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Project information
Gloved hands using a color fan scale to assess the flesh color of a salmon fillet on a white surface.

Project Technology Highlight: Nofima’s expertise

Within the Purple4Life project, Nofima contributes its expertise in fish feed formulation and production, fish nutrition and the evaluation of how functional ingredients such as purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) influence fish performance, health, welfare and product quality. This research step is crucial for enabling safe implementation of PPB as a sustainable alternative to conventional antioxidants in aquaculture diets

|Feb 2, 2026|0

Project information
Test tube with green liquid and microbe-like particles placed inside a glass beaker in a laboratory setting, with blurred green biotechnological equipment in the background, representing microbial cultivation and sustainable biotechnology research.

Project Technology Highlight: Imperial College London expertise

Within Purple4Life, our team at Imperial College London is working to understand how new PPB-based food and feed value chains perform when they move from lab-scale to real-world production. To support this transition, we are developing environmental, circularity, and social assessments that quantify the true impacts and benefits of PPB across its entire lifecycle.

|Jan 23, 2026|0

Project information
Researcher wearing blue gloves examines an aquaculture fish with a magnifying glass on a laboratory tray, surrounded by scientific tools and sample flasks in a quality control and analysis setting.

Project Technology Highlight: Fraunhofer IMTE expertise

Within Purple4Life, Fraunhofer IMTE contributes its long-standing expertise in applied aquaculture nutrition, feed evaluation, and functional ingredient validation. The institute plays a key role in translating purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) from a promising bio-based innovation into a validated, safe, and effective functional feed ingredient for salmonid aquaculture, supporting the project’s objective to establish PPB as a sustainable alternative to conventional feed additives.

|Jan 14, 2026|0

Project information
A researcher wearing a white lab coat smiles while observing an illuminated bioreactor filled with orange-colored purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) culture in a laboratory setting, surrounded by tubes, sensors, and scientific equipment.

Project Technology Highlight: UAntwerp expertise

Within the European project Purple4Life, our team at the University of Antwerp studies how purple phototrophic bacteria can support sustainable, circular bioprocesses. These microbes are metabolically versatile, but their real value will depend on knowing exactly which conditions trigger the formation of high-value antioxidants.

|Dec 15, 2025|0

Results
Split-screen image showing laboratory work. On the left, Dr. Zuzana Sumbalová is preparing PPB samples for CoQ10 extraction using a pipette at a lab bench. On the right, several test tubes with PPB samples of different colors are placed in a rack, illustrating how different strains produce different pigments.

PURPLE4LIFE Moves Forward in Exploring Purple Bacteria for Human Health

The Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) brings together two complementary teams working on Purple4Life: the High-Performance Research Group in Chemical and Environmental Engineering led by Dr. Daniel Puyol, specializing in purple phototrophic bacteria cultivation and bioprocess optimization, and the Ciberimaginario group led by Prof. Manuel Gertrudix, experts in scientific communication and audiovisual content production.

|Dec 10, 2025|0

Partner Information
Entrance at URJC, Spain

Meet our partner: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC). Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

The Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) brings together two complementary teams working on Purple4Life: the High-Performance Research Group in Chemical and Environmental Engineering led by Dr. Daniel Puyol, specializing in purple phototrophic bacteria cultivation and bioprocess optimization, and the Ciberimaginario group led by Prof. Manuel Gertrudix, experts in scientific communication and audiovisual content production.

|Dec 1, 2025|0

Partner Information
Research Group at Slovak Medical University (SZU)

Meet our partner: Comenius University in Bratislava / Slovak Medical University

The Mitochondrial Medicine and Coenzyme Q10 Research Group at the Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava (LFUK, UNIBA) is working on research in the Pharmacobiochemical Laboratory of the Third Department of Internal Medicine. Its research is based on different aspects of mitochondrial bioenergetics and Coenzyme Q (CoQ) biology, from mitochondrial respiratory chain function and CoQ metabolism to the therapeutic applications of CoQ10 supplementation in clinical medicine, including cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and post-COVID-19 syndrome.

|Nov 10, 2025|0

Partner Information
Pablo de Olavide Group

Meet our partner: Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO). Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

The Cell Biology Group at the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO) is working on research in the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology. Its research is based on different aspects of Coenzyme Q (CoQ) biology from its synthesis and rare mitochondrial diseases associated with mutations in the proteins involved in its synthesis to the role of CoQ on antioxidant protection, chronic diseases and aging.

|Nov 1, 2025|0

Curiosity
Coenzyme Q10

Did you know that CoQ10…

Fraunhofer IMTE advances functional aquafeed innovation using purple bacteria. In Purple4Life, the team evaluates purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) as a circular, health-promoting ingredient for sustainable fish farming, demonstrating nutritional, physiological, and environmental benefits that support a transition towards greener aquaculture.

|Nov 1, 2025|0

Partner Information
Interior view of a large scientific laboratory with analysis equipment, workbenches, and a wall clock in the center

Meet our partner: Imperial College London. Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

Fraunhofer IMTE advances functional aquafeed innovation using purple bacteria. In Purple4Life, the team evaluates purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) as a circular, health-promoting ingredient for sustainable fish farming, demonstrating nutritional, physiological, and environmental benefits that support a transition towards greener aquaculture.

|Oct 27, 2025|0

Purple4Life

Horizon Europe Project

Grant Agreement No. 101212806
Project duration: June 2025 – May 2029

Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.

Coordinator

Université de Mons (UMONS), Belgium