Celebrating 5 Years of ALGAESYS: A Journey of Innovation and Growth
March 2020 marked the beginning of an exciting journey for ALGAESYS. What started as a vision shared by John Fagan and James Lander has now evolved into a global team of 15 , expanding our impact across Portugal, Australia, and the UK. As we celebrate five years of pioneering sustainable water recovery solutions, we reflect on our progress and look ahead to the future.
ALGAESYS Directors (L-R): Greg Turner, John Fagan, Soner Bekir, James Lander
From Portugal to the World
Our company story began when ALGAESYS was invited to participate in the Blue Bio Value accelerator programme in 2019, sponsored by Ocean Azul and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
During the preceding years of technology development, a number of business locations around the world had been considered, both east and west. However, inspired by Portugal’s strong local supply chain and thriving innovation ecosystem, we decided to establish our headquarters there. With just two people and a clear mission, we set out to revolutionize water recovery and resource management. Consequently, it was not long until we had attracted our enthusiastic seed investor, Soner Bekir, and hired our first employee, Dr Mahshid Sedghi, who leads our R&D, and shortly afterwards, Thoribio Augusto, our engineering manager.
John Fagan and Mahshid Sedghi in our R&D Plant in Lisbon, Portugal.
Expanding Our Global Footprint
Since then, ALGAESYS has grown significantly. In 2022, we expanded into Australia, with Soner Bekir establishing our subsidiary, ALGAESYS AU. In 2024, we launched our UK operations, strengthening our presence in Europe. Our team continues to grow, with representatives in other parts of the world, and plans for overseas licensees to support export growth, and we are always open to welcoming new talent to drive our mission forward.
From a Brewery to Large-Scale Projects
Our early work focused on meeting the needs of the food and beverage industry, municipal water recovery, commercial development, mixed industrial estates and the hospitality sector. Our first proof-of-concept project was implemented in the U.S. in 2014 and is operating effectively to this day. More recently, we demonstrated performance at a brewery in Portugal, showcasing our ability to recover resources efficiently. Today, our impact has expanded to larger-scale projects, including:
Gingin, Western Australia – Delivering resource recovery solutions for the innovative EcoLifestyle Villages. Currently in progress and treating groundwater.
Water Service Company, United Kingdom – Our first major European municipal wastewater recovery project, completely replacing an existing asset.
We are also working on substantive project developments in Oman & Southeast Asia – Exploring new opportunities to bring our solutions to water-scarce regions.
CEO John Fagan working on the control centre in our Gingin plant
Recognised for Innovation
Our commitment to sustainability and innovation has been recognized globally. In 2022, ALGAESYS was awarded World Economic Forum Uplink Top Innovator, as a winner of the “Circular Water Cities” Challenge and subsequently have participated in Uplink Top Innovator missions at the UN Water Summit in New York and inaugural Villars Summit in 2023. In 2025, we won Silver at the MERLIN Innovation Awards. These achievements highlight our ongoing dedication to transforming the way water is recovered and reused.
Looking Ahead
As we mark this milestone, we remain focused on expanding our impact, developing cutting-edge technology, and collaborating with like-minded partners to build a more sustainable future. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey—here’s to the next five years and beyond!
The ALGAESYS team in Gingin, Australia! (L-R: Dr Mahshid Sedghi, John Fagan, James Lander, Rhys Gustafsson)