Lab visits at Agroscope (Bern, CH), Microalgae bioreactor at ZHAW (Wädenswi, CH), Algatech industry and research at EPFL (Lausanne, CH) 4-6 June 2024
Maya Minder
The artists collective Disnovation (Maria Rozkovska & Nicolas Maigret), the Homo Photosyntheticus lab (Maya Minder, Ewen Chardronnet, Julie Verin, Armand Gypteau) visited three Swiss labs researching on algae from different viewpoints.
The potential of microalgae is enormous, which is why Agroscope is researching the options for using these microorganisms as feed ingredients for livestock. As part of a long-term project called “Algafeed”, Agroscope researchers are aiming to produce a new source of protein for livestock on the basis of microalgae. To do this, they plan to set up microalgae production systems or “photobioreactors” (PBRs) directly on the farm.
The objective is to develop a decentralised production system for protein-rich microalgae in order to supply locally made feed, thus reducing imports of soybean oilcake meal. For ZHAW their approach is on the circular systems and algae as biofuels. For the future, the use of finite resources must be reduced and recycling processes developed. This is where ZHAW comes in and uses microalgae to produce environmentally friendly animal feed and recyclable materials.
ZHAW in their pilot project and research uses nutrients from wastewater, for example from aquaculture or agriculture, to fertilise the algae. In this way, they hope to reduce emissions from other processes and close cycles. Algatech in Lausanne gave a tour into their labs, where they are mutually researching in new formats of bioreactors while combining them with DSSC Solar cells that shield and protect their bioreactors. The Artis were aible to witness their research objectives and industrial prototypes, many questions were asked and discussions shared. The finale place to visit was the independent Bio-Hackerspace Hackuarium that has been existing since more than 10 year ans is located in Ecublens.
More infos :
https://www.agroscope.admin.ch...
Lab visit at ZHAW together with Dr. Dominik Refardt and French and Swiss Artists and spirulina farmer (l.t.r. Armand Gipteau, Maya Minder, Dominik Rerfardt, Nicolas Maigret - Disnovation.org, Julie Ode - Verin, Ewen Chardronnet, Maria Roskowska)
