AgriAlga aims to connect commercial greenhouse cultivation with the added-value biomass generation by microalgae. In Finland, horticulture in greenhouses is an important part of agriculture and ensures year-round availability of fresh crop. To enhance the crop yield and quality, extra nutrients (i.e., phosphorous and nitrogen) are added to the irrigation water. Afterwards, this water is discharged and the high nutrient levels add to the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Microalgae can utilize these nutrients available in the greenhouse drainage water for growth, which simultaneously results in clean water. This joint project of UTU and Oksasen Puutarha proposes to capitalize on this fact and create high-value microalgal biomass in a novel agricultural-algal circular bioeconomy concept.

2023