The engineering and biotechnology company ‘Buggypower – Gestão e Produção de Biomassa, Lda (BGP),’ will develop a new project worth 2 million euros in their microalgae production unit based in Penedo do Sono, Porto Santo.
The project, formalised last April, is part of the PROCiência 2020 programme, and has the support of the Incentive System for the Production of Scientific and Technological Knowledge of the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
According to a company press release, this project aims to investigate and develop new sustainable solutions for the production of marine microalgae, by increasing the efficiency of photobioreactors (FBR), as well as presenting end products with high added value for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.
BGP, as an engineering and biotechnology company, has as its primary goal the sustainable production of biomass from marine microalgae, seeking to respond, within the current situation of Blue Bioeconomy, to growing food, and meeting the nutritional and health needs of the population. To this end, and given the necessary decarbonisation of the industry, it presents industrial processes that capture CO2 from emitting sources, using it as a fundamental ‘ingredient’ in the algal biomass production process.
New sustainable approaches will now be investigated and developed, with the objective of improving the performance and efficiency of FBRs; promoting the sustainability of the operation and developing differentiated products with high added value. The company also intends to significantly improve production conditions with a reduction in the ecological footprint associated with these operations.
The project also asserts itself as an asset, not only with regard to environmental awareness and the protection of marine ecosystems, but also in the promotion of health and well-being.
The Buggypower Group states that it intends to extend its strategic positioning in the national and international market, increasing its value chain and becoming one of the main suppliers to the various business and research sectors.
In addition to the production unit in Porto Santo (which it operates in partnership with EEM, as stated on the company’s website), BGP also has facilities in Lisbon and Funchal.
Recently, in an interview with RTP-Madeira, the president of the Electricity Company of Madeira (EEM), Francisco Taboada, said that the Government gave up on the microalgae unit for the production of biodiesel and that the infrastructures created would be dynamised by private individuals, precisely for the development of projects in the area of cosmetics, health and food.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
