The IFAPA and the UAL join forces to develop an algal biorefinery in Almería
Almería is pushing hard to become a national
and international reference in the field of microalgae production, on the understanding
that it is an activity destined to provide solutions to problems related to
food, health and energy. Thus, the IFAPA (Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries
Research and Training, it is an autonomous body with legal personality and own
patrimony under the Andalusian Regional Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Rural Development) and the Universidad de Almería (UAL) have just signed an
agreement aimed at developing a biorefinery that generates different high-value
sustainable products, among them, fertilizers and additives for feed (see press release in spanish). With the sign of that
agreement, which has a duration of four years, 2 M€ in scientific-technical
resources for the innovation in marine aquiculture will be mobilized and about
twenty people will be employed at these institutions.
Both ones have been developing an intense work
on this matter during last years. On the one hand, IFAPA has a substantial bank
of experience in research and knowledge transfer in the areas of aquiculture
and microalgae production. In this sense, the capacities of three of its centres
need highlighting: El Toruño (Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz), Agua del Pino (Cartaya, in front of the mouth of the
Piedras river) and La Mojonera (Almería). On the other hand, the
UAL has a research group called “Biotechnology of marine microalgae”, which is
very active in the field of microalgae production and it is coordinated by the Emilio
Molina.
Figure 1. Aerial view of El Toruño (extracted
from the web page of the IFAPA). It is one of the centres with experience in
aquaculture of the IFAPA. It has 30 ha of culture ponds.
The aforementioned mobilization of resources is
related to the activities of the European project SABANA (H2020-EU.3.2.5. - Cross-cutting
marine and maritime research) which is led, indeed, by the Universidad de
Almería. This project aims at developing an integrated microalgae-based
biorefinery for the production of biofertilizers, biostimulants, biopesticides
and feed additives. It is expected that it produces 300 tons per year of microalgae
and derived products. Also, it is planned the creation of a research and
development centre which will be a point of cooperation and learning both for
companies and researchers. I hope that I will soon be able to extend the
information with a monographic post about the project.
