Algae - Future Fuel

Seaweed is the new algae of biofuels

2012-01-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

We've certainly been hearing a lot about algae as a biofuel feedstock.   

But now, a team of scientists from a privately-held lab in California have developed a breakthrough technology they claim will enable advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals to be manufactured from macroalgae—more commonly known as seaweed.

  The process, developed by Berkeley-based Bio Architecture Lab (BAL), works by first transforming seaweed into a renewable chemical intermediate, and then producing chemicals or fuels through chemical synthesis or fermentation.

According to BAL, aqua-farmed seaweed is the "world's lowest cost, most scalable, and sustainable source of sugars for biofuels and renewable chemicals production."   

And, in truth, seaweed overcomes many of the challenges facing commercial production of advanced biofuels. For one, like algae, it has no lignin – the chemical compound that makes veggies, plants and wood firm – and is highly resistant to the enzymes necessary to unlock the sugars in cellulosic biomass. It also has high sugar content.

However, according to Biofuels Digest, algal biofuel production has its own challenges, which some think could be addressed by transitioning to seaweed as a feedstock. First, there is the issue of getting the algae out of the water it grows in—this is much trickier than removing seaweed from the water.

Second, after extracting the lipids from algae, biofuel producers are left with a ton of residual biomass, which must be disposed of somehow—often, by burning it, or feeding it to cows. Either way, the water and the waste must be transported. This fact leads some critics to argue that the amount of fossil fuels that go into producing biofuels from algae make it an unsustainable biofuel feedstock.

Like algae, seaweed also has the advantage of not requiring arable land to grow. However, unlike algae, seaweed does not require freshwater to grow, and it produces a lot less residual biomass. Further, we already know how to farm it. Commercial-scale production of seaweed is already underway in many parts of the world, including Chile, where BAL has four seaweed farms.

The company was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a process to convert sugars from seaweed into isobutanol. According to ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, "BAL's technology to ferment a seaweed feedstock to renewable fuels and chemicals has suggested an entirely new pathway for biofuels development," he said.

"When fully developed and deployed, large scale seaweed cultivation combined with BAL's technology promises to produce renewable fuels and chemicals without forcing a tradeoff with conventional food crops such as corn or sugarcane."

In addition to ARPA-E, BAL's technology is also supported by the Concurso Nacional Grant provided by InnovaChile CORFO, and the Norwegian oil giant Statoil. The technology was recently featured in the Jan. 20 issue of Science magazine.

Interestingly, researchers at Clemson University have also identified the alginate in seaweed as a promising substitute for the toxic compounds used to manufacture binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes. They believe that using the alginate-based compound could also boost battery storage capacity.

Original post available here.

Important step forward to produce biofuel from algae

2012-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Some seaweeds have the potential to produce biofuels. (Photo: Bio Architecture Lab)

Researchers have devised a new system that can transform brown seaweed into biofuel. They believe the development opens the door to a new possible source of energy that could help replace fossil fuels.

They are using bacteria genetically engineered to break down a sugar in seaweed called alginate that until now was inaccessible.

The results are being published in the journal Science.

The researchers then generated ethanol, and they say the method has the potential to produce other biofuels too, Live Science reports.

Yasuo Yoshikuni, a study researcher and chief science officer and co-founder at Bio Architecture Lab in California, explained that the new system could be used to make various products, such as a source (also called a feedstock) for other biofuels, which could include butanol or chemicals used in biodiesel.

Fuel from Seaweed. ( Image: Bio Architecture Lab)

"It opens up a vast new potential for biofuel feedstocks," said Tom Richard, director of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment at Pennsylvania State University.

Still, scientists must find out if it is economically feasible to use seaweed to produce biofuel and whether it is environmentally attractive.

Seaweed is a better alternative than corn or sugar cane because seaweed is not a popular food crop and does not compete with farming. This time they used kombu.

"This is one of the great debates about biofuel: Is there sufficient agricultural land to produce the food we require in society and also produce significant amounts of biofuels", Richard said.

Although high in sugars and thus useful to make biofuels, seaweed appeared to have limited because alginate until now could not be broken down efficiently enough to produce biofuel on an industrial scale.

As marine microbes can already break down alginate, transport the products and metabolize them, Yoshikuni's team first investigated the details of this process. They then engineered a more industry-friendly microbe, E. coli, to do something similar and yield ethanol.

The last of the steps could be replaced to produce other biofuels or even chemicals such as plastics and polymer building blocks.

This system also exploits other sugars in the seaweed, mannitol and glucan, since the E. coli can break down mannitol and commericially available enzymes can easily break glucan down into glucose.

This system could be used in any brown seaweed.

Dan Trunfio, BAL's CEO, said harvesting seaweed along 3 per cent of the world's coastlines, where kelp already grows, could produce 60 billion gal of ethanol.

Richard and Somerville, however, acknowledged that producing ethanol this way may require more work to become cost-effective on an industrial scale.

BAL, which is now testing farming methods at four pilot seaweed farms off Chile, is working on commercializing the process to make ethanol and renewable chemicals, Trunfio said.

But the environmental question remains.

Seaweed needs nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus – which are lacking in the oceans, and fertilizing the ocean is harmful because it creates dead zones with low oxygen content. But he noted that since BAL's seaweed farms are located near salmon farms, the seaweed can use salmon waste as fertilizer.

Original post available here.

Algae.Tec: well supported by sophisticated investors with A$5m capital raising

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Advanced renewable oil company Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB, FWB: GZA:GR, ALGXY: US) has recommenced trading this morning after the successful completion of a A$5 million placement to sophisticated investors through Patersons Securities.

The placement is comprised of 12.5 million shares at $0.40, with the issue also including attaching options of one for every two shares, which an exercise price of $0.75 in early 2014.

Roger Stroud, chairman, commented on the positive news and strong endorsement from the investment community:

"This again demonstrates that sophisticated investors are aligned with the need for alternative transport fuel technologies such as Algae.Tec enclosed algae to biofuels solution."

Another positve for Algae.Tec is that the market continues to respond to the company's recent milestones including the signing of major deals with companies in China, Sri Lanka and Europe.

Stroud added, "Algae.Tec also offers a profitable solution for carbon emitting companies and industries seeking carbon dioxide reduction technologies."

Milestone signed with Shandong Kerui Group Holding

Highlighting how quickly Algae.Tec is on the move, and by the way the company was one of the best performing IPO's on the ASX during 2011, just last week a deal was signed with Shandong Kerui Group Holding to build the first biofuels and carbon capture facility in China.

The memorandum of understanding is for a 50:50 equity joint venture, which shows very strong commitment from the group, as China moves towards reducing pollution and carbon as part of its current five year plan from 2011-2015, with a pledge to reduce the amount of carbon emitted per unit of gross domestic product by 40% by 2020.

The 250-module biofuels facility will be built in Dongying, in Shandong Province, and will produce about 33 million litres of algae derived transport oil and 33,000 tonnes of biomass per annum at a combined value of over $40 million. It will capture 137,000 tonnes of waste carbon dioxide.

The joint venture will also look to secure funding, following completion of the 250-module plant to build new projects exceeding 1,000 modules and engage with carbon dioxide emitters in the greater China region.

Stroud outlines the forward plans for Algae.Tec

Recently Stroud told Proactive Investors how Agae.Tec continues to look for, and enter into, global alliances:

“We intend to continue to talk to groups about offtake agreements, about supply and obviously more joint venture arrangements of a country-wide nature,” he said.

“In other words, with China, this joint venture (Shandong Kerui Group Holding) is with the group for the whole of China. So we will want to do the same thing in the U.S., the same thing in Australia and the same thing in Brazil.”

Milestone signed with Lufthansa

Last month Algae.Tec signed a biofuels memorandum of understanding with the European airline Lufthansa, and announced a biofuels production and carbon capture deal with the Sri Lanka subsidiary of industrial giant Holcim.

The Algae.Tec solution is less than one tenth the land footprint of pond growth options, while its enclosed module system is designed to produce algae biomass in virtually any environment.

The system is designed to deliver the highest yield of algae per hectare and, importantly, does not require the use of food producing land for biofuel production.

Original post available here.

