THE SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH THAT'S NET ZERO BY NATURE.
When concentrations of bacteria mix with microalgae, the expected outcome is terminal for a typical microalgal based carbon fixation and biomass production process.
Hydrobe® scientists observed an unexpected synergy between a specific combination of bacteria and microalgae at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. In the absence of light, heat or pressure, this ecosystem was able to fix additional carbon in the media beyond what had occurred through photosynthesis.
The bacteria then overwhelm and kill the microalgae, and in doing so breakdown the microalgal cell wall and convert into simple sugars. This process enables Hydrobe® lipids to be extracted with minimal energy.
The volume of these sugars, produced with minimal energy, enables resolution of the energy, capital and land footprint constraints of growing microalgae at scale.
Hydrobe® uses a species of Chlorella vulgaris that has been adapted to thrive at high concentrations of CO2 (~10%). While this is not entirely novel it is far more energy efficient to consume concentrated CO2 from a flue gas before it enters the atmosphere than after it has been diluted in air to 0.04%. Such high concentrations of CO2 also reduce the risk of bacterial contamination during photosynthetic production.
Under this high concentration condition, Hydrobe® scientists in collaboration with Curtin University developed a novel, patent pending continuous photosynthetic production process that maintains microalgae constantly in their most productive growth phase.
This process effectively reduces the microalgae growth cycle from seven days to just two days, meaning even less energy and land area is needed for a given production volume. Critically, this process relies on the use and continuous recycling of low-cost media, which reduces other production costs too.
RECYCLING CARBON IS WHAT NATURE DOES. WE JUST FOUND A WAY TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT.
DECARBONIZE WITHOUT CREATING MORE C02.
The significant difference in the Hydrobe® approach to decarbonization is that our biological process fixes more carbon dioxide than it generates.
The photosynthetic stage of the Hydrobe® process is a closed loop system. Air containing CO2 is recycled and constantly topped up to maintain the CO2 concentration. This stage uses energy, primarily for lighting and gas transfer. However, minimal CO2 is exhausted from the closed loop process.
Additional carbon conversion into further biomass and cell wall degradation in subsequent stages occur in the absence of light, heat or pressure. These processes are not energy intensive, but if fully vented, release a small amount of carbon, representing less than 3% of the carbon originally fixed in the photosynthesis stage.
Therefore, even if no renewable energy is used to power the process, substantially more carbon remains fixed in final products than is embedded in grid power required to run the process. The biological energy and sugar recycling are low carbon energy sources driving the bulk of the production process.
Once proven at scale, Hydrobe® solves the carbon problem.
THE SCIENCE SHOWS A CLEAR WAY FORWARD.
The Hydrobe® process was developed and trialed in collaboration with microbiology specialists in Brazil and then replicated and proven at Curtin University in Western Australia.
We are currently at TRL6 stage of development. The concept engineering study by Helix Engineering and class 5 desktop study conducted by Stantec Engineering identified that viability at scale can be achieved with the productivity levels proven in our lab-scale alpha prototypes.
The first 3,000 liter demonstration plant has been constructed in Melbourne, Australia, with commissioning underway to verify at scale. We are on track to complete commissioning by the end of 2024.
