HariTerra

HariTerra

HariTerra builds photobioreactors that make microalgae affordable to grow at scale. We grow Spirulina in closed, LED-lit reactors and turn it into two products: phycocyanin, a natural blue pigment, and protein-rich biomass for food.

The problem
Microalgae grow fast, produce complete protein and need no farmland. The reason they have not scaled is cost. Open ponds are cheap to build but slow, prone to contamination and dependent on the weather. Closed photobioreactors give control and purity, but they have been too expensive to build and run. That cost gap keeps algae a niche ingredient rather than a mainstream food and climate solution.

Our approach
We designed our reactor around cost from the start. Our panels are 3D printed, sensor enabled and LED illuminated, with an economic channel geometry and LED optimisation that delivers light where the algae can use it. Panels stack into a shared rack, so capacity grows by adding units rather than by building larger, more complex vessels. The design is patent pending.

We keep the reactor in house. It is our cost advantage, not equipment we sell initially. Our customers buy what comes out of it.

Our products
Phycocyanin is a natural blue pigment extracted from Spirulina, used in food colouring, cosmetics and life science research. It is our profit centre and it funds the scale-up of the reactor. The protein-rich residue left after extraction is our second product line, and the one that grows with volume.

Our climate impact, stated honestly
We feed our reactors with biogenic CO2, captured from sources such as biogas upgrading and fermentation, where it is otherwise vented to the atmosphere. Instead of being released, that CO2 is turned into food protein and pigment.

Because this carbon is biogenic and returns to the atmosphere when the biomass is eaten, we do not call ourselves a carbon removal company. We are a carbon utilisation company, and our climate impact comes from what our protein replaces. Protein grown in a controlled reactor on renewable electricity, from CO2 that would otherwise be wasted, can displace animal protein with far higher emissions. We account for this under the GHG Protocol and ISCC EU frameworks, and we test our assumptions against the hardest question: who actually switches to our protein, and what they stop eating.

Our team
Naga Adithya Chandra Pandurangi, PhD, leads science and operations. He is a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow with hands-on experience in microalgae culture and bioelectrochemistry, and industrial materials R&D under ISO 9001 and GMP.
Satyam Shukla leads mechanical design and fabrication. He is a mechanical and CFD engineer who designs our panels and the flow inside them.
Actively looking for a commercial co founder, who can lead commercial strategy, partnerships.

HariTerra was founded within Carbon13 Berlin, a climate venture builder. We work from Berlin and Tarragona, Spain.

Who we want to meet
Advisors in downstream processing, especially pigment purification.
Food and ingredient companies interested in natural colours or algal protein.
Biogas plants, breweries and other producers of biogenic CO2 looking to use it.
Pilot and manufacturing partners.
Investors in food and climate technology.

If you work on microalgae, controlled cultivation, natural colours or alternative protein, come and talk to us.