Local biofuels company gets welcome support from province

2012-01-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Scarborough company working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry

Local biofuels company gets welcome support from province. Pond Biofuels CEO Steve Martin, left, displays oil created by algae to Scarborough Centre MPP and Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid and Scarborough-Guildwood MPP and Minister of Consumer Services Margarett Best at the company's east Scarborough location. Staff photo/DANIELLE MILLEY

A Scarborough company working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry received some welcome support from the province Thursday.

Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid paid a visit to Pond Biofuels Thursday, Jan. 19, morning for a tour and to announce an investment of $1.9 million.

"That's the least we can do ... This is 10 new jobs here in Scarborough, which is wonderful. That is today, this new technology has the potential to create hundreds of jobs," Duguid said.

Scarborough-Guildwood MPP Margarett Best was also on hand for the tour in her riding.

Pond Biofuels has been piloting a new, high-tech carbon dioxide absorption system at St. Marys Cement in southwestern Ontario. The new system will reduce GHG emissions (a major cause of climate change) by absorbing raw smokestack emissions to grow algae, which can be converted into biodiesel fuel and pellets that act as a renewable coal substitute.

Steven Martin, the company's CEO, said the government investment will be used to take the project to the next level at the St. Marys facility.

"We're going to increase the scale and output of the facility to that more closely aligned with a commercial facility," he said.

Company staff split their time between the office and lab in Scarborough, and the facility in St. Marys, so the investment directly creates local jobs. Duguid said the support aligns with the province's vision of making Ontario a hub for research and innovation.

"It's an incredible piece of innovation that has the potential to have ground breaking importance both on reducing pollution, and building a healthy future and economic opportunity," he said.

The company was founded by Martin and president Max Kolesnik four and a half years ago. Much of the research around producing energy from algae was done in the United States as part of the Aquatic Species Program, which was cancelled in the late 1990s.

Martin said the difference was they took the information and set to work right away using untreated smokestack gas to feed the algae, which has worked very well. The partnership with St. Marys made that possible.

"There was a critical confluences of events," Martin said. "We were lucky."

Martin Vroegh, the environmental manager, at St. Marys Cement was already trying to find a way to reduce the environmental impact of the company before he met with Pond so it was a natural fit.

"These guys said the magic words, 'we can get rid of your CO2 and it won't cost you anything'," he said.

The cement industry is one of the biggest GHG emitters. For every tonne of cement produced, three quarters of a ton of CO2 is released.

"When our second most manufactured product is deemed to be undesirable it starts to become an extremely problematic thing, not just from an environmental prospective, but also a triple bottom line perspective," Vroegh said.

The company not only turned over its St. Mary's plant for the pilot project, but it's also invested in Pond.

Pond has attached 1,000 feet of stainless steel pipe to the smokestack at St. Marys Cement that leads to the algae containment area where all of the CO2 used in production comes from the smokestack (the algae also consume the nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide produced at the plant). Algae grows quickly and can consume almost twice its weight in carbon dioxide.

Not only does the technology allow for carbon to be captured, but the resulting algae biomass can be used for energy production in the form of biodiesel or a coal replacement.

The algae produced is 11 per cent oil, of which Pond's technology can extract 90 per cent. One full-scale project at St. Marys could create 250,000 tonnes of algae, which could produce 29 million litres of biodiesel fuel.

"We're on the cusp of producing the fuel," Martin said.

Pond anticipates progressing to a full-scale commercial facility at St. Marys by 2014; Martin said they're also in discussion with steel plants.

Original post available here.

Algae.Tec accelerates expansion, to build first biofuels facility in China

2012-01-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB) has signed a binding memorandum of understanding for a 50:50 equity joint venture in China with Shandong Kerui Group Holding to build the first biofuels and carbon capture facility in China.

Algae.Tec executive chairman Roger Stroud said, importantly, Shandong would be putting half the equity into the project, which shows very strong commitment to the project on their part.

“China is a country focused on a ‘blue skies’ policy. This JV has been formed to help China move towards this important goal,” he said.

“The Algae.Tec technology will reduce unwanted emissions and will convert them into locally produced transport fuels which will add to fuel independence.”

China is targeting pollution and carbon as part of its current five year plan from 2011-2015 with a pledge to reduce the amount of carbon emitted per unit of gross domestic product by 40% by 2020.

The 250-module biofuels facility will be built in Dongying, in Shandong Province, and will produce about 33 million litres of algae derived transport oil and 33,000 tonnes of biomass per annum at a combined value of over $40 million.

It will capture 137,000 tonnes of waste carbon dioxide.

Stroud said this facility will be the first of many. The joint venture will accelerate the Algae.Tec project expansion and roll-out throughout China, targeting corporations and environmental authorities.

The joint venture will also look to secure funding, following completion of the 250-module plant to build new projects exceeding 1,000 modules and engage with carbon dioxide emitters in the greater China region.

Capital Raising

Patersons Securities will aim to place 12.5 million shares at A$0.40 each to sophisticated and professional investors to raise $5 million. This will fund the fast tracking of Algae.Tec's recently announced commercial projects.

The raising is expected to be completed in three days.

The company will also issue attaching options on the basis of one option for every two shares subscribed. The options will be American options with an exercise price of $0.75 and a maturity date of 31 January 2014.

Last week Algae.Tec announced the four-fold expansion of its Atlanta, Georgia-based Algae Development and Manufacturing Centre to 70,000 square feet to scale up production line capability for existing and upcoming commercial projects.

Forward Plans

Stroud told Proactive Investors today Agae.Tec is looking into entering global alliances.

“We intend to continue to talk to groups about offtake agreements, about supply and obviously more joint venture arrangements of a country-wide nature,” he said.

“In other words, with China, this joint venture is with the group for the whole of China. So we will want to do the same thing in the U.S., the same thing in Australia and the same thing in Brazil.”

Last month Algae.Tec signed a biofuels memorandum of understanding with the European airline Lufthansa, and announced a biofuels production and carbon capture deal with the Sri Lanka subsidiary of industrial giant Holcim.

The Algae.Tec solution is less than one tenth the land footprint of pond growth options, while its enclosed module system is designed to produce algae biomass in virtually any environment.

The system is designed to deliver the highest yield of algae per hectare and, importantly, does not require the use of food producing land for biofuel production.

Original article available here.

OriginOil and DOE Join Forces to Move Algae Crude into Commercial Marketplace

2012-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Over the past two months OriginOil, Inc. (OTC/BB: OOIL) has strengthened its relationship with U.S. federal government in multiple ways. The most recent of which is an announcement of a new partnership with the Department of Energy, which will see the company work together with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to develop an integrated system capable of directly converting raw algae into renewable crude oil.

The goal of the project is to have a technology which can enable algal crude oil to be produced at commercial levels and used at existing oil refineries. The partners have named the developing technology the Biocrude System.

The Biocrude System will combine OriginOil's algae harvesting system with state-of-the-art biomass processing technology that is being developed by OriginOil and INL under a different research agreement.

Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO, says by helping algae growers not only harvest large amounts of oil but also enabling them to make a crude oil replacement right on site will move algal fuel from a small, niche market into a large-scale commercial operation: "That's an instant upgrade from what is now a niche market, to the immediate 86 million barrel per day global crude oil market."

Dr. Deborah Newby, Project Manager at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory said this project has the potential to support the U.S. Department of Defense's strategic fuels diversification program in a serious way. The U.S. military is currently exploring multiple technologies which might be able to ease its massive oil demand, much of which comes from foreign sources such as the Middle East or Canada.

In December, OriginOil formed a joint venture to develop biorefineries serving the U.S. and NATO military requirements for alternative fuels.

Original post available here.

Algae.Tec granted a trading halt pending capital raising announcement

2012-01-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB) was one of the best performing IPO's on the ASX during 2011 as investors embraced the company's advanced renewable oil strategy.

Algae.Tec has today been granted a trading halt by the ASX pending an announcement surrounding a capital raising program, with the company's shares placed in pre-open.

The company is currently in a very interesting position, and earlier in the month expanded its Algae Development & Manufacturing Centre in the United States to accommodate commercial production programs.

The facility, in Atlanta, Georgia, has increased almost fourfold to 6,500 square metres, which will ensure capacity for Algae.Tec’s existing and upcoming commercial projects.

The halt will last until the earlier of an announcement being made to the market, or the opening of trade on Friday 20 January.

