"Microalgae are at the forefront of the fight against decarbonization. They are photosynthetic microorganisms, so like plants, they capture CO2 to produce a whole range of molecules that serve as alternatives to several polluting products. And, like bacteria, they multiply exponentially, making them the most efficient photosynthetic organisms in terms of CO2 capture per square meter on Earth,” explains Saïd Ihammouine.
Microalgae can colonize almost the entire biosphere. They can be found in Antarctica, on land, on trees, in the air, everywhere. But primarily, they are found in water, making up 90% of their habitat.
“It is said that the Earth has two lungs, a green lung and a blue lung. And the blue lung is that of microalgae, which capture 50% of atmospheric CO2,” specifies Saïd Ihammouine.
Beyond this superpower, the potential of microalgae is nearly infinite. They produce a wide array of original molecules, for example, anti-cancer compounds, others that serve as alternatives to animal proteins, to vitamin B12 found in red meat, and to omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, particularly salmon. And while producing all of this, they consume CO2!
"That’s why the WHO declared that microalgae would be the food of the 21st century, as they can produce a whole range of molecules with unmatched yields compared to animal proteins or fish-derived products,” emphasizes the founder of NeoEarth.
So there are really only advantages to microalgae, apart from their production costs. "Sometimes we have to produce tons of microalgae to extract 3 to 4% of the molecules we are interested in, and the rest we throw away or recycle, but in any case, it doesn’t serve us. That’s why we still struggle to compete with animal or chemical products, especially bioplastics. So our mission is to reduce the production costs of microalgae,” insists Saïd Ihammouine.
To achieve this, NeoEarth has two solutions. The first is to create new strains of microalgae by selecting them, much like farmers did in the past with corn, until they obtained the larger and more nutritious varieties we know today. “We have already managed to increase the yield of several strains by 90 to 100%.”
In terms of volume, the company has also developed a new cultivation process called the "membrane photobioreactor" that allows for the cultivation of microalgae offshore in their natural environment, thus in the ocean and at very low cost.
The microalgae market represents between 5 and 10 billion dollars annually, with a growth rate of 10% each year. Some industries produce hundreds of tons of microalgae every day. NeoEarth will lease the strains it has created in exchange for royalties on their production. These strains will enable them to produce more while using less water, less energy, and achieving economies of scale as well. Ultimately, the startup hopes to partner and co-cultivate with these industries.
"Our challenge is to democratize microalgae, to make it a product that will be consumed daily by the entire global population, with incredible health benefits,” concludes Saïd Ihammouine.
