With two recognitions important, a large technology project and the expansion to other countries to use the patented technology of nanobubbles, the chilean company only projected growth.

An intense year has had the technology company ChucaoTech. In February this year announced the addition of the Blue Revolution Fund (BRF) to their society, impact fund managed by Hatch Blue, which meant a capital increase of US$2.2 million.

“This was a huge milestone for us as we are in a phase of growth and consolidation in new areas of business in the aquaculture industry, and also in new industries, such as agriculture and mining. In this context, and in parallel, the brand began to be known internationally, because we started to export our injector nanobubbles, as we also started to develop commercial applications in agriculture and mining, and that caught the attention”, explains Thomas Bravo, co-founder and manager of Administration and Finance of ChucaoTech.

Currently, ChucaoTech is the only chilean company that has a patent to generate injection of nanobubbles. “Well, that differs enough from other players in the market, because it calls attention to a company of Llanquihue has developed a proprietary technology,” says Bravo.

In addition to a phase of consolidation in Chile, in relation to remediation of seabed, the company has also been consolidated in the systems of oxygenation of cages, oxygenation of fisheries and bath treatments. “The technology of nanobubbles is a technology that producers of salmon can be considered at the time to build up their farms, or to make their systems of oxygenation for the bathroom or to the centers of culture. Because it is a technology well-established and commercially viable,” says the professional.

“Our main mission was always to land the technology of nanobubbles to the reality, to make applications that generate global impact, but that are scalable and industrializables. We are the first company that has an application of nanobubbles in a cage, in centers, complete, and this shows that our focus is beyond generating a pilot, an application, but they are solutions that the client will finally be able to see that this is scalable,” says Bravo.

Acknowledgements

The confirmation of the above came from the hands of the first award received in the Aquaculture Awards of the Fair AquacultureUK 2024, and where it won the award in the category “Best new emerging company”.

“With this recognition we generate a lot of visibility, and we had the opportunity to build connections and good relations with several integrators and technology of Europe. Without going more far, the general manager of the company is currently in Europe, having business meetings. Without a doubt, it was a recognition that fills us with pride, and at the same time it is a commercial door that opens and allows you to display your brand, and goes hand in hand with our expansion strategy,” according to the executive ChucaoTech.

Some days ago, the company unveiled the obtaining of the Price Waterhouse Coopers in the category “emerging Company”, one of the awards of most significant innovation in Chile.

“The presentation of our innovation was on a pitch of three minutes, in front of a jury of renowned specialists in the field of innovation in different industries. I was in charge of that pitch, and I felt that he was talking to a company much more mature, with the ability to answer all of the questions we were asked. I think that was transmitted to that trust, and so he did, and eventually we'll win the recognition,” says Bravo.

Thomas says also, that it has recently awarded a funding Corfo in the line of High Technology, which will deliver resources for four years to develop a very specific application, and that it points to the injection of nanobubbles in the process of leaching of copper and thus increase the recovery of this metal, which is fundamental and strategic to Chile, taking into account the energy transition.

“According to the projected demand of copper, there is a deficit of demand of more than eight million tons by 2030, and the only way to ensure they don't have that deficit is by including technologies, on the one hand are technologies that generate more efficiency, and on the other side that will help them not emit as much carbon footprint by mining companies. The positive of our technology is that we can inject it in such a way that it does not add energy consumption of the process, and that makes the copper that we recover is low in emissions of CO2,” says Bravo.

Another milestone of which are expectant is the awards AVONI, where ChucaoTech is inside of the finalists, but in the agricultural sector. “This goes hand in hand all the strength that we have this year, the agricultural industry, where we have seen that the technology is more mature at the international level. That's why, a few weeks ago, we opened an office in California, because that is a huge market, with Michael Davidson, who has a lot of experience in agriculture and in the application of nanobubbles. What is interesting is that Michael is very linked to the World Bank and other international entities, and share the vision of bringing the nanobubbles into the world of production agriculture of the future, that will not be the united States, but goes well Africa, India, and Latin america. Why are these sectors? because there are countries that have a greater amount of land, where it is less costly to produce and where there are more possibilities to make it more efficient,” says Thomas.

Projections

For Bravo, in the next 2 to 3 there will be an addition fairly important of the nanobubbles for oxygenation of cages centers of culture. “And we're prepared for that, we have the equipment, we have the workshop, we have the financial strength and human capital to do so. Internationally we have an office in Mexico, see Mexico and Ecuador, because the industry of the shrimp is super relevant also. There we have a partner that knows a lot of the technology and is developing a whole team to include technology in the market, because the shrimp grows the same way and more salmon and requires the same amount of oxygen”.

In the meantime, the office of the united States for the first 2 years will focus 100% in California and around the united States. And, in the judgment of the professional, after the third and fourth year to make the leap to other countries with the technology applied to agriculture.

“And in mining we are full focused in Chile and in Peru. This, because the process of validation technology in mining is super set. That is to say, you have stage 1, stage 2, stage 3. We are in stage 2 and a half and is a market too interesting for us, in which we can contribute a lot,” concludes Thomas Bravo.