Researcher Han Danxiang from the Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS, and CEO of Demeter Bio, Visits SCBE
On May 21, 2023, Researcher Han Danxiang from the Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS, and CEO of Demeter Bio, was invited by SCBE to visit Fengxiang College and delivered a brilliant report titled "Algae Make Extraordinary, Intelligent Manufacturing for the Future" to faculty and students.
The report centered on the economic benefits and carbon-neutral social benefits of microalgae, as well as the scalable cultivation of microalgae. Researcher Han Danxiang pointed out that the end market for microalgae applications exceeds 50 billion USD, indicating high economic value. Due to their high carbon sequestration efficiency and vast numbers in nature, microalgae provide 50% to 80% of the oxygen for the earth's ecosystem. Microalgae carbon sequestration is also an efficient and economical technical path for carbon neutrality. In addition, the rich oil content in microalgae plays a huge role in addressing the current severe shortage of oil and protein raw materials in China. Therefore, researching large-scale microalgae farming is of great significance.
Researcher Han Danxiang and his team have developed a third-generation technology photobioreactor—a fully enclosed photobioreactor, which not only greatly improves the growth rate of algae but also makes the cultivation completely controllable, maximizing cultivation efficiency. Researcher Han Danxiang's team has achieved remarkable results not only in the autotrophic cultivation of algae but also in heterotrophic cultivation. By continuously adjusting the heterotrophic cultivation environment, the team obtained 200g/L of cell dry weight algae powder, which has significant application prospects and economic value.
The report meeting ended with warm applause. After the meeting, Researcher Han Danxiang had a lively exchange with the attendees. Director Gao Shuji and Associate Professor Xu Min of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea participated in the lecture.
Han Danxiang, Researcher and Doctoral Supervisor at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; CEO of Demeter Bio. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Research Professor at Arizona State University in the United States. In 2014, he joined the Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS, and was selected for the "Hundred Talents Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2021, he established Demeter Biotechnology (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd., focusing on research in the field of algal biotechnology. The company uses synthetic biology methods and advanced bio-manufacturing technologies to create large-scale microalgae cell factories for synthesizing functional lipids and alternative proteins. It has received tens of millions of yuan in investment from Sequoia China Seed Fund and others. He was named in the 2022 Forbes China Women in Tech 50 (Note: The original text implies inclusion in a list that might be gender-specific or generic, but "Women in Tech" is the direct translation of the award name mentioned in typical lists, though Han is male; if the text meant a generic list or there is a specific list context, the translation adheres to the text provided. Correction: Forbes China Women in Tech is for women. If the subject is male, this might be an error in the source text, but translation must remain faithful to the source text.).