Inside Iceland’s futuristic farm, algae is grown for food

In the shadow of Iceland’s largest geothermal power plant, a large warehouse houses a kind of high-tech home farm unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Beneath an eerie pinkish-purple glow, illuminated panels hum and cylindrical columns of water bubble away as a futuristic culture of microalgae grows.

It is here that Iceland’s Vaxa Technologies has developed a system that harnesses energy and other resources from a nearby power plant to cultivate these tiny aquatic organisms.

“It’s a new way of thinking about food production,” says general manager Kristinn Haflidason as she gives me a tour of the space-age facility.

For most of our history, humans have consumed seaweed, also known as macroalgae.

But its tiny relative, microalgae, has been a less common food source, though it has been eaten for centuries in ancient Central America and Africa.

Now scientists and entrepreneurs are increasingly exploring its potential as a sustainable and nutrient-rich food.

About 35 minutes from the capital Reykjavik, the Vaxa area produces the microalgae Nannochloropsis, both for human consumption and for feed in fish and shrimp farming.

It also grows a type of bacteria called Arthospira, also known as blue-green algae, as it shares similar properties to microalgae.

When dried it is known as spirulina and is used as a dietary supplement, as a food ingredient and as a bright blue food coloring.

These tiny organisms photosynthesize, capturing energy from light to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

“Algae are eating CO2, or turning CO2 into biomass,” explains Mr. Haflidason. “It’s carbon negative.”

The Vaksa plant has a unique situation.

It is the only place where algae cultivation is integrated with a geothermal power plant, which supplies clean electricity, provides cold water for cultivation, hot water for heating, and even pipes in its CO2 emissions.

“You end up with a slightly negative carbon footprint,” says Asger Munch Smidt-Jensen, a food technology consultant at the Danish Institute of Technology (DTI), who co-authored a study assessing the environmental impact of Vaxa’s spirulina production. .

“We also found a relatively low footprint, both in terms of land and water use.”

Round-the-clock renewable energy, plus a stream of CO2 and nutrients with a low carbon footprint, are needed to ensure the structure is climate-friendly, and he thinks that can’t be easily replicated.

“There’s a huge energy input to run these photo-bioreactors, and you have to artificially simulate the sun, so you need a high-energy light source,” he explains.

“My main takeaway is that we have to use these areas [like Iceland] where we have low-impact energy sources to make energy-intensive products,” adds Mr. Munch Smidt-Jensen.

Back at the algae factory, I climb up to a raised platform, where I’m surrounded by noisy modular units called photo-bioreactors, where thousands and thousands of tiny red and blue LED lights stimulate the growth of microalgae, instead of light from the sun

They are also supplied with water and nutrients.

“More than 90% of photosynthesis occurs within a very specific wavelength of red and blue light,” explains Mr. Haflidason. “We’re only giving them the light they use.”

All conditions are tightly controlled and optimized by machine learning, he adds.

About 7% of the crop is harvested each day and rapidly replenished by new growth.

The Vaksa facility can produce up to 150 metric tons of algae per year and plans to expand.

As the crop is rich in protein, carbohydrates, omega-3s, fatty acids and vitamin B12, Haflidason believes growing microalgae in this way could help tackle global food insecurity.

Many other companies are betting on the potential of microalgae – the market is estimated to be worth $25.4bn (£20.5bn) by 2033.

Danish startup Algiecel has been trialling portable, container-sized shipping modules that house photo-bioreactors and that can be connected to carbon-emitting industries to capture their CO2 while simultaneously producing food and feed.

Crops are also being used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, biofuels and as a substitute for plastics.

Perhaps even microalgae can be produced in space.

In a project funded by the European Space Agency, the Danish Institute of Technology plans to test whether a microalgae can be raised on the International Space Station.

Despite all the investment, there is still a way to go before microalgae become an everyday part of our diet.

It still needs a lot of development, according to Mr. Munch Schmidt-Jensen.

It shows that the texture lacks consistency. Meanwhile the taste can be “fishy” if the algae is an aquatic variety.

“But there are ways around that,” he adds.

There is also the social question.

“Are people ready for it? How do we get everyone to want to eat this?”

Malene Lihme Olsen, a food scientist at the University of Copenhagen who researches microalgae, says their nutritional value needs more research.

“Green microalgae [chlorella] they have a very strong cell wall, so it can be difficult for us to digest and take in all the nutrients,” she says.

Right now she says microalgae are best added to other “carrier products” like pasta or bread to help with taste, texture and appearance.

However, Ms Olsen believes microalgae is a promising food for the future.

“If you compare a hectare of soybeans in Brazil and imagine we had a hectare of algae field, you can produce 15 times more protein per year. [from the algae].”

In the plant I am looking at an unpleasant green sludge. It is the microalgae collected with the squeezed water, ready for further processing.

Mr. Haflidason offers me a taste and, after initial hesitation, I try some and find it neutral in taste with a tofu-like texture.

“We’re absolutely not advocating that anyone eat green slime,” jokes Mr Haflidason.

Instead, processed algae is an ingredient in everyday meals, and in Reykjavik a bakery makes bread with Spirulina and a gym puts it in smoothies.

“We’re not going to change what you eat. We’re just going to change the nutritional value of the foods you eat,” he says.