Original post available here.

Algae Biofuels Dealt a Blow by BP funded EBI

2012-01-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Energy Biosciences Institute -- funded by a $500 million grant from oil giant BP -- has released a "technoeconomic" report meant to cast a discouraging pall over the future of algal biofuels, chemicals, and plastics production. It is easy to see why BP might want to hold off the coming deluge of algal fuels -- at least for another few decades. There are still a lot of profits to be made in the old-fashioned crude oil business, once the lords of energy starvation are finally removed from office.

It is also true -- as the report states -- that growing pure algal monocultures for oil extraction is a difficult and costly enterprise, likely to require several more breakthroughs before becoming profitable and capable of scaling to industrial size. But did the report actually address the relevant and likely timeline for the early and middle evolution of algal energy, fuels, plastics, and chemicals? It does not appear that the authors of the report even came close to a realistic assessment of the likely evolution of algae for energy, fuel, plastic, or chemicals. Here's one look at EBI's report:

A new report from the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) in Berkeley projects that development of cost-competitive algae biofuel production will require much more long-term research, development and demonstration. In the meantime, several non-fuel applications of algae could serve to advance the nascent industry.

'Even with relatively favourable and forward-looking process assumptions (from cultivation to harvesting to processing), algae oil production with microalgae cultures will be expensive and, at least in the near-to-mid-term, will require additional income streams to be economically viable,' write authors Nigel Quinn and Tryg Lundquist of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), which is a partner in the BP-funded institute.

Their conclusions stem from a detailed techno-economic analysis of algal biofuels production. The project is one of the over 70 studies on bioenergy now being pursued by the EBI and its scientists at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and Berkeley Lab.

... Four key resources (suitable climate, water, flat land and carbon dioxide) must all be available in one location for optimal algal biomass production. The authors state that despite the need for all four resources, algal oil production technology has the potential to produce several billion gallons annually of renewable fuel in the U.S. However, achieving this goal, particularly at competitive capital and operating costs, will require further research and development.

The EBI report focuses on algal biofuels produced in conjunction with wastewater treatment as a promising cost-effective strategy to fast-track development of a practical production process. Besides providing the needed water and nutrients, use of wastewater in algae production provides the potential for income from the treatment service provided.

The areas the study identified as essential for R and D are in both the biology and engineering fields. The ability to cultivate stable cultures under outdoor conditions, while achieving both high productivities and oil content, is still to be developed. Despite the well-known rapid growth rate of algae, increasing the volume of algae oil produced per unit of surface area per year is a crucial goal. Oil-rich algae strains that are biologically competitive with contaminating wild species and that consistently grow well in various climates are needed. Other key steps to be improved are low-cost harvesting of microscopic algae cells and the extraction of their oil content, as well as dealing with the biomass residue remaining after oil extraction. _Source

The study suggests that it will take 10 years just to conclude their studies on the viability of large scale algal fuels. How convenient! 10 years is the time period for BP's funding grant to EBI. ;-)

But seriously, just a quick glance at a summary such as the one linked above shows a number of glaring deficiencies in EBI's analysis.

1. Near and mid-term successful utilisation for algal energy and fuels will depend upon algal biomass -- not algal oils. It will indeed take 10 years to develop economic and scalable means of algal oil extraction and diesel production from algal oil.

2. Algal monocultures are not necessary for rapid production of algal biomass. In fact, multiple synergistic cultures are apt to produce higher quantities of mass more quickly.

3. There is no shortage of seawater and relatively flat coastal plains for production of synergistic algal symbiots for rapid algal biomass production.

4. There is no shortage of CO2, when algal biomass is the object -- rather than algal oil -- of algal energy, fuels, plastics, and chemical production. CO2 is a byproduct of the entire operation.

5. Algal species bloom wildly under a range of climates -- depending upon the species combinations and the chemical and biological environment within these species happen to be growing. Different regions will naturally utilise different groupings of algal species and wastewater influent to suit the climate.

6. The topic of algal growth factors which trigger algal blooms has not been exhausted by any means. While simple chemicals such as phosphorus and CO2 act to stimulate algal growth, no doubt a large number of other less bulky and more subtle growth stimulants remain to be discovered.

A number of other problems hidden within the author's assumptions and methods will need to be teased out and analysed. But clearly the issue takes on an entirely different light when looking at algal feedstock as a hardy and prolific biomass rather than as an oil grown from fragile monocultures.

Original post available here.

Algae.Tec, Shandong Kerui for algal biofuels JV in China

2012-01-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

In China, Australia’s Algae.Tec has signed a binding MOU for a 50/50 equity joint venture (JV) in China with Chinese company the Shandong Kerui Group Holding Ltd.

The first project under the JV will be for the construction of a 250-module algae biofuels facility in China to be equally funded by both parties.

At the same time, the company is seeking A$5 million through the sale of 12.5 million shares at 40 cents each.
Algae.Tec Executive Chairman, Roger Stroud, said the facility will be the first of its size and type in the world, being purely focused on algae for the production of transport fuels.

“The equally funded 250-module biofuels facility to be built in Dongying, in Shandong Province, will produce approximately 33 million litres of algae derived transport oil and approximately 33,000 tonnes of biomass per annum at a combined value of over $40million, and capture 137,000 tonnes of waste carbon dioxide. And this should be the first of many,” said Stroud.

The JV will accelerate the Algae.Tec project expansion and roll-out throughout China, targeting corporations and environmental administration authorities.

Algae.Tec will provide the technology – the McConchie-Stroud biofuels production system – and the Kerui Group will provide knowledge and expertise to accelerate business development and the identification of viable project sites. They will also advise on dealing with relevant authorities to secure the required approvals.

Last week Algae.Tec announced the four-fold expansion of its Atlanta, Georgia based Algae Development & Manufacturing Centre to 70,000 sq ft to scale-up production line capability for existing and upcoming commercial projects.

Original post available here.

Algal Biofuels - Time for Grand Scale Production?

2012-01-18T12:57:00.001-08:00

Though there is much mention of the promise of algal biofuels and word of their commercial development, it seems timely to view what precisely has been achieved in terms of significant algal biofuel production rather than laboratory-based research, which has been going on for about 50 years. The U.S. Navy has fuelled a destroyer ship using 20,000 gallons of algae-based biofuel for a 20-hour trip, and is its largest alternative fuel experiment to date.

Thus a decommissioned destroyer made a successful journey from San Diego to Port Hueneme, in California. In terms of air-transport, United/Continental Airlines have made a second successful test flight powered by algal fuel, flying from Houston to Chicago. In 2011, over 100,000 gallons of algae-based biofuel was purchased to fuel the Navy's "Great Green Fleet" in addition to a number of separate tests of algae-derived fuels on various aircraft and boats. It is thought that by the end of 2012, the fleet will be fully operational, making the Navy an algal biofuel leader.

Privately funded efforts have been made to inaugurate commercial-scale algae farms on open-land, inside commercial buildings and in shipping containers, all of which has aided the National Algae Association to enhance its base of knowledge, research, collaboration and deployment opportunities. Clearly, there is a pivotal role for collaboration between universities, colleges, community colleges and the algae production companies to provide algal fuel on a significant scale.

Economically this year is unlikely to be any better than 2011, and so issues of expense, practical difficulty and that far more research is necessary before any serious production can be accomplished might act to militate against a significant development of algal biofuel. In view of the likely imminent arrival time of the supply-demand gap for conventional crude oil, it would make sense to spend more money on grand-scale algae production than on basic research alone.

By. Professor Chris Rhodes

Original post available here.

Algal Biofuels - Time for Grand Scale Production?

2012-01-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

By. Professor Chris Rhodes

Original post available here.

U.S. Energy Department backs plan to produce algae crude oil Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/01/16/US-Energy-Depart

2012-01-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Raw algae can be converted into a crude oil that can be processed at existing petroleum refineries before distribution as a substitute for gasoline and other processed fuels, new research has found.

The innovative use of algae, including the common seaweed, for large-scale renewable fuel production takes the quest for economically feasible environmentally friendly fuel a few steps further, easing pressure on agricultural alternatives that are often criticized as a potential threat to global food resources.

Algae comprise from one cell to many cells, as in giant kelp, and are seen as a potential solution to global energy needs.

