Meet our partner: University of Antwerp (UAntwerp)

The University of Antwerp pioneers purple phototrophic bacteria for proteins, pigments, and vitamins. As leader in Purple4Life, UAntwerp bridges lab and industry with advanced bioreactors, analytics, and global networks to build a sustainable circular bioeconomy.

University of Antwerp: Purple Phototrophic Bacteria for Nutrition, Health and Beyond

The University of Antwerp (UAntwerp) advances sustainable biotechnology through rigorous work with purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB). As a core partner in Purple4Life, UAntwerp develops and scales microbial biomass and high-value PPB products for food, feed and health applications.

Track record

Since 2015, UAntwerp has pioneered PPB processes that produce proteins, carotenoids, vitamins and bio-based materials from agro-industrial side streams and carbon capture tecnologies. The team has already delivered kilogram-scale PPB biomass in collaboration with industry, demonstrating reliable transfer from lab to pilot conditions.

Role in Purple4Life

UAntwerp leads Axis 1 on PPB production. Under Prof. Siegfried Vlaeminck and the SUSTAIN Research Group, the team builds the cultivation and processing workflows that anchor Purple4Life’s circular-economy vision.

Facilities and capabilities

• Controlled bioreactors from 1 L to 100 L with automated monitoring and illumination control.
• Analytics to quantify proteins, carotenoids, vitamins, lipids and key quality attributes for formulation and regulatory readiness.
• Downstream processing including pilot-scale spray drying, freeze drying, cell disruption and product formulation for stability and bioactivity.
• In-house culture collection of PPB strains tailored to target molecules and substrates.
• Industry partnerships that validate performance under real process constraints.

Networks and programs

UAntwerp’s impact extends beyond Purple4Life through: PurpleGain COST Action (a Europe-wide PPB community), RhodoMeal for protein-rich PPB meals, PurpleHealth for eco-friendly aquaculture feeds with IP actions in progress, Redoxome with UMONS on PPB redox metabolism, and Purplex exploring extremophilic PPB for pigment production.

The team

Prof. Siegfried Vlaeminck leads industrial cleantech innovation. Dr. Luis Díaz Allegue contributes expertise in resource recovery and PPB biotechnology. Arianna Reolon (PhD researcher) focuses on increasing carotenoid and antioxidant productivity while maintaining bioactive stability. Together, they are building a robust scientific and industrial foundation for Europe’s sustainable food future.