Right at the bottom of the food chain, microalgae are the “marine rainforest” – they convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into valuable biomass by means of photosynthesis. Also called phytoplankton, microalgae can grow up to 50 times faster than land plants. Indeed one gram of microalgae can grow to several tonnes in only ten days.  With such a high productivity rate, this resource therefore offers a huge potential for intensive production of food or animal feed in the future.