Grown in ponds or photobioreactors, microalgae can turn local utilities and industrial CO₂ access points into places for biomass production.

Microalgae are foundational primary producers: oxygenic photosynthesizers that convert CO₂ into biomass and oxygen. In Europe, microalgae are mostly cultivated on land in photobioreactors, open ponds or fermenters rather than in the sea.  In these industrial and applied contexts, nutrient supplementation and cultivation conditions are optimized for high-rate productivity, cost, or to remove nutrients and contaminants from wastewater.

While global microalgae production is estimated at ~130,000 tons (dry weight), European production is estimated at well under 0.5% of that global output.  The most cultivated species include Chlorella spp, Spirulina and Haematococcus pluvialis. The major applications include nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and specialty ingredients such as pigments and antioxidants, plus emerging high potential, low deployment applications like biofuels, wastewater utilities and industrially-based nutrient recovery and CO₂ capture pathways.