The path of national and international consolidation of ChucaoTech

It has been an intense year for the technology company ChucaoTech. In February of this year, they announced the incorporation of Blue Revolution Fund (BRF) into their partnership, an impact fund managed by Hatch Blue, which meant a capital increase of US$2.2 million.

"This was a major milestone for us as we are in a phase of growth and consolidation in new business areas in the aquaculture industry, and also in new industries, such as agriculture and mining. In this context, and in parallel, the brand began to become more internationally known, because we started exporting our nanobubble injector, as well as developing commercial applications in agriculture and mining, and that caught attention," details Tomás Bravo, co-founder and Administration and Finance Manager of ChucaoTech.

Currently, ChucaoTech is the only Chilean company that has a patent for generating nanobubble injection. "This sets us apart quite a bit from other market players, because it is striking that a company from Llanquihue has developed a patented technology," points out Bravo.

In addition to a consolidation phase in Chile, in relation to the remediation of marine bottoms, the company has also consolidated in the systems of cage oxygenation, fish farming oxygenation, and bath treatments. "Nanobubble technology is a technology that salmon producers can consider when building their fish farms or making their oxygenation systems for baths or for cultivation centers. Because it is a consolidated and commercially viable technology," indicates the professional.

"Our main mission has always been to bring nanobubble technology into reality, to create applications that generate global impact, but that are scalable and industrializable. We are the first company to have a nanobubble application in cage, in complete centers, and this shows that our focus goes beyond generating a pilot, an application, but solutions that the end customer can finally see that this is scalable," states Bravo.

Acknowledgments

The confirmation of the above came with the first prize received at the Aquaculture Awards of the AquacultureUK 2024 Fair, where they won the award in the category "Best New Emerging Company".

"With this recognition, we generated a lot of visibility, and we had the opportunity to create connections and good relationships with several technology integrators in Europe. 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 us to showcase the brand and goes hand in hand with our expansion strategy," says the executive from ChucaoTech.

A few days ago, the company announced the acquisition of the Price Waterhouse Coopers in the 'Emerging Company' category, one of the most important innovation awards in Chile.

"Our innovation presentation was in a three-minute pitch in front of a jury of renowned specialists in the innovation field from different industries. I was in charge of giving that pitch and I felt like I was talking about a much more mature company, capable of answering all the questions they asked us. I believe that confidence was conveyed, and that ultimately earned us the recognition," argues Bravo.

Tomás comments that they have recently been awarded a Corfo financing in the High Technology line, which will provide them with resources for four years to develop a very specific application, aimed at the injection of nanobubbles in the copper leaching process to increase the recovery of this metal, which is fundamental and strategic for Chile considering the energy transition.

"According to the projected copper demand, there is a demand deficit of more than eight million tons by 2030, and the only way to ensure that this deficit does not occur is by including technologies that, on one hand, generate more efficiency, and on the other hand, help to not emit so much carbon footprint by mining companies. The positive aspect of our technology is that we can inject it in such a way that we do not add energy consumption to the process, and this makes the copper we recover low in CO₂ emissions," explains Bravo.

Another milestone they are looking forward to is the AVONI awards, where ChucaoTech is among the finalists, but in the agricultural sector. "This goes hand in hand with all the effort we have put into the agricultural industry this year, where we have seen that the technology is more mature internationally. That's why a few weeks ago we opened an office in California, as it is a huge market, with Michael Davidson, who has a lot of experience in agriculture and in the application of nanobubbles. Interestingly, Michael is very connected to the World Bank and other international entities, and shares the vision of taking nanobubbles to the productive agricultural world of the future, which will not be the United States, but rather Africa, India, and Latin America. Why these sectors? Because there are countries that have more land, where production is less costly and where there are more possibilities to make it more efficient," emphasizes Tomás.

Projections

For Bravo, in the next 2 to 3 years there will be a significant incorporation of nanobubbles for oxygenation of cages in cultivation centers. “And we are prepared for that, we have the equipment, we have the workshop, we have the financial and human capital solidity for it. Internationally, we have an office in Mexico, which covers Mexico and Ecuador, because the shrimp industry is also super relevant. There, we have a collaborator who knows a lot about the technology and is developing a whole team to include the technology in the market, because shrimp grows the same and more than salmon and requires the same amount of oxygen.”

Meanwhile, the office in the United States will focus 100% on California and around the United States for the first 2 years. And, in the professional's opinion, after the third and fourth year, make the leap to other countries with the technology applied to agriculture.

"And in mining, we are fully focused on Chile and Peru. This is because the technological validation process in mining is very established. That is, it has stage 1, stage 2, stage 3. We are at stage 2 and a half and it is a very interesting market for us, in which we can contribute a lot," concludes Tomás Bravo.