CTAQUA Centro Tecnológico de Acuicultura

What CTAQUA Centro Tecnológico de Acuicultura does

CTAQUA (Fundación Centro Tecnológico de Acuicultura de Andalucía) is a private non-profit foundation established in 2007 and headquartered at the commercial dock in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain. Operating as an applied research and experimental development center with a 33-person technical team, it serves aquaculture producers and seafood-sector companies in Andalusia, Spain and at the European level. Its mission is to deliver applied R&D+i solutions that strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of these production processes.

CTAQUA commercializes its capabilities through four service lines: Servicios Experimentales (nutrition, animal health, and animal welfare trials across multiple species), Innovación Empresarial (business competitiveness consulting), Gestión I+D+i (application, management and execution of regional, national and international research projects), and a Planta Piloto Transformados (pilot-scale seafood processing facility at headquarters). The technology stack is fundamentally biological and process-engineering in nature: controlled feeding trials, pathogen and welfare assessment, feed-additive validation (e.g., novel microdiets for European sea bass larvae, enzymatic additives in Nile tilapia), and pilot food-product development (e.g., sea bass and macroalgae products with Cofradía Pescadors de Roses).

Its business model is that of a sectoral non-profit foundation rather than a product or SaaS company. Revenue is assembled from three streams: publicly funded R&D+i project grants (regional, national, EU and specifically the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (FEMP), where it has processed files worth 4.8 million euros), patronato membership fees from aquaculture producers, technology providers, institutions and associations that guide strategic direction, and project-related services rendered to industry partners. CTAQUA also acts as a public-funding intermediary, notably through its reinforcement of CDTI-aligned support and its 2024 incorporation into the Red PIDI network of Spanish R&D+i technology centers. Operations are backed by an unusually deep stack of formal certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 166002, ISO 56001 and ENAC laboratory accreditation) that position it to participate in Spanish and EU innovation tenders.

Name

CTAQUA Centro Tecnológico de Acuicultura

Legal name

FUNDACIÓN CENTRO TECNOLÓGICO DE ACUICULTURA DE ANDALUCÍA

Website

https://ctaqua.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CTAQUA is a non-profit applied research foundation in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, founded in 2007, that delivers experimental services, business innovation consulting, R&D+i project management, and pilot-scale seafood processing for Andalusian and European aquaculture producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

El Puerto de Santa María

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CTAQUA is a non-profit aquaculture technology center that provides applied research, experimental development, and innovation services to the aquaculture and seafood sectors. Its offerings span four service lines: experimental services (nutrition, animal health and welfare trials), business innovation consulting, R&D+i project management (regional, national and European programs), and pilot-scale seafood processing. The center connects research capabilities with industry needs by giving aquaculture producers access to laboratories, pilot facilities, and project management expertise.

Product overview

CTAQUA operates as a technology center offering four integrated service lines for the aquaculture and seafood sectors: Servicios Experimentales (experimental research and testing), Innovación Empresarial (business competitiveness support), Gestión I+D+i (R&D project management and execution), and Planta Piloto Transformados (pilot-scale food processing). The organization serves as an innovation hub connecting research capabilities with industry needs, providing companies with access to experimental facilities, project management expertise, and pilot processing capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Servicios Experimentales

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Red PIDI (Red de Centros de Innovación y Tecnología para Proyectos de I+D+i)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CTAQUA joined Red PIDI to strengthen support for companies in accessing public R&D+i funding, providing enhanced connection to innovation networks and project development resources.
• CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTAQUA reinforces support for companies to access CDTI public funding for R&D+i projects, serving as a key intermediary for innovation support in Spain.
• Cofradía Pescadors de RosesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development of innovative products using sea bass and macroalgae, demonstrating CTAQUA's capability in seafood product innovation.
• SALACTIVA (Sustainable Saltworks Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year initiative for sustainable management of salt flats and estuaries in the Bay of Cádiz, expanding to include Puerto Real municipality. Focuses on reactivation for conservation purposes.
• Ayuntamiento de Puerto RealminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner in the SALACTIVA project for sustainable management of salt flats in the Bay of Cádiz region.
• Patronato members (Producer companies and technology providers)coreOthersCTAQUA's patronato consists of aquaculture producer companies, technology and service providers, institutions, and associations that guide and support the center's strategic direction and services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AZTI: Basque research center with dedicated marine and food-research programs, including aquaculture and seafood processing. Comparable applied-research-and-pilot profile, with broader marine-resource scope than CTAQUA.
• CETGA (Centro Tecnológico Gallego de Acuicultura): Galician aquaculture technology center providing applied research, experimental trials, and innovation services to aquaculture companies — a near-identical technology-center model to CTAQUA in a different Spanish region.
• Nofima: Norway's applied research institute for aquaculture, fisheries, and food, running nutrition, animal health, and processing trials for industry. Closest international peer by service mix to CTAQUA, at significantly larger scale.
• AquaBioTech Group: Malta-based aquaculture research and consulting group offering nutrition trials, health testing, and R&D project execution for the aquaculture sector globally; comparable applied-research and consulting service mix to CTAQUA.
• Innovasea: Aquaculture technology company offering fish-farm technology, environmental monitoring, and aquaculture research services to producers; comparable by serving the same aquaculture production customers, though with a more commercial/hardware orientation.
• IRTA (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries): Catalonia-based agri-food and aquaculture R&D institute with experimental facilities and applied research services for aquaculture producers. Closest functional analogue to CTAQUA in Spain, differing mainly by geography and broader agrifood scope.
• IFAPA (Instituto Andaluz de Investigación y Formación Agraria, Pesquera, Alimentaria): Andalusian regional institute that conducts aquaculture, fisheries, and agrifood research within CTAQUA's home region; a direct public-sector peer that competes for similar regional innovation funds and serves overlapping producers.

Broad incumbents

• Skretting (Nutreco): Global aquaculture feed company running its own aquaculture nutrition and health R&D and serving many of the same producers CTAQUA serves; broader incumbent that competes for in-house R&D budgets that might otherwise flow to centers like CTAQUA.

Regional players

• CTC (Centro Tecnológico de la Acuicultura): Chilean aquaculture technology center providing applied research, diagnostics, and innovation services primarily for salmon farming in Chile; same technology-center model and service lines as CTAQUA but in a different geography.

Others

• IEO (Instituto Español de Oceanografía): Spain's national oceanographic research institute conducting marine and aquaculture research; thematically adjacent peer that competes for some of the same Spanish R&D+i funding and talent as CTAQUA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Ctaqua_CT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ctaqua
• Facebookfacebook.com/ctaqua.tecnologico
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ctaqua-centro-tecnol-gico-de-acuicultura

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CTAQUA Centro Tecnológico de Acuicultura