NREL cultivates algae indoors to learn how to boost growth and productivity outdoors

In Washington, D.C., a programmable algae cultivator—designed and patented by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with funding support by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office—is speeding up research to improve algae growth and productivity in outdoor algae farms.

The indoor cultivator lets researchers mimic the growth conditions in the warm, dry climate of the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation, an outdoor algae testbed at Arizona State University.

Supported by NREL’s cultivators and compositional analysis, BETO’s DISCOVR consortium demonstrated a 15% improvement in annual algae productivity in 2020, adding to an already significant 36% increase the year before. Better algae productivity means lower costs down the supply chain, making algae biomass an ever more attractive feedstock for companies.