CE FP7 | BIOFAT and ALGAEFUEL: Microalgae Plants
Spike Renewables has developed and built some of the most comprehensive microalgae production plants internationally, based on modular and scalable raceway pond technologies.
BIOFAT – European Pilot Plant (Camporosso, Italy)
In the European BIOFAT project, funded under the FP7 framework programme, SPIKE was responsible for designing the 0.5-ha pilot plant at Archimede Ricerche (Imperia). The system integrates:
- Growth and starvation raceway ponds, designed to maximise mixing, photosynthetic efficiency, and lipid accumulation
- Green Wall Panels for the inoculum phase
- CO₂ supply, recirculation, and ultrafiltration systems, with series centrifuges for final harvesting
BIOFAT represents a fully integrated platform, replicable at industrial scale.
ALGAEFUEL (La Tirana, Chile) – Full-scale Microalgae Plant for Biofuel Production
SPIKE also designed the entire microalgae facility in La Tirana (Iquique), built for AlgaeFuels Biotechnology. The project includes:
- Three stages of raceway ponds (P1–P3), each exceeding 500 m²
- Vertical GWP photobioreactors
- Operating areas for cooling, sterilisation, and harvesting
- CO₂ and water management optimised for desert climate
The overall layout was designed to achieve a compact and efficient configuration, suitable for continuous operation and low energy consumption.