ALGEN, CENTER ZA ALGNE TEHNOLOGIJE DOO

Their core work

ALGEN is a Slovenian technology SME specialising in algae cultivation and microalgae-based processes for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment. Their core work involves deploying algae-bacteria consortia to biodegrade contaminants and recover nutrients from wastewater streams, including challenging saline effluents. Beyond treatment, they extract commercially valuable outputs — biostimulants and other high added-value products — turning waste streams into inputs for agriculture and industry. Their project portfolio places them squarely at the intersection of environmental remediation and circular bioeconomy production.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ALGEN entered H2020 with a remediation-first orientation — their early work (SALTGAE, 2016) was about proving that algae could biologically treat difficult saline wastewaters, with bacteria as co-agents. By their second project (Water2REturn, 2017), the framing had already shifted: treatment was no longer the endpoint but the starting point for resource recovery, with biostimulants, nutrient cycling, and circular economy becoming the core value proposition. In just one project transition, they moved from "clean the water" to "extract value while cleaning the water" — a meaningful strategic evolution toward the bioeconomy rather than environmental services alone.

ALGEN is moving toward value-creation from waste streams — future collaborations are likely to involve algae biomass as a feedstock for agriculture, food, or specialty biochemicals rather than pure environmental compliance work.

How they like to work

ALGEN participates exclusively as a consortium partner — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, suggesting they prefer to contribute specialist algae expertise within larger, multi-partner initiatives rather than leading project management. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 38 unique partners across 12 countries, which implies they joined well-connected large consortia rather than narrow bilateral arrangements. This makes them an accessible specialist to bring into a consortium where algae cultivation, bioremediation, or biostimulant production is one component of a broader solution.

ALGEN has built a surprisingly broad network for a two-project SME — 38 partners across 12 countries, suggesting they joined large, pan-European Innovation Action consortia. Their geographic footprint is European with no evident regional concentration.

What sets them apart

ALGEN occupies a specific and defensible niche: algae technology for difficult wastewaters (saline, nutrient-heavy) with a commercial output angle — biostimulants and recovered nutrients — not just regulatory compliance. This dual capability (treat + extract value) distinguishes them from generic wastewater consultants and from algae companies focused on fuel or food markets. For a consortium needing credible algae-bioprocess expertise at demonstration scale, they bring hands-on IA-level implementation experience that a university lab typically cannot offer.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Water2REturn
  The larger and more recent of the two projects (€355,099, running until 2022), it represents ALGEN's most developed work — linking wastewater treatment directly to circular economy outputs including biostimulants for agriculture.
• SALTGAE
  Technically distinctive for targeting saline wastewater — a challenging substrate that rules out most conventional biological treatment systems — demonstrating ALGEN's capability beyond standard municipal effluent.