The U.S. Department of Energy and OriginOil Inc. of California plan to work together to develop the idea to a point where algae growers can be enabled to grow their businesses and enter the renewable crude market.

Brazil has been leading research into alternative sources for renewable fuel in South America but has faced criticism that some of the renewable fuels produced from feedstock and various grains threaten to undermine agriculture for food.

Algae biofuel has the potential to meet the world's growing energy demand, an OriginOil spokesman said. "Due to its high productivity, algae represents a sustainable pathway for helping to reduce capital and operating costs of algae production, due to its high productivity, sequestration of CO2, and broad co-product portfolio."

OriginOil says algae has the potential to yield greater volumes of biofuel than other biofuel sources. Algal biomass has been recognized as a promising alternative source of raw material for continuous renewable biofuel.

The company will launch an algae production workshop Jan. 30 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and has begun a partnership with Idaho National Laboratory to support algae growers' entry into the oil market.

Both sides will work toward developing an integrated system for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil.

"We believe this is a major breakthrough for OriginOil and a major step forward for the algae industry," OriginOil Chief Executive Officer Riggs Eckelberry said.

"We already lead the industry with our chemical-free, low-energy, continuous high-flow harvesting system," he added.

"From there it's a natural step to helping algae growers make a direct crude oil replacement right on site, giving them direct access to the existing world market for transportation fuels, including jet fuel. That's an instant upgrade from what is now a niche market, to the immediate 86 million-barrel-per-day global crude oil market."

OriginOil says its planned Biocrude System will integrate its own harvesting system with state-of-the-art biomass processing technology that is developed to convert raw algae into barrels of renewable crude oil.

The company said obtaining the renewal crude oil will be a much cleaner alternative to hydrocarbons. Renewable algae crude could also be blended with other biomass sources to improve their performance, OriginOil said.

"Algae is a high energy biomass and can function as a force multiplier to blend in other biomass waste such as from forestry and agriculture into a uniform renewable crude oil substitute," Deborah T. Newby, project manager at the Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory said. "This may well support the U.S. military's strategic fuels diversification program."

INL has been researching sustainable energy and strategically important alternatives to conventional energy sources since 1949.

ALGAE.TEC EXPANDS USA COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION FACILITY FOR ASIA AND EU PROJECTS

2012-01-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

Perth, Western Australia/Atlanta, Georgia - 11 January 2012 - Algae.Tec Limited (ASX:AEB, FWB:GZA:GR, ALGXY:US) an advanced algae to biofuels company with a high-yield enclosed algae growth and harvesting system announced today the expansion of its Algae Development & Manufacturing Centre in Atlanta, Georgia to accommodate commercial production programs.

The Atlanta facility has now increased almost four fold from 18,000 sq ft to 70,000 sq ft to scale-up production line capability for existing and upcoming commercial projects.

The centre is the Company's algae-to-transport fuel development and manufacturing hub for the USA, Asia and Europe.

Last month Algae.Tec signed a biofuels MOU with the European airline Lufthansa, and announced a biofuels production and carbon capture deal with the Sri Lanka subsidiary of industrial giant Holcim, the world's largest cement and building materials company.

Algae.Tec Executive Chairman Roger Stroud said the Algae Development & Manufacturing Centre teamhad recently shipped its first algae bioreactors to the Australian Shoalhaven One biofuels production and carbon capture facility south of Sydney.

"Algae.Tec is the only advanced biofuels company specifically focussed on the global transport fuel industry, using an industrial-scale enclosed, modular and engineered algae growth technology to produce biofuels that replace predominantly imported fossil fuels," said Stroud.

"Algae.Tec also offers a profitable solution for carbon emitting companies and industries seeking carbon dioxide reduction technologies."

The Algae.Tec solution is less than one tenth the land footprint of pond growth options, while its enclosed module system is designed to deliver the highest yield of algae per hectare, and solves the problem of food-producing land being turned over for biofuel production.

Algae.Tec, founded in 2007, is a publicly listed advanced renewable oil from algae company that has developed a high-yield enclosed algae growth and harvesting system, the McConchie-Stroud System. The company has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Perth, Western Australia.

The Algae.Tec enclosed modular engineered technology is designed to grow algae on an industrial scale and produce biofuels that replace predominantly imported fossil fuels.

The technology has demonstrated exceptional performance in productivity, product yield, carbon dioxide sequestration, and production unit footprint requirements versus agricultural crops and other competitive algae processes in the industry.

Original post available here.

Has Algae.Tec Cracked Algae's Biofuel Pricing Ability To Compete With A Barrel Of Oil?

2012-01-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

Amidst the relentless promotion of renewable biofuel alternatives to traditional fossil fuel hydrocarbons, the three leading contenders are jatpropha, camelina and algae.

But among the many barriers holding back industrial production of biofuels is that no company up to now has yet figured out how to produce a gallon of biofuel at a price that can compete with gasoline.

Apparently until now, if press releases by Algae.Tec are anything to go by. The company, founded only three years ago, has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Perth, Western Australia.

Algae.Tec founders, Earl McConchie and Roger Stroud, have been involved in the biofuel industry since 1999 and have developed a high-yield enclosed algae growth and harvesting system, they labeled the McConchie-Stroud System, which uses low-maintenance technologies and an efficient solar system to produce algae in one-tenth of the land surface as compared to the current pond methods for producing algae. The McConchie-Stroud System photo-bioreactors produce oils which can be refined into biodiesel, sugar carbohydrates that can be used in the production of ethanol, proteins that can be used as feedstock for farm animals, and protein and carbohydrate biomass that can be combined to produce jet fuel.

Beating the PR drum for his company Stroud said, "Algae technology developed by the company has demonstrated exceptional performance, providing step-change improvements in productivity, product yield, carbon dioxide…

Original post available here.

Grants go toward algae biofuels research in US, Japan

2012-01-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

A better understanding of how algae can be used to make biofuels is the aim of a new joint project between the University of California (UC) at Davis and the University of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of four new grants, jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Japan Science and Technology Agency, to develop environment-friendly fuels and reduce pesticide use.

The four grants, totaling USD 12 million, will be divided between the Japanese and US laboratories. UC Davis’ share will be about USD 1.5 million over three years, with the possibility of renewal for another two years.

All four projects are based on metabolomics, an approach that uses high-tech analysis to understand all the chemicals involved in a living cell’s metabolism.

“We want to understand all the metabolic pathways, which are used under which conditions, and understand the traffic through the cell”, said Oliver Fiehn, professor at the UC Davis Genome Centre and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, who will lead the UC Davis project with Masanori Arita of the University of Tokyo.

Currently, scientists can identify only a small fraction of the 10,000 to 15,000 chemical metabolites that exist in any given plant. The ability to identify and characterize these compounds could lead to entirely new and potentially breakthrough approaches for increasing biofuel production and reducing pesticide use.

Many compounds made by algae have potential for making biofuels. For example, glucose from the cell wall could be used to feed yeast to make ethanol, Fiehn said. Lipids or oils might have potential as biofuels in their own right.

The team will separate the complex mixtures of sugars, other carbohydrates, fats and oils made by the algae. Then they will develop software to identify the thousands of compounds and put them into a database run by Arita’s research group in Japan.

Other UC Davis investigators on the project are: Jean VanderGheynst, professor of biological and agricultural engineering; John Labavitch, professor of plant sciences; and Tobias Kind and William Wikoff, both project scientists at the UC Davis Genome Center.

Fiehn and Arita’s team will also collaborate with another grant funded under the joint program, led by Lloyd Sumner of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Kazuki Saito of the RIKEN Plant Science Centre, Japan, studying biomass and oil production in plants.

Original post available here.

OriginOil, INL ink pact for algae-to-renewable crude R&D effort

2012-01-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

In California, the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory has teamed with OriginOil to co-develop an integrated system for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries. OriginOil’s planned Biocrude System™ will integrate its own harvesting system with state-of-the-art biomass processing technology being developed under the recently-announced research agreement with INL, to convert raw algae into barrels of renewable crude oil.

This much cleaner replacement for conventional petroleum will be designed to be compatible with conventional petroleum refineries. Renewable algae crude could also be blended with other biomass sources to improve their performance.

Original post available here.

