BLC3 – Campus de Tecnologia e Inovação
BLC3 is a non-profit research and innovation association based in Oliveira do Hospital, with hubs in Alfândega da Fé and Ourique, focused on biorefineries, bioeconomy and circular economy solutions. Founded in 2010, it has run 55 R&D projects and created more than 120 jobs since 2011.
BLC3 - Campus de Tecnologia e Inovação is a non-profit association founded in May 2010, starting activities in September 2011. Its headquarters sit in Oliveira do Hospital, on a 38,000 m2 site, with additional hubs in Alfândega da Fé and Macedo de Cavaleiros in northern Portugal, and a third pole under development in Alentejo, in Ourique.
The association is the first entity in Portugal dedicated to developing second and third generation biorefineries, alongside bioindustries and bioproducts intended to replace petroleum derivatives. Its work also targets the reduction of forest fires and the recovery value of lignocellulosic resources and contaminated effluents.
BLC3 organises its work through four modules: an R&TD Centre for research and technological development, a Support Centre for Innovative Projects and Ideas (CAPI), a business incubator focused on the bioeconomy and circular economy, and a Business Centre that helps launch R&I initiatives and scale technology for industry. Since its founding, BLC3 has run 55 R&TD projects, attracted around €20.3 million in investment, and created more than 120 jobs, mostly for young researchers with an average age of 29. It employs 123 researchers and scientists and holds 12 intellectual and industrial property processes.
The association's network spans 55 partner entities across 9 European countries. It has been recognised by ANI as an interface structure and by FCT as a specialised R&D unit, the Centre Bio R&D Unit, which brings together 36 researchers, seven of them foreign and 12 holding PhDs. BLC3's Centro Bio project in Oliveira do Hospital was nominated for the European Commission's RegioStars Awards in 2016 for valorising the region's forestry resources.
Our Goal
BLC3 works to develop biorefineries, bioindustries and bioproducts as substitutes for petroleum derivatives, while building a bioeconomy that helps fix jobs and critical mass in Portugal's inner regions.
Our Wishes
The association seeks continued partnerships with companies, research institutions and investors to expand its R&D projects and incubation activities across its three regional hubs.
