Chlamydomonas-Methylobacterium oryzae cooperation leads to increased biomass, nitrogen removal and hydrogen production

•The alga Chlamydomonas and the bacterium M. oryzae show metabolic cooperation.•Monocultures cannot grow in media containing ethanol and methanol.•Consortium can grow very efficiently in media containing ethanol and methanol.•Biomass generation can increase up to 700% and hydrogen is produced.•Nitrogen removal from synthetic media and urban wastewater is almost complete.