AlgaeTec Cultivation Center Opens in Munich

(Algae Industry Magazine) The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has built a one-of-a-kind technical facility for algae cultivation at the Ludwig Bölkow Campus in Ottobrunn, to the south of Munich, Germany, in cooperation with Airbus Group. Efficient processes for producing biokerosene and chemical products from algae will be developed there.

The 1,500 square meter building houses three areas for algae cultivation, as well as a laboratory and office space. What sets the Ottobrunn algae center apart is the fact that lighting and climate conditions for practically any location on Earth can be simulated. Airbus Group and the Bavarian Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Science and the Arts are sharing the costs of just over ten million euros ($11.3 million USD) for the facility and the equipment.

“No one can predict whether or not a specific alga from the South Pacific will be just as productive in Germany as it is in its native environment,” says Dr. Thomas Brück, Professor for Industrial Biocatalysis at the Technical University of Munich. “In the same vein, no one knows whether species which are successful in Bavaria would function as well in the light conditions of the Sahara, but now we can test all of this in our technical facilities.”

Cultivation is not limited to just one type of photo-bioreactor. Various open and closed systems can operate in parallel in the halls, under the same or different climate conditions. Thanks to the facility’s elaborate building automation systems, the algae center’s operations are highly energy efficient.

The AlgaeTec facility is a key part of the “AlgenFlugKraft” (Algae Aircraft Fuel) project, which is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology. Further project partners include the Department of Technical Chemistry II (catalytic conversion of biomass) and the Institute of Biochemical Engineering (technical scaling of cultivation) at TUM; Airbus Group, Clariant Produkte Deutschland GmbH (algae processing, oil separation) and conys GmbH (hydrogen/biogas production). READ MORE