Microalgal bioproduction platform – Innovating through bioprospecting for a greener tomorrow

September 11th, 2025

The challenge

Our planet faces a convergence of environmental crises: high carbon emissions are accelerating global warming, causing the degradation of aquatic ecosystems and the myriad services they provide. Microalgae (microscopic photosynthetic organisms, including cyanobacteria) offer solutions for these problems. They can simultaneously capture atmospheric carbon dioxide, purify wastewater, and generate valuable biomass. However, when grown excessively, some microalgae species can contribute to ecological imbalance through harmful algal blooms (HABs).

Microalgae are increasingly recognised as versatile agents for environmental bioremediation and the sustainable production of food, medicines, materials, and other valuable commodities. They play a key role in advancing circular economy solutions to today’s environmental challenges. Unlocking this potential relies on one critical factor: cultivating microalgal strains with the desired capabilities that perform optimally where solutions are needed.

Our response

Our platform facilitates the targeted selection of strains for both environmental and industrial applications, providing a solid foundation for scalable biotechnological solutions. More specifically, our approach integrates high-throughput culture screening with long-read amplicon sequencing to identify microalgal species and their associated microbiomes. We adopted a “biorefinery” approach (converting biomass into a variety of valuable products) and developed a one-stop shop for identifying, characterising, and collecting functionally relevant microalgae. Sourced from mine water voids, wastewater treatment facilities, and the Swan-Canning River freshwater system, some of these strains display two key traits essential for bioplastics production: rapid growth and lipid accumulation.

We are expanding our framework by characterising promising microalgal strains, optimising growth conditions, developing preservation protocols, and studying microbial interactions in the phycosphere. At the same time, we are exploring biomass composition for diverse industrial applications, enhancing HABs detection, and building high-throughput, automated pipelines for efficient species screening.

The results

Our efforts have resulted in a one-of-a-kind, industrially relevant microalgal collection, comprising WA-native microalgal strains. Our strain selection, based on growth and lipid profiles, paves the way for biopolymer production coupled with wastewater treatment, enhancing sustainability.

The Microalgae Bioproduction Platform allows high-throughput isolation and screening capabilities that are adaptable to a wide range of stakeholder needs, allowing several bioproducts or bioprocesses to be targeted. It also provides solutions to industry and environmental challenges such as excessive carbon emissions, post-mining contaminated soils and waters, and chemically complex industrial waste streams with highly diverse and variable chemistries. Additionally, we are developing a novel long-read sequencing approach for microalgal identification, which holds promise for environmental monitoring applications, including HABs detection. This complements traditional microscopy and pathogen screening methods by detecting the organisms’ genetic material instead of relying on cell phenotypes and counts.

We show how bioprospecting can transform municipal and mining effluents into opportunities for pollution management and value recovery. By harnessing photosynthetic microbes for scalable bioproduction, we provide innovative remediation solutions to address Australia’s pollution and waste legacy. With expertise in algal research, tailored protocols, and strong industry partnerships, we deliver end-to-end biotechnology solutions that support sustainable industry growth while protecting the environment.