Website: marinebiotechnology.org

The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) holds university research institutes, centres and 150 research groups covering all fields of knowledge, made up of nearly 1200 researchers and close to 800 PhD students as well as a Scientific and Technological Park (FCPCT). ULPGC leading research fields include marine sciences, computer, communications and electronic technology; medical science and technology, economics, cooperation and development, renewable energies, environmental conservation and tourism.

The Spanish Bank of Algae (BEA) is a centre for R+D+i of the ULPGC. It is recognised, by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as an authorised culture collection for tropical, subtropical and extremophiles microalgae and cyanobacteria, particularly from the Macaronesian Region.  The BEA’s main goal is to develop, under the frame of the “Marine Agronomy” and “Blue Biotechnology” concepts, an important agro-industrial sector based upon Algal Biotechnology (algae cultivation and application developments). Its research points include physiology, biochemistry, biomass transformation and industrial applications of algal biomass under intensive cultivation, and the development of biofiltration systems using algae. Its collaborations within the ULPGC include the Institute of Oceanography and Global Change (IOCAG), Institute for Sustainable Aquaculture (EcoAqua) and the Institute for Environmental Studies and Natural Resources (iUNAT).