Description

With Portuguese DNA, Aqualgae is headquartered in Coruña (Spain) and has a manufacturing center in Viana do Castelo (Portugal).

The company is mainly dedicated to the design and manufacture of photobioreactors for the production of microalgae, and the supply of services in essential areas of aquaculture, such as the automation of processes and systems, the installation of equipment and sensors, and the development of platforms monitoring and control.

With a philosophy based on constant improvement and development of more sustainable and efficient solutions, Aqualgae is currently working on the development of an automated tubular photobioreactor to produce marine microalgae, using 100% recyclable materials that will reduce the use of thermoplastic polymers to less than 5%. Now, this equipment is composed mostly of methacrylate (PMMA), a thermoplastic polymer with an average lifetime of about 15 years, which releases toxic compounds if burned and that is difficult to recycle.

The methacrylate will be replaced by borosilicate glass, a 100% recyclable material, with an average lifetime of 50 years, inert in nature, and with better physical characteristics to be used in the production of microalgae.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used to manufacture two photobioreactors within 6 months and represent 80% of the project's global investment. The remaining amount will be invested by the company. First sales are expected later this year.

The Impact

Direct Environmental Impact (the project's): 

• Contribution to plastic consumption reduction: traditional microalgae production systems are made up of plastic bags, with an average useful life of one month, which go to waste after this period of use and are not 100% recyclable. In turn, the photobioreactors currently used are made up of components such as metal and thermoplastic polymers that can represent up to 70% of their total weight. Although they have a longer service life, the change to the new borosilicate glass material will allow 95% of plastic materials to be eliminated.
• Promotion of recycling: in addition to having much greater durability (on average 50 years compared to the average useful life of 15 years for polymers), glass is 100% recyclable and inert to nature.
• Productivity improvement: compared to traditional methods of producing microalgae in plastic bags, productivity improvements of at least 400% are expected. In relation to methacrylate photobioreactors, the increase in productivity can reach 15%.

Indirect environmental impact (the company's):

• CO2 absorption: microalgae are responsible for capturing CO2 - for every kg of biomass produced, at least 2 kg of CO2 are absorbed.

Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Financial viability

The project promoter already has two customers interested in the equipment, one in Portugal and the other in Spain. In addition to the positive environmental impact, the new equipment will allow for an increase in productivity and greater energy efficiency. For the customers using traditional production systems, the increase in productivity can be up to 10 times. These two clients already correspond to a turnover that is sufficient to justify the global investment, with a return on investment of three years.

Download Key Investment Information Sheet

Guarantees

Pledge of the equipment.

The Promoter

About Aqualgae, Sociedade Limitada - Sucursal em Portugal

Aqualgae is a microalgae engineering and biotechnology company based in Coruña (Spain) with a manufacturing center in Viana do Castelo, in the North of Portugal.

At the beginning, the company was dedicated to the construction of photobioreactors for the optimized production of microalgae, which are the primary food of bivalves such as clams, oysters, scallops, clams, and of the larval stages of sea urchins, limpets and shrimp. 

With over 10 years of experience in the aquaculture and microalgae sector, Aqualgae's mission is to innovate and improve the efficiency of the aquaculture industry, particularly the microalgae production systems, in the implementation of automation solutions, increased competitiveness and productivity, greater energy efficiency and consequent improvement in environmental sustainability, and in other industrial sectors that employ microalgae.

Now, in the current context of market instability and lack of raw materials and essential goods, it becomes necessary to produce locally from sea and land. The company's new containerized microalgae production systems (micro-factories), are produced by Aqualgae, and in other industrial sectors that employ microalgae. to obtain biofertilizers for agriculture, or to regenerate poorly productive soils. In turn, in a clear example of circular economy, wastewater from hydroponic agriculture or CO2 emitted in wine fermentation processes are the source of nutrients for microalgae. 

The manufacturing and assembly center of the modular systems will be in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.

Aqualgae is composed of a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified professionals in areas ranging from mechatronic engineering to industrial electrical installations, and including market specialists. The company also has a network of local suppliers essential for the development of the project, and proximity to several seaports for export of modular systems: Leixões, Viana do Castelo, Vigo, Marin, Corunha (all in Portugal and Spain).

The team

Pedro Seixas

Founder and director

PhD in Marine Biology and Aquaculture.

Nuno Dolgner

Aquaculture Manager

Master in Marine Biology, in Aqualgae Portugal he is responsible for the Aquaculture department.

Guilherme Fonseca

Engineering Manager

Mechatronics Engineering, at Aqualgae Portugal he is responsible for the Engineering Departament

Business Model

Updates