OriginOil, DOE work on algae conversion

2012-01-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- OriginOil says it will partner with the Idaho National Laboratory to develop an improved process for converting algae into biomass fuel.

The Los Angeles company, which extracts oil from algae and converts it into a renewable fuel usable by petroleum refineries, will work with the U.S. Department of Energy's research facility to create better biofuels to supplement the country's reliance on crude oil. Development of the system could help the algae-growing industry to enter the global crude oil market.

The agreement, announced Friday, will integrate OriginOil's algae harvesting system with state-of-the-art biomass processing technology to convert raw algae into biofuel.

Algae biomass has the potential to be a promising alternative source of raw material for renewable biofuel, a company spokesman said.

Israeli algae researcher says NAABB’s head spreading “distortions and misinformation.”

2012-01-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

From Stefan Leu, scientific administrator of GIAVAP, and the AquaFuels Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratories at Ben Gurion University in Israel, we received the following:

“Being in the Algae field in Israel and partner of several recent and current European and Israeli algae projects, I am extremely disturbed by the level of disinformation provided by Dr. Jose Olivares in his interview on your site, which does in no way reflect the true state of affairs in European nor Israeli algal biofuels and biotechnology research

It is this kind of distortions and misinformation that lead to misconceptions and misunderstandings flooding the algae community.”

Dr. Leu has not yet responded to requests for details on specific examples of disinformation. While we await those, the first newsletter of project GIAVAP is available for free download and review, here.

Original post available here.

Aurora Algae: Making it happen in the Never-Never

2012-01-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

How did Aurora Algae get so far down the road, so fast?

Word has been sneaking back to the United States from Australia that Aurora Algae is well into a $100 million capital raise from a combination of existing and new investors, and is aiming at an IPO later in the year to fund its growth from a 6-acre demonstration unit to a small commercial facility of 250 acres, and then potentially to thousands of acres in its next iteration. All as soon as this half of the 2010s.

All of the above, in a town called Karratha, in the back western reaches of the land known, in Australian parlance, as the Never-Never.

Now that’s a company on the move.

Especially given the naysaying that generally surrounds industrial biotech companies, and most especially companies using algae as a platform. And supremely especially those taking the open pond cultivation route.

We get it, we’ve heard the algae naysayer’s rap:

Algae and the Never-Never

It won’t happen until the 2020s if ever.
It will use too much land, or too many inputs, forever.

The CO2 will never be affordable, The ponds will crash.
No VC will ever put up enough cash.

There will never be enough available lipids,
You’ll never affordably get the algae out of all that liquid

You’ll never make it cheaply enough,
you’ll never be able to move all that stuff,

It costs too much to move the water,
You couldn’t do this with Harry Potter.

To all of the above, Aurora Algae is something of an embarrassment. What temerity, to tackle and solve all those problems?

Aurora’s origins

It weren’t always so. Aurora Algae wasn’t actually started as a company that would eventually settle on producing algae as a feedstock for nutrition first, feed later, and fuels down the line.

The company was founded as Aurora Biofuels – solely to do biofuels. As time went on, and the company came closer to realizing its performance targets, it discovered that its algae could sell at a much higher price point into other markets.

Before it was focused on biofuels, it was focused on more purely scientific goals. The original science team was studying how genes get turned on and off, and thereby studying the science of strain improvement. It aimed at developing a system whereby the team could ask specific questions – if, over expressed, would one specific gene increase the production of C16 molecules.

Back in the day, no algal systems had this capability. Strain optimization was based on random improvement. A lot of algal work was based on discovery – scoop out a bucket of water, and look for high-performing strains.

Now, strain optimization is different from genetic modification. In GMO, DNA from a foreign organism is introduced. For example, so tomatoes could better withstand freezing, some DNA from arctic fish were introduced, DNA that had never existed in a tomato. DNA that had no idea what we were trying to accomplish.

Strain optimization is quite different. Inside the genetic structure of algae, there are zillions of cells and thousands of genes, some switched on, many off. In switching on genes, the phycologist is discovering something that, eventually (albeit, in a Monkey typing Shakespeare time-scale) the organism would switch on by itself. It is a form of accelerating evolution.

The company pivots, accelerates

Now, what caused Aurora to accelerate? It was a commercial form of accelerated evolution. Which is to say, a pair of happy accidents. One, the discovery of some high-value markets that would open to the company, and make even a 250-acre demonstration plant financially profitable.

Second, the discovery that Western Australia – specifically, the town of Karratha, had some existing ponds, stable temperatures, plenty of seawater and aggregated, affordable CO2, and the strain of algae that Aurora uses, nannocholoropsis, was native to Australia. Massively simplifying the path from pilot to scale.

Muradel is among the other companies that has been exploring those same opportunities that Karratha offers, as that company embarks on its own capital-raising activities to head for demonstration scale.

Australians are pretty excited. The country is typically understood as, basically, “a dig it up and ship it out” country when it comes to commodities. To cultivate its own material for its own supplement and nutrition industry — and Australian omega 3 intake is very high. Well, they get it.

But its far from an omega 3 niche venture that gets to $80M or so in sales, or maybe 10X of that, before stalling. Not that it’s a bad business, at all. The current demand is set to double, or more, by 2050. Probably more – because companies are just beginning to explore the full value that could be realized from these fatty acids, in a market where the material is far more affordable than today.

The product line-up

The products? There are three. The omega 3 fatty acids (EPA). The fuel component – similar to a palm based biodiesel. Protein for fish (and later, cattle).

So, fuels? Once the company has proven itself at the 250-acre scale, well, you can head about a 100 miles east from Karratha before you run into just about anything. About 2,000 miles before you run into anything approaching a city-sized barrier to growth. Ultimately, the at-scale systems are just repetitions of the 250-acre small commercial executions, there is really not much extra engineering to do beyond site prep. And there’s not much all that different from the 6-acre demonstration, to the 250-acre scale, either.

At full commercial scale, Aurora plans to participate in the same markets that, day, palm-based biodiesel can participate in. For example, the 20 billion gallons of advanced biofuels required by the US Renewable Fuel Standard. At 3000 gallons per acre, that would require 6.6 million acres of algal biofuels.

The opportunity for scale.

The Great Sandy Desert, which extends east of Karratha, has 70 million acres. The adjacent Tanami Desert has another 45 million acres. Heading south, the Great Victoria Desert has another 86 million acres. Scads of CO2 from mining interests. Sunlight a-go-go. Seawater, well, you can hardly measure it all. So, you get the idea.

It’s an outpost where just 20-30 people are at work at the demonstration facility – a collection of pond operators, field engineers, chemists and biologists, electricians, pipe fitters, maintenance people and groundskeepers. But as they say, an output of interest.

It’s the Never-Never becoming the Maybe-Mightbe, and quite possibly a Success-at-Scale. Exciting to see.

Original article available here.

OriginOil has a Green Algae Biofuel Alternative to Keystone XL Pipeline Jobs

2012-01-14T03:01:00.000-08:00

U.S. company OriginOil has just announced that its signature algae biofuel product will be developed as a drop-in renewable crude oil feedstock that can be processed by existing petroleum refineries. That, alone, is big news because it brings renewable biofuel closer to the mass market and closer to cost-competitiveness with petroleum products. The even bigger news, though, is the impact on sustainable U.S. job creation in the energy sector.

Rather than depending on high-risk energy infrastructure projects such as the notorious Keystone XL Pipeline, OriginOil’s new algae biofuel venture could pave the way for preserving jobs in the refinery sector even as the U.S. transitions out of petroleum fuels – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to creating permanent new jobs related to algae growing, algae farming operations could also double as carbon capture systems at coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities. Try that with a pile of tar sand!

Algae, Keystone, Jobs, and Politics

Before we get into the nitty gritty of OriginOil’s refinery-ready algae oil, let’s take a brief look at the timing of the announcement. OriginOil released the news on January 13, smack in the middle of a sixty-day deadline under which the Obama administration must decide whether or not to approve the Keystone project (the pipeline is owned by the Canadian company, TransCanada, to bring crude oil from the Alberta tar sands down through the Midwestern U.S. and on to Gulf Coast refineries for export).

