Opened in March 2019, the new building houses the University’s Center for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry and the Higher School of Biotechnology at the Catholic University of Porto, as well as the Alchemy project team, which includes researchers from this school and the company Amyris Portugal, and which develops from new by-products / residues new molecules that have high commercial interest for the food, cosmetic, industrial and pharmaceutical industries.

Deployed in an area of ​​more than 7,600 square meters divided into five floors, the building is equipped with 90 laboratories and classrooms.

Alchemy is the result of a partnership between UCP, Amyris, led by the Portuguese Diaspora Counselor, John Melo, and the Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency and has private financing, as well as Portugal 2020 and the Operational Development Program Regional Office.

The inauguration of the Biotechnology building of the Portuguese Catholic University and the award of the honorary doctorate to Professor Manuela Veloso, who has been outstanding in the field of artificial intelligence, robotics and computing, took place at the beginning of the month in the presence of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor.