SWINDON, England—The U.K. Technology Strategy Board announced funding of a collaboration between GlycoMar and MicroA of Norway for the pilot-scale production of one of GlycoMar’s biologically active polysaccharides from a marine microalga using MicroA’s patented photobioreactor (PBR) technology.
The project will use MicroA’s recently patented PBR technology as the scale-up platform for GlycoMar’s microalgal polysaccharide product development. MicroA will use their pilot-scale system to optimize growth conditions for maximum algal polysaccharide production. GlycoMar will optimize downstream processing to maximize recovery of the target product. The project will establish the commercial viability of full-scale production. Success of the project will be an important milestone for both partner companies and the wider biotechnology and microalgae industries, and will lead to commercialization as a high-value natural skin care ingredient within three years.
David Bott, director of innovation programmes at the Technology Strategy Board, said: "Industrial biotechnology can help the chemical industry move away from a dependency on oil to a future based on renewable and biological substances. Through these projects we are helping innovative British businesses to develop early-stage biotechnology projects into pilots and to turn pilots into commercially viable processes.
“The enthusiasm shown by U.K. organizations to work internationally and, in this case, partner with Norwegian companies, demonstrates that international collaboration can bring exciting project opportunities for U.K. business."
