#38: Jose Puga – Nanobubbles to Remediate the Seabed

Описание: This is the third and final part of a special series I recorded as I was connecting with ocean founders and experts in Latin America. Each episode is a standalone interview, so if you’ve missed the previous two, that’s absolutely fine.

This time, my guest is Jose Puga, Co-Founder and CEO of ChucaoTech. This is a start-up based in Chilean Patagonia that uses nanobubble technology in aquaculture. Injecting nanobubbles provides oxygen to the fish but is also used to remediate the seabed from the pollution caused by open-net fish farms.

We’ll dive into this innovative and award-winning technology, but we’ll also hear Jose’s entrepreneurial journey, which is a really cool story. A mechanical engineer who was in the world largest radio telescope (working with oxygen masks up at 5000 m or 16000 feet in the Atacama Desert), he moved to the UK as a consultant, to then come back to Chile and start his own business, which was not without some tense and dark moments.

Jose's Bio:

Mechanical engineer, Master of Science in Engineering (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile) and a Master's in Industrial Systems (University of Cambridge, Uk).

With more than 10 years of experience in Chile and abroad in the implementation of various projects and design of products in sectors such as aquaculture, astronomy, mining and consumer products.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction to The Ocean Age Podcast
00:00:32 - Guest Introduction: Jose Puga of ChucaoTech
00:02:03 - Defining the Problem in Aquaculture
00:05:48 - Seabed Remediation Problem
00:08:49 - Nanobubbles Explained
00:13:07 - Customers and Market for Chucao Tech
00:23:05 - Jose's Background: ALMA Project in Atacama Desert
00:28:48 - Transition to Cambridge and Product Development
00:35:01 - Founding ChucaoTech
00:42:03 - Pivot to Seabed Remediation Service
00:47:03 - Difficult Moments and Financial Strain
00:49:35 - Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
01:10:23 - Ocean Concerns and Environmental Purpose
01:12:59 - Difficult moment: From 65 to 13 People
01:14:29 - Final Message and Contact Information