Heliae Development, LLC: An Industrial Approach to Mixotrophy in Microalgae

Microalgae are a very large and diverse group of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Most of these microorganisms are capable of photosynthetic growth using an inorganic mineral salt medium, and this presents some interesting biotechnological opportunities. Mixotrophic microalgae metabolize inorganic and organic carbon sources simultaneously, with the energy source driving growth being supplied by both light and an organic carbon substrate. Potentially, microalgae utilizing mixotrophic metabolism provide the versatility to adapt to different scale-up technologies. Mixotrophic cultures combining heterotrophic and phototrophic growth have rarely been scaled up, and mixotrophy may provide more technological options for achieving the economic target for commercial production. This chapter presents a case study of implementation of industrial mixotrophy. The case studies help illustrate the mixotrophic approach that Heliae Development LLC is capitalizing on through a broader technological platform named VolarisTM.