Internship 6 months : Characterization of Microbial Consortia in Biomethanization Processes (W/M)

In the face of climate change, developing sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based gas production has become an urgent priority. Biomethanization — the transformation of organic matter through the metabolic activity of anaerobic microbial communities — holds a central role in this transition. This process generates biogas, a renewable energy source primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide, which can be used for domestic and industrial heating.

At Phileo by Lesaffre we develop new microorganism-based solutions to promote animal well-being to support an economical and ecological substainable animal sector. Within this vision, the valorization of animal-derived products, such as animal waste for biomethane production presents an important opportunity to address ecological and economic challenges.

In collaboration with three corporate R&D departments (Biodata, Synthetic System Biology and Discovery Front-end Innovation) and one Business Unit (Phileo), the internship will consist ofevaluating the role of microbial diversity in the methanization performance of different internal blends .

Internship Objectives

Using state-of-the-art computational biology strategies (differential analyses, network modelling, metabolic pathways…), the work will focus on the in-depth evaluation of microbial interactions and their contributions to methane production efficiency.

The candidate will develop robust and reproducible software tools (Python, R, CI/CD) to enable efficient exploration of results to provide actionable insights for industrial applications.

The valorisation of results through internal and external scientific communications is expected.