There’s an urgent need to find new, sustainable food sources for a fast growing population of more than 8 billion people. This DLD24 session with Martin Havers (Agile Solutions) and Alexander Gerfer (Würth Elektronik) highlights the enormous potential of microalgae cultivation with the help of high-tech.
Algae like spirulina are a richer source of protein than most vegetables – but scaling up algae farming requires a systems approach considering various production factors like temperature, humidity and lighting uniformity across different levels.
Proper lighting is crucial for optimizing algae growth. That’s why Agile Solutions utilizes a smart LED lighting system developed by Würth Elektronik for its algae cultivation in a controlled environment – you can see the tanks on stage when you watch the video.
“This lighting system is very specialized and can mix light together”, Martin Havers explains. “This is like a bartender at a cocktail party. And the bartender mixes the right blends of blue, red, white, and other spectral nuances together to generate a feel-good atmosphere for the algae so that it’s healthy and can grow.”
The discussion, moderated by journalist Linda Hinz (News to be Good) also touches upon high-purity algae production for medical and cosmetic use, market projections, automation and AI in microalgae production, and more.
