OREANDA-NEWS. R&D center is created for transferring to Russia the most advanced international biotechnologies that allow cultivating microalgae in production quantities and further extracting substances with high added value (antioxidants, pigments and new generation antibiotics) from them.

Russian division is a 100 % subsidiary of Solix Algridients, a US biotechnology portfolio company of I2BF-RNC Resources Fund (with RUSNANO co-investor). According to the agreement, Solix Algridients invests $5 mln into Russian division.

The project is being implemented at the premises of the Gubkin Russian State Oil and Gas University and involves the creation of experimental-industrial production. It is planned simultaneously to systematize and examine unique collections of microalgae strains stored in the Russian research institutes (the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the I.D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow State University), as well as to conduct expeditions in order to collect wild species of the microalgae in Buryatia and the Far East.

The market prospects of the project at the first stage are associated with the production of microalgae-based polyunsaturated fatty acids and medical cosmetics. The capacity of this segment of the Russian market is evaluated as more than $1 bln. The list of promising products includes EPA which helps to enhance the immune system and astaxanthin that is one of the most powerful antioxidants.

For the purpose of technology transfer to Russia, the Lumian AGS260 was provided. It is a unique device that allows controlling the main parameters of microalgae cultivation: temperature, pH, intensity of mixing and carbon dioxide flow. In addition, the system has a sectional structure which provides for simultaneous cultivation of several microalgae strains in different conditions. As part of the project an international team of researchers collaborating with leading scientific organizations in Russia and other countries was formed.