Addressing climate change requires a radical transformation of our economies, including rethinking and overhauling production processes across industries to make them as sustainable as possible. A key area of focus is the greening of chemicals, which serve as essential ingredients in a wide range of products. This is precisely where the U.K.-based startup Deep Blue BioTech is channelling its efforts.
Founded in May 2023, Deep Blue BioTech is leveraging innovative biotechnology to revolutionise chemical manufacturing. The company is pioneering a photosynthesis-based biomanufacturing process, which offers a more environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional methods, such as refining fossil fuels.
By utilising this cutting-edge approach, Deep Blue BioTech aims to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of chemical production, aligning with the broader global push for decarbonisation and sustainable practices. The startup’s forward-thinking model highlights the critical role that biotechnology can play in achieving climate goals and transforming industrial processes for a greener future.
The startup also claims its method can achieve cost parity with conventional chemical production since the genetically engineered microorganism it’s using to produce the chemicals only requires feeding with relatively cheap ingredients: light, water, and CO2. It says this contrasts favourably with precision fermentation, another microbe-based production method that requires more costly feedstock (such as sugar), too.
Deep Blue BioTech is working with a strain of cyanobacteria — also known as blue-green algae (but note these single-celled microorganisms are actually prokaryotes, rather than algae) — using genetic engineering and computational modelling to turn bacteria that is sometimes colloquially known as “pond scum” into microscopic production factories for green chemicals.
The startup says its method is “net-positive” in terms of carbon emissions, meaning the process removes more CO2 than it produces, since cyanobacteria consume the greenhouse gas during photosynthesis.
It also claims its bioengineering approach means it can produce more efficacious chemicals. It wants to improve on earlier industry attempts to formulate more sustainable (chemical) ingredients that often led to less-effective products, making for a tougher sell to consumers. These are “green chemicals” that will deliver on both sustainability and performance, is Deep Blue BioTech’s pitch.
“The first generation of green chemicals, unfortunately, they just sucked,” co-founder Manuel Rios, a former VP of sustainable design at Unilever, tells TechCrunch. “They were just more expensive and less efficacious, and we need to counteract that effect that happened in the last 10 years.”
“What we start to see with synthetic biology, in general, is because of how we create and design the molecules, you can actually go and aim for functionality — which is something that we were not able to do in the past,” he also tells us. “So we create that new generation of sustainable materials, new generation of green chemicals, that are environmentally conscious — but mainly they are superior in functionality. That is what we want to create.”
The cost of producing the chemicals can be another key selling point, depending on the industry vertical it’s targeting, per Rios. The startup is using computational modelling to determine which chemicals are cost-effective to target the novel production method at. “We have selected chemicals that are north of $2,000-$3,000 per kilo, which allows us to have healthy margins while still delivering a discount versus the incumbent technology,” he suggests.
Deep Blue BioTech is starting with a sales pitch aimed at beauty and cosmetics companies. Rios says the textile industry will likely follow — where it would be pitching apparel-makers on more environmentally friendly fabric dyes.
Microalgae
Responding to global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and increased demands from a growing population, Europe is set to transition to a sustainable, circular and carbon-neutral economy. Algae offer a sustainable means to deliver an almost endless number of valuable products including food, animal feed, nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastics, fertilisers, biofuels and more. This CORDIS Results Pack highlights 11 innovative EU-funded projects that showcase the potential and versatility of algae production and conversion.
Algae are an overlooked resource. Ranging from towering kelp to tiny microalgae, they can be cultivated in marine and freshwater habitats, ponds or photobioreactors. Algae can be highly productive, and some can make use of atmospheric nitrogen for rapid growth. Microalgae in particular are amenable to a range of production methods, from open systems using sunlight, to closed bioreactors that run on a fermentation process. They can be produced in high quantities on land not suitable for arable production, and require a fraction of the water needed for terrestrial crops, and can even be reared on wastewater as part of a bioremediation process.
Macroalgae, also known as seaweed, absorb a range of excess inorganic nutrients from the ocean, including nitrogen and phosphorus as well as other compounds such as carbon, thereby reducing ocean acidification. They can be cultivated at sea (offshore) or onshore in ponds, greenhouses and raceway systems.
As demand for food and sustainable products increases, algae offer a sustainable way to deliver these while reducing impact on the environment. The farm to fork strategy supports the role of algae in the transition to plant proteins and its contribution to a sustainable food system. The use of algae could reduce the pressure on plant biomass derived from agriculture and forestry. Eaten as food, they are low in fat and rich in fibre, protein and micronutrients.
The farming of algae can also contribute to achieving the EU’s objectives in terms of decarbonisation, zero pollution, circularity, the preservation and restoration of biodiversity, the protection of ecosystems and the development of environmental services. Strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture stress the need to promote the farming of algae as a way of contributing to the goals of the European Green Deal.
In addition, the European bioeconomy strategy and the blue growth strategy stress the potential of algae, while the recent communication ‘Towards a strong algae sector’ aims to boost research, facilitate market access and increase consumer awareness and acceptance of algae products.
Research and investment, including the Horizon programme, play a crucial role in delivering the innovations necessary to advance the production and valorisation of algae. The projects featured in this Pack cover a range of applications, including fundamental insights into the role of algae in the carbon cycle, the development of new and improved algae production systems, the use of algae in bioremediation, and the delivery of products such as animal feed, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, yoghurt pots and more.
