Ásbrú Enterprise Park in Reykjanes, Iceland has received interest from representatives of domestic and foreign companies looking to establish algae production greenhouses for the health and cosmetics industry.
Árni Sigfússon, Mayor of Reykjanes town, explained that companies have shown interest in building the algae greenhouses, and representatives have already visited Ásbrú to check out the facilities. Representatives are also looking to utilise existing buildings for the algae production, as well as to invest in plots of land for future constructions.
According to Óli Örn Eiriksson, specialist in business development at the Ásbrú Enterprise Park, there are several factors attracting algae companies to the Reykjanes:
“In the Reykjanes peninsula we already have established businesses in algae production, such as the Blue Lagoon, as well as other companies using greenhouses to produce raw material for biotech production, such as ORF Genetics. All infrastructures for algae production are in place and we have good access to geothermal energy, hot and cold water, hot and cold seawater, and other resources necessary for development. The Ásbrú Enterprise Park is located only 45 minutes from the center of Reykjavik and just 6 minutes from the Keflavik international airport passenger terminal which gives companies great access to knowledge located in Reykjavik or in some of the cities directly connected to the airport.”
Ásbrú is on the forefront of entrepreneurship, business and academic development in Iceland, with focus on technology, renewable energy, medical tourism and engineering.
In addition, Ásbrú offers business offices of varying sizes which have proven to be an attractive incentive for companies looking to use the enterprise park as their base. Amongst some of the companies located in Ásbrú’s offices are innovative and ancillary businesses such as data centres, engineering firms and agencies.