Though initially touted as a job creator by its supporters, upon closer examination, the fact-based estimate on job creation from the pipeline has dwindled to an insignificant few. That didn’t stop Republican Senator John Hoeven from repeating the now-discredited job creation estimate in the Republican weekly address on January 14, which adds more fuel to the Keystone fire in advance of the 2012 presidential election.

Green Refinery Jobs from Algae Biofuel

In this context, the OriginOil announcement is something of a bombshell. The availability of a new drop-in replacement for crude oil means that the Keystone pipeline is not needed as a job creator in the energy sector. It would only put jobs in other sectors at risk, since it runs right through the nation’s agricultural heartland and a massive aquifer. With algae oil feedstock at the ready, U.S. refineries could keep on humming along even as the supply of petroleum feedstock stagnates or even dwindles. Rather than having to pipe crude thousands of miles from one source, algae farming also raises the potential for a network of local sources, which cuts the risk of pipeline leaks, spills and accidents to a bare minimum. It also raises the potential for diverting more fuel to the domestic market, which is consistent with the Obama Administration’s strategy for transitioning the U.S. military to utilize more secure, locally sourced forms of energy (just ask the U.S. Navy, for one).

Renewable Algae Biofuel Helps Industry, Too

In addition to boosting the diversity of the U.S. energy landscape, algae biofuel offers a means to enable sustainable industrial growth without a consequent increase in carbon dioxide emissions. As a form of plant life, algae thrive on carbon dioxide, and OriginOil is already developing a system for capturing carbon from power plants. Aside from cutting down on emissions, the captured carbon would boost the productivity of algae farms, so it’s a win-win. This year, the company has partnered with MBD Energy of Australia in a pilot carbon capture project at one of the three largest coal-fired power plants in the country, which is expected to trim the power plant’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than half.

The Road to Renewable Algae Biofuel – and More Jobs

OriginOil’s drop-in algae biofuel project is a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, through the Department’s Idaho National Laboratory. OriginOil’s CEO Riggs Eckelberry envisions a system in which algae growers can process their own algae oil into drop-in crude “right on site,” rather than having to send it elsewhere. That local job creation potential is consistent with President Obama’s biofuel initiative, which is focused on building economic sustainability into chronically underserved rural communities, by creating new jobs in the biofuel industry. This decentralized, community-oriented approach to domestic job creation is a far cry from the alternative presented by the Keystone project, which would contribute virtually nothing to the communities along its path. If there were no other alternatives, legislators like Senator Hoeven could make a better case for approving this project, but it looks like OriginOil is pulling the rug out from under their feet.

Original post available here.

Algae-based fuels may soon gush from the desert

2012-01-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

Algae ponds are starting to color New Mexico’s desert landscape green.

Sapphire Energy Inc., which uses a proprietary process to turn algae oil into renewable gasoline to replace fossil fuels at the pump, broke ground last June on a 300-acre commercial demonstration facility in Columbus.

Courtesy Sapphire

This is the first of three 100-acre ponds that Sapphire Energy is constructing in Columbus. Each 100-acre site is about one mile long. The other two ponds will be constructed later this year and in 2013.

In Hobbs, in the heart of southeast New Mexico’s oil patch, Massachusetts-based Joule Unlimited Inc. broke ground this fall on a five-acre site that will use concentrating-solar biorefineries to extract ethanol and diesel from bacteria in salt-water mixed with carbon dioxide.

For more on that project, see "Joule extracts fuels from bacteria."

But while those two projects are under construction, a third company is already growing algae to produce oil and other products at a one-acre site in Jal, in Lea County.

Eldorado Biofuels LLC constructed four ponds, or raceways, where it grows algae with produced water from oil and gas production on land owned by Gregg Fulfer of the Fulfer Oil and Cattle Co. in Jal, said Eldorado President and CEO Paul Laur. Eldorado has developed a proprietary process to treat produced water for use in algae cultivation.

“We’ve been growing algae since June and harvesting it since July,” Laur said. “We’ve been stockpiling it to build up inventory and send samples to prospective companies who want to test their own technology to extract oil, and to refineries to turn it into fuels. We’re on track now to scale up and make some headway with sales and marketing.”

The company will add four more raceway ponds this month, building the project out to 1.5 acres.

“We’ll start selling product in the next week or so,” Laur told the Business Weekly on Jan. 6.

Eldorado will sell three products: algae paste for use by other companies to extract oil, as well as oil that Eldorado extracts itself and sends to refineries, and protein-rich, lipid-extracted algae as livestock feed.

Original post available here.

OriginOil and DOE to Develop Direct Conversion of Algae into Renewable Crude Oil

2012-01-14T02:27:00.000-08:00

Good news on the algae-to-oil front has been released by Los Angeles-based OriginOil, Inc., in conjunction with the US Department of Energy. The company will work in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to help algae growers to enter the global crude oil market.

OriginOil, a developer of a technology platform to extract oil from algae, reports that it plans to co-develop an integrated system with the DOE’s INL for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries.

“We believe this is a major breakthrough for OriginOil and a major step forward for the algae industry,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO, in a press announcement. This is particularly good news for algae enthusiasts who have seen lots of potential for algae as a renewable energy source but little action in terms of business development.

Eckelberry points out that OriginOil already leads the industry with its chemical-free, low-energy, continuous high-flow harvesting system.

“From there it’s a natural step to helping algae growers make a direct crude oil replacement right on site, giving them direct access to the existing world market for transportation fuels, including jet fuel. That’s an instant upgrade from what is now a niche market, to the immediate 86 million barrel per day global crude oil market.”

OriginOil’s planned Biocrude System will integrate its own harvesting system with biomass processing technology being developed under the recently-announced research agreement with INL for the conversion of raw algae into barrels of renewable crude oil.

In operation since 1949, INL is an applied engineering national laboratory providing support to the DOE on energy research and national defense.

Source: Business Wire | Photo: OriginOil

Sebago Farms plans massive greenhouse, algae biofuels facility in Maine

2012-01-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

In an area of Maine generally known for its strip malls and big box stores, newcomer Sebago Farms plans to build a 1.7 million square foot mixed-use facility that will house hydroponic greenhouses, a fish farm, and an algae-based biofuels research area and employ up to 170 people.

The ambitious project — the size of about seven Walmart superstores — is the first venture of WNWN LLC (which stands for Win Win or Waste Not Want Not), owned by Arundel, Maine, businessman and retired school teacher John der Kinderen. Der Kinderen also is a principal in project planning and management at BioSynEnergy LLC, a Doylestown, Penn.-based company that describes itself as a team of worldwide, multi-disciplinary experts focused on refining waste streams into green revenue and jobs.

“This will have wide-ranging positive impacts on the town,” said Tom Bartell, director of economic development in Windham, Maine, the proposed project site. “But it will have a low impact on the environment and the aquifer because the nature of the project is self-contained and it recycles.” He added that the project is a shot in the arm for the business park where it is to be located, and it could bring in other businesses, as well as open up 170 new jobs ranging from unskilled to semi-skilled to highly technical.

News of the project, which was presented at a town planning board meeting on Monday, has created excitement among Bartell and others, but der Kinderen cautions that the project is still in initial stages and must first get state and local approvals. “We are committed to doing a project in Windham, but we don’t yet know the size and scope of the final build out,” he told Mass High Tech. “Many things can happen between now and construction.” If all proceeds as planned, building could start as early as this spring and produce could be available toward the end of the year.

Local officials have estimated that the project could be as big as the $105 million Thompsons Point hotel and convention center development in Portland. Der Kinderen said it is too early to talk about the price. “We don’t know the final configuration yet, but that is in the ballpark,” he said.

The aim is to build three greenhouses in phases that will include a demonstration greenhouse with algae for food and fuel. The goal is to have a local source for food and a development that offers high-tech jobs, he said. The site also aims to be environmentally friendly and to produce as little waste as possible .

Der Kinderen wouldn’t disclose the investment amount nor the names of the private investors, but did say that BioSynEnergy is a partner that will provide technology, planning and support for the Windham project. “BioSynEnergy has technologies, energy platforms, greenhouses and fish configurations,” he said. “They are an umbrella company that will sponsor similar projects to this throughout the United States.” Bartell added that HydroNov Inc. and Harnois Industries Inc., both of Canada, are to be involved in providing the greenhouses. Der Kinderen said he is interested in partnering with universities on technologies for the project.

