Both companies are linked by microalgae. Repsol announced in early August its entry in AlgaEnergy's shareholding, in which Iberdrola is already a shareholder through its investment company Perseo. The latter presented in the same month the approval of a CENIT project from the Ministry of Science and Innovation on integral valorization of algae, in which Repsol is also involved.
The first to make a move this summer has been Repsol. The company announced on August 2 the acquisition of a 20% stake in AlgaEnergy, biotechnology company researching on biofuels from microalgae. The oil & gas company said that it intended to "actively cooperate in the development of the company in areas such as selection, improvement, cultivation and marketing of fuels from microalgae".