F&M

For All Your Algae Answers and Applications:
energy, food, biomass,
cosmetics, consulting and more...

Consulting

F&M offers consultancy and services on different topics

Customized algae process development and plant design.
F&M with its technical team is able to offer specific solutions for pilot to large scale algae plants, including site evaluation, design, installation and start-up.

Energy from Algae
Some microalgae are able to accumulate high quantities of triglycerides, the lipid fraction useful for biodiesel production. Other accumulate carbohydrates, which can be fermented to bioethanol. F&M has developed a large scientific and technological know-how on oil or carbohydrate production from microalgae and can provide selected strains and consultancy on the best processes for exploiting microalgae for renewable biofuels.

CO2 Sequestration and Wastewater Treatment
Use of flue-gas or fermentation gases as carbon sources and wastewater as nutrient supply for the production of cheaper and sustainable algal biomass and derived products.

Feed and Aquaculture
Microalgae are at the base of the food chain in aquatic systems. In aquaculture they are used as food for rotifers, molluscs and marine fish larvae, as an additive to increase survival and improve the health of fish (probiotics), as an enhancer of pigmentation of meat and skin. F&M has selected algal strains suitable because of size, biochemical composition (content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, proteins etc.) and bioactivity for production of algal feeds. The aim is to replace fishmeal and soymeal as principal ingredients of molluscs and fish diets.

Food Supplements, Nutraceuticals and Cosmeceuticals
F&M has identified strains that, for biochemical composition, rich in protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids and/or carotenoids (lutein, astaxanthin, fucoxanthin) , are suitable for commercial production of food supplements, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. F&M has developed culture techniques for maximizing algal growth and productivity of the desired compounds, under both artificial light and outdoors.

Bio-stimulants and Bio-fertilizers
Algae are known to synthesize hormones and bioactive molecules that stimulate plant growth and promote plant health. Together with the academic team of DISPAA, F&M conducts researches on the use of marine microalgae and seaweeds as bio-fertilizsers and bio-stimulants that can be used for organic agriculture.

Training

F&M offers training at all stages, leading from strain isolation to algae biomass production and valorization including:

  • Taxonomic identification.
  • Isolation of cultivable strains from different habitats.
  • Strain selection and optimization of growth conditions in the laboratory targeting specific products.
  • Scaling-up procedures for outdoor cultivation.
  • Cultivation in pilot photobioreactors (bubble columns, GWP®) ponds and evaluation of strain performances outdoors.
  • Energy balances & Techno-economic analysis of the process.

Training activities offered are ideal for companies and privates interested in obtaining a broad overview of the management of microalgae cultures at laboratory, pilot and large scale and for students and researchers interested in the practical applications of microalgae.

Projects

Past projects

BIOFAT (Biofuel From Algae Technologies) (2011-2016) – FP7
The consortium, coordinated by A4F (Portugal) together with Prof. Tredici as scientific coordinator, was composed by several SME (F&M, A&A Fratelli Parodi and IN – Italy; Evodos – The Netherlands; AlgoSource Technologies -France; a large company (Abengoa – Spain) and two universities (University of Florence - Italy, Ben Gurion University - Israel). The project aimed to assess and demonstrate at a 10 ha scale the economic viability and sustainability of the production of biofuels (biodiesel and bioethanol) from microalgae with a biorefinery approach. Within the project F&M had the main task of providing GWP® photobioreactors and know-how for inocula production of the two strains selected by the project. More information at http://www.biofatproject.eu.

FUEL4ME (Future European League 4 Microalgal Energy) (2013-2016) – FP7
The consortium, coordinated by Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research (The Netherlands), was composed by several SME (F&M – Italy; NIS and ID consortium - Spain; Evodos and Feycon - The Netherlands; Proviron- Belgium; Cellulac – United Kingdom) three universities and research centers (Wageningen University – The Netherlands, Ben Gurion University – Israel; Joanneum – Austria) and one large company (Neste - Finland). The overall objective of the project was to develop a continuous one-step, sustainable and scalable process for microalgae biofuels and valorize by-products. Within the project F&M had the main task of evaluate lipid production of the selected strains using its proprietary technology (the GWP®-III) and compare the obtained results in Italy with those of Israel and the Netherlands, were other pilots installation were realized. More information at http://www.fuel4me.eu.

Ongoing projects

NOMORFILM (Novel marine biomolecules against biofilm. Application to medical devices) (2015-2019) – H2020
The consortium, coordinated by CRESIB (Spain) is composed by 15 partners: 10 from universities and research centers and 5 from SME. The project aims to find bioactive compounds from microalgae for medical applications both in treatment and prophylaxis of biofilm infections related to implanted prosthetic devices. F&M has the main task of cultivating outdoors the best 50 strains, selected among thousands of strains by other partners, to evaluate their industrial applications. More information at: http://www.nomorfilm.eu.

SPLASH (Sustainable Polymers from Algae Sugars and Hydrocarbons) (2013-2017) – FP7
The Consortium was coordinated by Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research (The Netherlands) and was composed by 20 partners from 10 different countries. The project had the main goal of developing a new bio-based industrial platform to use microalgae as a renewable raw material for the sustainable production and recovery of hydrocarbons and (exo)polysaccharides from microalgae and their further conversion to renewable polymers such as bio-plastics. F&M joint the consortium in 2015 with the main aim of providing Green Wall Panel (GWP®-III) technology at Algae PARC (NL) and the evaluation of performances outdoors in Italy of one of the selected strain for hydrocarbon production. More information at: http://www.eu-splash.eu.

Other projects

F&M collaborated in the project "Consorcio Tecnologico Algae Fuels", funded by the Ministry of Industry (Chile) as subcontractor of Algaefuels S.A and in the project POR 122 129_11, funded by the Liguria Region (Italy) as subcontractor of Archimede Ricerche S.r.l.


F&M participates with two departments of University of Florence (Dept. of chemistry and department of agri-food production and environmental sciences ) to the Centro di Competenza “VALORE – Gino Florenzano” for the valorisation of microalgal biomasses and residues.

Microalgal Biomass

F&M can provides high quality algae biomasses produced by MicroalgheCamporosso (IM-ITALY) S.r.l. and Az. Agricol Serenissima (PD-ITALY) with F&M technologies (GWP®). The following strains are available:

  • Arthrospira platensis F&M-C256
  • Tetraselmis F&M-M33
  • Isochrysis F&M-M36
  • Nannochloropsis F&M-M24
  • Phaeodactylum tricornutum F&M-40
  • Porphyridium F&M-46
  • Cylindrotheca F&M-M83

F&M also owns a collection of more than 1.200 algae strains isolated from different habitats around the world, mainly from hot and saline environments. Several strains have been tested for their growth performances and biochemical composition at laboratory scale and outdoors. The collection is available for collaborative R&D projects and industrial applications.