The first ever laboratory for producing microalgae seeds in Ethiopia is nearly ready to begin operations.

Run by the Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, the microalgae research lab will produce food supplement products to fight against stunted growth in children.

It is a containerised laboratory that can be moved between multiple sites. The mobile lab has an air conditioner, a microscope, accessory materials and automatic backup generators among other features.

Built and equipped for eight million Birr, the laboratory is expected to start pilot production within six months. Upon being operational, it will be able to produce up to 100lt of inocula - an inoculation substance for cyanobacteria ingredient - at a time. This substance feeds algae ponds, which can produce 200tn of dry spirulina, a supplement and ingredient made from blue-green algae, a year.

The lab was designed to produce seeds of microalgae for large-scale mass culture. The lab also can be used as an isolation, training and quality control centre.

Supported by the Ministry of Innovation & Technology, it was conceived of by researchers at Addis Abeba University.

The main aim of launching the laboratory is to encourage the production of algae for food supplements, according to Kassahun Tesfaye, director-general at the Institute, which took a year to set up and finalise the laboratory.

“Dry spirulina can be used as a nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and food,” said Habte Jebessa, (PhD) an associate professor at Addis Abeba University and head researcher at the Institute.

The containerised microalgae laboratory, which was imported from Portugal, has been delayed by four months due to the global Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Kassahun.

For the import and installation of the lab, the Institute hired MEP Engineering Plc, the eight-year-old electromechanical service provider, in April 2019.

Engaged in the supply and installation of electromechanical and medical equipment, MEP Engineering has executed the design, supply and installation of the entire lab, according to Dagim Girma, general manager of the company.

In the near future, the laboratory equipment can also be reproduced locally, according to Yilma Tadesse, technical manager at MEP Engineering Plc and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Addis Abeba University.