The new project optiPBR has recently started at innoFSPEC. Over the next three years, our researchers, including our new member Jon Scouten, will work together with colleagues from SOPAT GmbH and PDW Analytics GmbH to develop an optical sensor platform to online-monitor the cultivation of microalgae in photobioreactors (PBR) and detect potential bioburdens such as bacteria or protozoa. Thanks to the platform, the efficiency of industrial-scale microalgae production may be significantly increased, adressing global food supply shortfalls that are anticipated due to overpopulation and climate change in the future.