While the world searches for alternatives to curb climate change, the Mexican company ALIS (Algae Innovation Solutions), led by Ramón De Hoyos, has shown that the key may lie in microalgae.
Their technology harnesses the regenerative power of these organisms to clean water and air at an industrial level, transforming toxic waste into raw material.
From waste to resources
What is a problem for a factory —wastewater loaded with pollutants or smoke emissions— is an opportunity for ALIS. By integrating their system into processes of companies like Nestlé and Grupo Modelo, the company is regenerating ecosystems and showing that Mexican biotechnology can be a new frontier for global sustainability.
At Rancho La Esperanza in Nuevo León, the ALIS team developed a system capable of eliminating up to 95% of contaminants from wastewater (nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonium, salts, and metals), returning regenerated water for reuse and capturing tons of carbon dioxide in the process.
System advantages
- Spatial efficiency: requires only between 10% and 20% of the space of a conventional plant.
- Cost reduction: reduces up to 50% of operating expenses by eliminating the use of chemicals in treatment.
- Modularity: its design allows scaling according to the needs of each industry.
Ramón De Hoyos summarizes ALIS’s philosophy: “More than engineering, what we do is design a reconciliation between industry and the planet”.
Microalgae: the “green gold” of the circular economy
ALIS’s proposal breaks with the linear model of “extract, use and dispose” and is based on the circular economy:
- Water recovery: up to 90% of the water can be reused.
- Carbon capture: efficiency 40 times greater than that of terrestrial trees.
- Biomass generation: proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids useful for industrial applications.
- Circular WaaS (Water as-a-Service) Model: flexible to integrate into value chains.
Martín Gil, partner at Zero by Fifty, highlights: “Ramón has perfected a model where the environmental liability becomes an economic asset: clean water, biomass, carbon credits, and industrial savings”.
International recognition
Ramón De Hoyos’s prestige is backed by global institutions:
- Advance Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (United Kingdom).
- President of the Association of Leaders in Innovation between the United Kingdom and Mexico.
- Recognized by MIT Innovators Under 35 LATAM.
- State Entrepreneur Award in Nuevo León (Impact).
- Included in the list of the 100 most innovative people in Latin America.
For Ramón, awards are tools, not goals: his objective is a systemic change that makes biotechnology a global standard.
With ALIS, wastewater ceases to be a problem and becomes a driver of industrial transformation. The company is positioning Monterrey as the capital of microalgae in America, demonstrating that Mexican innovation can lead the transition towards real sustainability against climate change.
