The biotechnology company Microphyt, represented in Spain by Bonderalia, has officially inaugurated the first industrial microalgae biorefinery on a global scale, marking a turning point in the sustainable production of natural active ingredients.
The project, called SCALE, has been developed for four years with the support of the European program Horizon 2020 and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium, and brings together eleven European partners specialized in different stages of the bioindustrial value chain.
With more than 5,000 m² of facilities and a production capacity of over 100 tons per year, this new plant incorporates exclusive photobioreactor technologies for the controlled and efficient cultivation of various strains of microalgae, many of them unprecedented in cosmetic applications.
The biorefinery, located in Baillargues, near Montpellier, has been designed to serve markets such as personal care, nutrition and health, with processes certified under the most demanding standards of the cosmetic sector. It also integrates circular economy practices and solar self-consumption, consolidating itself as a model of industrial production with low environmental impact.
Among the ingredients developed and already available on the market are Zenitium™, a marine active ingredient with proven efficacy on the effects of the emotional exposome, and others such as Renouvellance or PhycoSi™, aimed at advanced cosmetic solutions with clinical support.
With this opening, Microphyt reinforces its position as a European benchmark in microalgae-based biotechnology, offering new generation functional ingredients for formulations that require proven efficacy, naturalness and sustainability.