A sketch of the plan was shown to the planning board, but environmental impacts, traffic, noise, vibration and other factors still need to be studied, Bartell said. Windham has a population of 17,000, and is known as a retail and services center for the Sebago Lake region.

Der Kinderen said the proposed 37-acre site was chosen based on a number of factors, including good groundwater, natural gas availability to run the plant and appropriate zoning. The location, at the upper end of Route 302, which leads to the western lakes and mountains of southern Maine and is about a half hour west of Portland, is a former gravel pit that has been converted for economic development.

The facility will generate its own power and process its own waste products. The energy will be generated by specialized genset machines that extract the maximum possible energy from the natural gas source, he said. Der Kinderen estimated that the site will be able to extract 94 percent of the energy, consisting of both electricity and heat. It will be used throughout the greenhouses for lighting, pumping, processing and temperature control. Plans call for the engine exhaust to be scrubbed clean and used inside the greenhouses for carbon dioxide fertilization of the vegetables.

The wastes from processing the fish and plants will be routed to a bioreactor that will reduce them to liquid form and, via biological digestion, transform them into methane gas and high-quality liquid fertilizer. The methane gas will be an additional energy source, and the fertilizer can be used in the greenhouses.

Original post available here.

OriginOil and Department of Energy to Develop Direct Conversion of Algae into Renewable Crude Oil for Existing Oil Refineries

2012-01-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

Company partners with Idaho National Laboratory to enable algae growers to enter the global crude oil market

LOS ANGELES, Jan 13, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- OriginOil, Inc. (otc/bb:OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, today announced its plans to co-develop an integrated system with the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries.

"We believe this is a major breakthrough for OriginOil and a major step forward for the algae industry," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. "We already lead the industry with our chemical-free, low-energy, continuous high-flow harvesting system.

OriginOil's planned Biocrude System(TM) will integrate its own harvesting system with state-of-the-art biomass processing technology being developed under the recently-announced research agreement with INL, to convert raw algae into barrels of renewable crude oil.

Dr. Deborah T. Newby, Project Manager at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory (INL), commented, "We are excited to work with OriginOil on its Biocrude System and leverage its algae processing expertise and technology. Algae is a high energy biomass and can function as a force multiplier to blend in other biomass waste such as from forestry and agriculture into a uniform renewable crude oil substitute. This may well support the U.S. military's strategic fuels diversification program."

In operation since 1949, the Idaho National Laboratory ( www.inl.gov ) is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the DOE on energy research and national defense. Its mission is to ensure the nation's energy security with safe, clean, competitive, and sustainable energy systems and unique national and homeland security capabilities.

About OriginOil, Inc. ( www.originoil.com )

OriginOil helps algae growers extract oil from algae for use as a feedstock for the commercial production of transportation fuels, chemicals and foods. In a single step, our breakthrough technology efficiently dewaters and breaks down algae for its useful products, overcoming one of the greatest challenges in making algae a viable replacement for petroleum. As an emerging leader in the global algae oil services field, OriginOil supports its core algae extraction technology with an array of process innovations for some of the world's most successful algae growers and refiners, just as pioneers like Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes have done in the oilfield services industry. To learn more about OriginOil(R), please visit our website at www.originoil.com .

Safe Harbor Statement:

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with our history of losses and our need to raise additional financing, the acceptance of our products and technology in the marketplace, our ability to demonstrate the commercial viability of our products and technology and our need to increase the size of our organization. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Abstract

OriginOil and Department of Energy to develop direct conversion of algae into renewable crude oil for existing oil refineries; company partners with Idaho National Laboratory to enable algae growers to enter the global crude oil market

SOURCE: OriginOil, Inc.

Algae Retrofits Absorb Urban C02

2012-01-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

At the moment a lot of architectural work has been going into creating buildings, spaces and technologies that do not produce carbon emissions as a way to halt the effect of climate change. In the context of urban planning, vertical forests, vertical farming and green roofs have made their way into our cities and offer a way for us to limit the amount of carbon we emit, promote green spaces and shorten the journey between produce and plate.

Going one step further, the latest concept from the US architectural firm Influx_Studio is offering to actually reverse the amounts of carbon in our atmosphere.

Simply by retrofitting.

The architectural firm has taken on the city of Chicago with its high levels of population growth and complimenting carbon emissions increase. Much like the key ideology of the Green Building Council of Australia, the designers feel that with 70% of all carbon emissions in Chicago produced by office buildings, retrofitting these buildings would be the most practical and effective solution.

This proposal is, however, no simple retrofit. It aims to implement a closed loop sustainable system in the heart of the city that offers to reverse excess carbon and its effects in the surrounding city area, rather than just the building. Working under the ‘Decarbonize Chicago’ initiative, designers turn to what they have inferred as the ‘dark horse’ sustainable technology option.

“While the world is looking for alternatives to fossil fuels, Algae is an unlimited source of energy, food, and most important, a remarkable natural CO2 absorber” say the architects.

From this natural being formed the idea of algae retrofitting. In order to use this wonder plant to its greatest potential, designers have picked the Marina City’s Tower, a stereotypical 1964 built ‘brown’ building to retrofit using a number of sustainable technologies.

In addition to rooftop solar and wind harvesting technologies, which will provide energy for the day to day running of the building, algae bioreactors will be installed in order to process the carbon from polluted air, in turn creating a continuous supply of biofuel.

The main idea will be executed through a three-step plan, which is best described by the architects.

“Using bio-engineering processes, a synergetic closed loop integrates three different levels of carbon reduction: direct carbon sequestration from the air (used to feed the Algae bioreactor), absorption by vegetal photosynthesis (Algae, vertical farming and phytoremediation), and reduction by energy saving (introduction of solar and wind harvesting energy)” they say.

Vertical farming will also be a standard feature throughout the building, with semi-circular balconies home to produce-filled gardens.

The technologies will not only work as their own separate entities, but they will work in conjunction with one another. The rooftop position of the two carbon ‘scrubbing’ plants is paramount. It enables the algae to collect CO2 from the air more effectively due to the wind turbines, which aid in the airflow, whilst producing renewable energy at the same time.

All wastewater in the building can also be reused as part of the garden and algae irrigation system.

This idea is not about changing one building, but the effects of excess carbon in an entire city area. When building in the most sustainable way possible it is important to think holistically, encompassing more than just one idea, one technology, or one space. It is through this kind of design that the effects of climate change can be reversed, rather than simply stopped.

Images Courtesy Influx Studio

Original post available here.

Who’s in the lead? Algae around the world

2012-01-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Who’s in front in the development of algal-based fuels and biomaterials? India, China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Israel, the EU, or the US. The NAABB’s globe-trotting chief parses it out.

In New Mexico, Dr. Jose Olivares is head of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB), a consortium funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop innovative technologies that will help bring algal biofuels to a commercial reality. Jonathan Williams sat down recently with Dr. Olivares after he had completed a wide-ranging tour of some of the algal hot spots around the globe.

For an overview of the NAABB itself? See our interview with Dr. Olivares, “Spring Algae Bloom: an inside look at the NAABB.”

By Jonathan Williams

Dr. José Olivares is an analytical chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) in New Mexico. His work these days doesn’t have to do with the once prominent focus of creating weapons like the nuclear bomb that this lab is known for. No, Dr. Olivares works on another aspect of our national defense: energy security.

JW: O.K. Dr. Olivares, I hear you have been traveling a lot. Could you tell me what you’ve seen in the algae industry around the world?

JO: Yes, I have been very, very fortunate in the past year to spend some time in Japan, India, Taiwan, China, Australia and Europe. Much of this travel has been by invitation and with the support of entities in these countries. I’ve been trying to understand the progress in these countries with respect to the development of an algal biofuels industry.

In particular, I’m trying to find out what is taking place with their research and also where their industrial and commercial efforts are focused. It’s given me a fairly nice perspective on where we are in the mix of this global industry, and it is helping the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) develop some key collaborations with strategic partners around the world.

JW: That sounds great. Could you go into detail, basically country to country, about what you saw?

JO: Alright, let’s start with India.

