While we slept, the Yersin traveled to Porto Santo, a northern island that is part of the archipelago of Madeira. We awoke this morning to a beautiful view, and a peaceful ride into the port on the tenders for our visit to BuggyPower.

We arrived before 8am and were greeted by the BuggyPower team:

• Arturo Alvarez-Bautista, Cosmetic Unit Business Manager
• Pedro Carrolo, COO
• Pedro Escudero, CEO and Owner
• Graça Martins, Marketing and Communications
• Teresa Telo, Production Unit Manager

First we took in the view of the Porto Santo from above, where we were also able to see the entire BuggyPower site, one of Europe’s largest closed-system biotechnology production sites.

For the remainder of the morning the Unit Production Manger, Teresa Telo, gave us an in depth tour of how BuggyPower produces 60 tons of dry biomass annually from marine microalgae. We toured their photobioreactor zones, cultivation chamber, centrifugation processing room, dehydration chambers, and the end product warehouse and quality control laboratories.

Marine microalgae are organisms that live in both fresh and salt water. They are the main component of phytoplankton, the basis of the food chain, and have not changed for millions of years. Microalgae have been designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a super food due to their immense nutritional benefits.

Through their sister company Alguimya, BuggyPower is developing multiple products in the food, cosmetic and livestock and pet feed industries. These products are aimed to make the many benefits of microalgae available and accessible to the world.

After our tour, we were treated to a lunch where every course was prepared using foods made with the microalgae product. Not only was the food delicious (the microalgae barely has any taste when mixed with other ingredients), but the restaurant was at the peak of the island and the views were spectacular. BuggyPower marketing and communications manager Graça Martins presented our Head of Missions, Pierre Gilles and Robert Calcagno with a very special gift she had made just for us.

Menu:

• Homemade Porto Santo Green Bread with Microalgae Wasabi Butter and Microalgae Infused EVOO
• Tuna with Microalgae Sauce and Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables with Aygyoli (aioli with microalgae)
• Frozen Yogurt with Microalgae and Bizchocho Cake
• Coffee and White and Dark Microalgae Chocolates