Our facility at the Cawthron Aquaculture Park produces most of these algae in continuous culture. This is a cost-effective way of growing food algae for our shellfish larvae, but it can also be used to grow algae for other purposes, such as production of useful biochemical reagents and high value products.

We carry out R&D on the continuous production of fastidious micro-algae species. For example, we have succeeded in the continuous culture of Chaetoceros calcitrans, a very small diatom that is an important diet component of many shellfish larvae. This work requires the combination of microbiological, chemical and process engineering expertise.

We are also applying the continuous culture system to grow algae known to produce commercially-valuable bioactives. In conjunction with private sector partners we are developing commercial-scale systems to maximise micro-algal productivity and develop commodity-scale production, such as for use in renewable energy and carbon dioxide capture scenarios.

Our strength is in the application of simple and affordable technology suitable for the bulk production of small to microscopic organisms.

We also grow toxic micro-algae in containment. These support our R&D work in harmful algal blooms (HABs) and are sold as certified reference standards, mainly for toxin analysis.