Viaqua and the Galician Water Research Centre Foundation, Cetaqua, together with the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN), are continuing their collaboration by consolidating the joint venture ‘Innovation Centre for Advanced Water Treatment Systems’ (CIGAT), to invest in developing new technologies through the new BIOFACTORÍA project.

This joint venture, which has developed out of Galicia's Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3), will run for the next three years and mobilise investment of 1.86 million euros, providing 11 qualified jobs, 5 of which are new. The Government of Galicia’s Department of Economy, Enterprise and Industry will provide 30% of the investment through the Galician Innovation Agency.

The consolidation of this joint venture provides continuation to the public-private partnership model started in 2015 and places Galicia at the forefront of technological innovation in the water sector. CIGAT-BIOFACTORÍA’s mission is to develop and transfer to the market new technological solutions for the transition to new models of the circular economy, recovering different types of urban and industrial waste material.

With its clear commitment to the region, Viaqua promotes research, development and innovation in Galicia through close collaboration with Cetaqua. In the context of the recently approved joint venture, work will largely focus on the modern wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Ourense, which is set to become a pioneering facility worldwide in the field of biorefining, i.e. obtaining high value-added carbon-based products from sources other than petroleum.

The recently published 2018 report summarises the yearly R&D&I activity of the CIGAT joint venture CIGAT Final Report 2018