Subitec secures funding for photobioreactors
16 Jul 2012
Subitec has secured €4.5m to launch its technology on the global market
The Stuttgart-based company has been working on the development of a flat-panel airlift photobioreactor (FPA reactor) since 2000.
The FPA reactor enables algae biomass to be produced with a net gain in energy.
In its second round of funding, the group secured €4.5m from investors CleantechFonds of eCAPITAL, Fraunhofer Venture, High-Tech Grunderfonds and KfWBankengruppe.
Unlike conventional algae cultivation- which takes place mainly in open ponds- the Subitec algae bioreactor allows land-based cultivation in closed bioreactors without water loss from evaporation.
One of the major challenges is that different light intensities within the reactor cause different reactions in the algae.
To overcome this Subitec has integrated static mixers. This allows the rising gas bubbles to be diverted to the static mixes and set the culture medium flowing in a stationary, circular current.
The algae cells are then transported to the light and then back into the shaded zone at a rhythm of approx. 1 Hertz.
The average light intensity, which is evenly distributed onto all algae cells in the reactor, can be varied by changing the spacing between the FPA reactors outdoors.
Subitec claims it will use the funds from the capital increase to, among other things, develop the fourth generation of the flat panel airlift reactor.
