About Us

Varicon Aqua is the manufacturer of the Phyco-™ range of photobioreactors and the Cell-Hi line of algal nutrients. We are based in the UK and our team has more than 30 years’ experience designing, constructing and deploying algal photobioreactors, high rate algal ponds and aquaculture production systems worldwide. All Varicon Aqua products are built to the highest specifications using high throughput precision manufacturing processes. We combine this manufacturing experience with strong supply chain relationships, giving a systems wide understanding of both the equipment and production processes. This unique experience gives us a competitive advantage during client engagement and project specification, allowing us to provide bespoke photobioreactor and cultivation systems for a wide range of applications. We pride ourselves on our ability to support the client from conception through to commissioning and exploitation, an ability founded on a clear understanding of the interplay between the needs of the organism and our engineered solutions.

To date we have deployed over 350 photobioreactor systems across the globe, ranging in scale from 5 L to 400,000 L. All Varicon Aqua systems are built to high specifications using precision manufacturing processes. Prominent products include our serpentine Phyco-Flow™ and Phyco-Pond systems, which are often deployed in pilot or commercial production environments. Newer reactors include our vertical column photobioreactors, the Phyco-Lift and Phyco-Bubble; as well as our Eco- range of systems, which encapsulate both high rate algal ponds and column designs. In addition to our photobioreactor systems we also specialise in providing the auxiliary equipment necessary for running a successful algal production facility. This includes equipment for process monitoring and control, as well as LED solutions and the apparatus required for downstream processing. Furthermore, we supply a broad range of specialised Cell-Hi algae nutrient and culture media as well as concentrates, aquaculture feeds and water treatments.