise of the UQ School of Agriculture and Food Science in food product development.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.

Facilitating the integration of aesthetic, architectural microalgae production units into rapidly evolving roadscapes. Through replacing traditional noise barriers with eco-algae production facilities, this initiative will help to re-green our roads, reduce CO₂ emissions, as well as open up new economic opportunities and sustainable services.

Download the flyer (PDF, 534KB)

The vision

The Growing Roads initiative is designed to advance cutting edge green technologies based on microalgae that can be integrated aesthetically into evolving transport infrastrucure.

Our vision is to re-green our cities to reduce CO2 emissions, open up new economic opportunities and sustainable services, offset infrastructure and vegetation management costs, and visually innovate rail and roadscapes.

The initiative

Imagine ‘growing roads’ in which old noise barriers are replaced with new eco-algae production facilities that re-green our roads and provide the jobs of the future. Imagine the integration of modular microalgae systems into transport infrastructure that filter the air and create asethetic city-scapes.

The Growing Roads initiative will facilitate the integration of aesthetic, architectural microalgae production units into rapidly evolving roadscapes which will not only reduce CO2 emissions, and eco-enhance projects, but can also produce an income stream, thereby reducing infrastructure and vegetation management costs.

Microalgae cells are rapidly growing microscopic solar driven ‘cell factories’ which can capture sunlight and CO2 in low grade water, producing O2, clean water and biomass. The latter can be used to derive valuable bio-products (e.g. renewable fuels, bio-plastics, green chemicals and bio-fertilisers).

The modular units for microalgae production being developed by the Centre for Solar Biotechnology are designed to be robust, economically scalable, automated, high-effi ciency systems. In addition to their productive use they can be crafted into visually striking ‘living art’ architectural designs that will attract visitors, locals, business and innovators.

The project is guided by robust techno-economic and life cycle analysis to ensure that production systems are feasible, durable, and sustainable.

Contact

For more information, please call Centre for Solar Biotechnology Director Professor Ben Hankamer on (07) 3346 2012 or email b.hankamer@uq.edu.au.