The Unseen
The Unseen is the first company to launch a cosmetics product made from Living Ink’s Algae Black innovation, which is a sustainable, climate-positive alternative to the petroleum-based black carbon pigment found in eyeliner, mascaras and shadows.
The material science startup’s cosmetics arm, The Unseen Beauty, is rolling out Absorption, a range of products made from Algae Black, starting with a lengthening mascara and long-wearing pencil eyeliner, which will launch later this month. It marks a breakthrough in an industry that faces regulatory obstacles for new colourants, and relies on products derived from finite, planet-harming sources. “After five years of R&D, we filed Algae Black under the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients,” The Unseen founder Lauren Bowker told the Financial Times.
Living Ink is a Colorado-based pigment manufacturer that is scaling carbon removal tech to tackle the climate crisis. Having secured $3.5M in funding co-led by the US Department of Energy last year, it is offering Algea Black as a “drop-in” replacement to black carbon pigments, and already supplies the likes of Nike, New Balance, Coach, American Eagle and Patagonia.
Black pigment solutions are often derived from petroleum-based sources like crude oil, natural gas or coal. Each year, 8.1 million tonnes of carbon black are produced globally, but its excessive use has been correlated with organ harm and cancer (it’s a Group 2B carcinogen, making it possibly carcinogenic to humans). Another black colourant, iron oxide, is obtained through mining or chemical synthesis, which leads to soil erosion, habitat loss and biodiversity decline. Mining can also pollute water and air by releasing harmful pollutants, while consuming high amounts of energy that subsequently emit more greenhouse gases.
Algae Black makes use of waste algae biomass that is otherwise destined for landfill. Featuring a 100% renewable raw material, it is produced through a pyrolysis process, which burns it without using oxygen. That prevents the carbon stored by the algae from turning into carbon dioxide, instead forming a char that serves as a pigment. And to achieve substantial carbon cuts, large-scale production and utilisation of the pigment are vital.
While traditional production methods emit about 4kg of CO2 per kg of carbon black. Algae Black, however, has the opposite effect, decreasing carbon emissions by 200%. “For every litre of Algae Black, we remove four litres of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Bowker explained. “It’s bonkers.”
That means using 45 lbs of algae ink can save 22.5 lbs of petroleum. But that’s not all – Algae Black also removes 59kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of planting four trees, given the seaweed absorbs and stores CO2 over a century. Additionally, the manufacturing process saves 98% of water and 400 tonnes of algae waste every year.
No More Harm
Due to stricter regulation and consumer demands, it is increasingly important that industries find molecules that, in addition to having desirable properties, do not cause harm to the environment or people. For this reason, researchers around the world have started looking for active substances in plants, fungi, bacteria, animals and algae that can replace synthetic ones.
Microalgae are a group of algae formed by simple structures of one or a few cells, which can reproduce quickly and generate a lot of biomass; an example is the famous Spirulina, used as a dietary supplement. “From an evolutionary perspective, different species of algae have thrived in very diverse environments,” says Jorge Benavides, research professor at the Biotechnology Center and the Institute for Obesity Research (IOR) at Tec de Monterrey, in an interview with TecScience.
According to him, this has caused them to generate compounds that serve many purposes, including retaining moisture or protecting themselves from UV rays. That is why, for years, Benavides has studied microalgae -among other organisms- with the aim of isolating molecules of interest. His group specialises in finding biological compounds with desirable activities for different applications for the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and bioremediation industries.
Then, they find the natural sources of these molecules and design the chain of processes to extract them. “This whole train of conceptualisation, design and development of bioprocesses is what we are experts in” explains the researcher. In other words, they are an example of the science that many industries promise support their products.
Microalgae are beginning to make their way into the cosmetic industry as a source of natural ingredients, but this has not always been the case: “They are unusual organisms and are not the first to be chosen,” says Zaida Garza, a PhD student in Biotechnology in the Bioprocesses group.
Currently, many natural ingredients in beauty products come from recombinant bacteria -which are genetically modified to generate molecules of interest. However, microalgae also have compounds that could be useful. Some of these are phycobiliproteins, which are part of the chloroplasts of algae -they can carry out photosynthesis, just like plants.
These proteins are fluorescent, have striking colours and antioxidant properties. Therefore, they are often used in laboratories and could be used as natural pigments. “One with which I have worked a lot gives a deep Mexican pink,” says Benavides.
In addition, they have extracted carotenes and carotenoids, which produce colours in the range of yellows, oranges and reds. Thus, these compounds can be used in any cosmetic formula that requires colour, such as lipsticks, blushes, eye shadows, and eyeliners. By replacing synthetic dyes with natural ones, not only are potential damages to the environment and the health of consumers avoided, but they can also have more than one use, such as providing colour plus serving as antioxidants. Probably the most important thing is that microalgae could be a model of circular economy and sustainability. These can use the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by human activities, transforming it into useful compounds for them. Thus, they would generate natural ingredients for the cosmetic industry while cleaning the atmosphere. “In the next 10 or 15 years, a greater variety of microalgae will be used in industrial processes, this is only the beginning,” concludes Benavides.
