The ITC is cultivating these microalgae at its installations in Las Palmas, using both freshwater and saline pools, fed by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and a seawater desalination facility (IDAM).

Afterwards, the microalgae biomass will be processed through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), helping us obtain biocrude and sustainable raw materials for the production of 2G biofuels and sustainable chemicals.

One of the main new features of this project is that microalgae have low protein content. Proteins contain nitrogen, which is considered a heteroatom that must be removed in order to produce high-quality biofuels and sustainable chemicals.

To achieve this, we will evaluate and verify these production processes at the pilot plants in our Innovation Center. The objective is to scale them up with maximum reliability and safety at our Energy Parks and Chemical Plants—leveraging existing installations and technologies with only minor modifications.

Using biofuels from microalgae, which are 100% renewable, can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to the use of traditional fuels. Moreover, with the production of one hectare of microalgae cultivation, 72 tons of CO₂ are reduced per year, which is equivalent to the carbon absorbed by 3,000 trees per year.

The treated water from microalgae cultivation can be reused for irrigation. In addition, as algae are CO₂ fixers, this project contributes to reducing carbon emissions. It is generally estimated that microalgae can fix around 1.8 kg of CO₂ for every kilogram of dry biomass produced.