OpenAlgPB
An open-source microalgal photobioreactor for accessible, replicated cultivation
OpenAlgPB is a MicroLab@Bristol project developing a low-cost, transparent and reproducible platform for benchtop microalgal cultivation. By openly sharing the hardware designs, software and build documentation, the project aims to make controlled algal experiments more accessible for research and teaching.
Why OpenAlgPB?
Controlled cultivation is central to phycology, environmental microbiology and algal biotechnology, but commercial cultivation systems can be expensive and difficult to replicate at scale. Existing open-source bioreactors often focus on bacteria, use very small culture volumes or provide only a single growth chamber. OpenAlgPB is designed around common laboratory culture vessels and multiple replicates, helping students and researchers build robust experiments without specialist proprietary equipment.
What we are building
- A 3D-printed housing for five disposable tissue-culture flasks.
- Integrated magnetic stirring with controllable mixing speeds.
- Fully controllable LED lighting for testing light intensity and light-dark cycles.
- Remote Bluetooth operation using a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller.
- Real-time optical-density measurements using an LED source and photodiode detector.
- A compact peristaltic-pump add-on to enable turbidostat operation.
The 2026 project
Undergraduate intern Kenneth MacIver is working with Dr Chris Williamson to optimise and build the OpenAlgPB system during a six-week summer project. Kenneth is studying MEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and brings interests and experience in robotics, automation, CubeSat payloads and cryogenic turbopumps.
The team will first enhance the existing prototype, then build a batch of photobioreactors and test their performance in replicated microalgal culturing experiments. Experiments will assess mixing and lighting regimes, real-time optical-density measurements, and batch versus turbidostat operation.
Project objectives
- Optimise and build an open-source photobioreactor from MicroLab’s existing components and prototypes.
- Quantitatively assess performance through replicated algal cultivation experiments.
- Share the platform openly through build instructions, code, web resources and a future publication.
Open by design
OpenAlgPB is intended to be useful beyond MicroLab. Designs, component lists, control code, performance results and step-by-step build guidance will be shared as the project develops, enabling other laboratories and teaching groups to reproduce, adapt and improve the platform.
OpenAlgPB is funded by the British Phycological Society through its Summer Undergraduate Internship programme.