India

India has a long history of working with algae, but mostly as a nutritional source or for wastewater treatment. They are trying to develop those areas into a biofuels industry to some extent. In fact, India and the United States have cooperated in the establishment of a funding opportunity for the development of biofuels in general, whether it is algae or cellulosic or some other energy plant that has yet to be determined. That funding opportunity is in development process and promises to put nearly a million and a half to two million dollars per year for research and development of biofuels in each country.

I think India is a force to contend with because of their long history with algae, but at this point they are trying to determine out how best to enter into the biofuels industry. We are very fortunate, from a NAABB perspective, to be partnering with Reliance Industries Limited, which is one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world and is located in India. They have two of the world’s largest refineries and they are in the top 20 petrochemical producers in the world. Reliance Industries is in the process of developing a strategy for biofuels and algae biofuels in particular. We are very privileged to be partnering with them in developing this strategy.

Japan

Japan has had an even longer history than most countries in developing algae for commercial purposes, mostly macroalgae, for nutritional sources and food sources. They have also had a top phycological society and are very active in prospecting for new species of algae. The Japanese probably have some of the top researchers in the world looking at species such as Botryococcus braunii.

Much of this research is concentrated at the University of Tsukuba. There, they have actually identified a new species of algae that grows very, very fast and has fairly good oil productivity. It’s very consistent and very fast growing in large numbers, so its overall productivity looks promising for the biofuels industry.

NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), which manages government, industry, and academic based energy research in Japan, is helping fund a few algae projects. With the University of Tsukuba and several other companies, they have formed a small consortium of industry leaders to push forward with the research and development of algae for biofuels. It is a fairly sizable effort overall, but you can point it to a few institutions.

China

Within China, I went to visit the Qingdao Institute for Bioenergy and Biotechnology. The institute was founded to help the region around Qingdao develop a bioenergy infrastructure and they are well on their way to doing that. Within the last three years, they have put together an institute with about 200 researchers. It is kind of amazing to see the research power that they’ve been able to muster in that very short time.

The Chinese have a few projects in algae and we are, again, very fortunate within the NAABB to be partners. We are collaborating with Dr. Jian Xu in the sequencing and the annotation and analysis of Nannochloropsis salina strain 1776 which we are also sequencing here at Los Alamos. This collaboration also involves NMSU and Solix Biosystems which played a key role in developing our collaboration.

Another entity in China working in the algae industry is ENN, they have been developing some interests in photobioreactor-based systems for carbon sequestration and the development of algae for biofuels and bioproducts. This project looks like it is starting to take off, and they are well on their way with some test pilot units already developed.

Taiwan

Taiwan is very similar to China. There is a very large steel plant in southern Taiwan, the Chinese Steel Corporation in Tungkang. One of the largest steel plants in the world with sizable CO2 emissions. This plant is collaborating with the National Cheng Kung University to develop a photobioreactor sequestration system for CO2.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) itself is actually working very closely with Taiwanese universities in transformation of algae, photobioreactor systems, belt screen based harvesting technologies and supercritical extraction systems. NAABB, through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has recently entered into a research collaboration with ITRI in new membrane technologies for harvesting systems.

Overall, this is a significant effort for a very small country.

Australia

Australia has been in the news for quite some time and has been developing quite an industrial interest in algae. Muradel, a small company forming in Adelaide and in Karratha (from a joint venture between Murdoch U., Adelaide Research and Innovation Pty Ltd and SQC Pty Ltd) is developing a small 10 acre facility and currently has about two acres under development. Additionally, Aurora Algae has started developing some facilities in Karratha, and MBD Energy is active in Queensland.

The University of Sydney is developing a number of technologies for the conversion of biomass into oils, in particular their hydrothermal liquefaction capabilities look very promising for algae.

The Australian government recently announced a $23/ton carbon tax, which will be reinvested in renewable energy development. This will make about $23 B available for new developments. Much of the effort will be managed through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Biofuels Research Institute. Of course, we have all seen the interest from airlines such as Qantas and Virgin Air, and airplane manufacturer Boeing, in the Australian bioenergy initiatives.
All of this is a very, very nice level of development from Australia.

Europe

There are four new algae projects being funded by the European Union. Three of them are located in Spain.

Specifically, I visited the Repsol Innovation Center in Madrid and University of Alicante. Repsol is a large Spanish petrochemical interested in the development of biofuels. Repsol has a number of algae projects developing around Spain, including at the Univeristy of Alicante. Their research is looking at plastics for photobioreactors, greenhouse containment systems, strain selection, photobioreactor design, and fuel conversion. At the U. of Alicante I was particularly interested in their work with hydrothermal liquefaction technologies.

Of course, there has also been great work by Rene Wijffels at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, in understanding different types of photobiorector systems and cultivation systems for the European-type environment. There are also some efforts in other countries like Greece and Italy, but overall, Spain seems to be the one leading the development of the algae industry in Europe.

A nice, new technology just emerged out of a company called Evodos looking at a new centrifugal technology that is very low energy and fairly well developed. They are already being looked at very heavily by a lot of commercial entities and some research institutions. They have three different sized systems, from a research and development system to systems that can be taken out into the field for harvesting algae very, very quickly up to twenty thousand liters per hour flow rates for their largest systems.

Israel and Korea

We’ve heard quite a bit from Israel who has had a long history in developing nutraceuticals and now are using their photobioreactor systems mostly for biofuels. This development has come primarily out of Ben-Gurion University. In fact, Ami Ben-Amotz and his company Seambiotic are just starting to develop a new facility in China for algal biofuels, from technology they developed in Israel.

Korea recently started the Advanced Biomass R&D Center (ABC) a consortium of universities, institutes and industry funded the Korea Ministry of Education, Science and Technology with an investment of more than $200 M over nine years. This consortium will work to develop a number of new algae and cellulosic based biofuels technologies. NAABB partners, primarily led by Brooklyn College and Los Alamos National Laboratory, will be collaborating with ABC in algae strain selection and development.

Conclusion

So when I look at all of the research and development that is taking place worldwide, I think the algae biofuels industry is starting to take off. In it, I also see that the U.S. continues to be a major force in helping drive that development. In many cases, the U.S. is involved in major collaborations in some way or U.S. industries are going into these countries because of their favorable environmental conditions for algae production (e.g., Australia).

We can see that the U.S is a major, major driver in those efforts. And since about two years ago with the stimulus funds coming into algal biofuels from a research and development aspect and biorefinery development, the U.S. is probably still the largest funding source for algal development from a public standpoint. Even from a private standpoint there are many more industrial and commercial efforts developing in the U.S. as compared to the rest of the world.

That’s not to say that the rest of the world is not catching up, and it’s great to see that all of these efforts are going on both in the U.S. and across the globe. As you well know, biofuels development is probably going to be very specific to regional conditions. Therefore, regional solutions are going to need to be developed in order to have economically and environmentally feasible biofuels efforts in each country.

Even within each country, I think we are going to see differences in the way we cultivate. For example, the way we cultivate in the southwest of the United States is going to be very different from Hawaii and from Florida, and much different than in the northern parts of the United States.

Original post available here.

Algae Biodiesel Company World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire Distribution Rights From GNE, Inc. to Middle East

2012-01-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Several $100 Million Projects Envisioned for Production of Biodiesel and Commercial Fish Food

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 01/11/12 -- World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: WHEN) (PINKSHEETS: WHEN), a public holding company developing joint venture partnerships for algae production for biodiesel and commercial fish food, announced today the signing of a Letter of Intent to acquire the rights to the Middle East from GNE Inc. According to Middle East North Africa Financial network, Middle East oil consumption is over 6.2 million barrels per day, or over 2263 million barrels per year. (A dollar value of over 200 Billion USD) (http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093202639)

A significant factor in using algae for Biodiesel production is an ancillary use of algae as a commercial fish food for the production of a new affordable food source in the Middle East. Quoting Foreign Policy is "Get ready, farmers and foreign ministers alike, for a new era in which world food scarcity increasingly shapes global politics."
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/25/the_new_geopolitics_of_food

With water crisis developing in the Middle East growing algae strains suited for seawater is a custom solution that the proprietary GB 3000 system offers. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122294630).

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. recently acquired GNE-India, an algae technology company with the distribution and licensing rights to a unique and innovative technology, the GNE GB 3000 system, to grow algae quickly and efficiently for the production of biodiesel and commercial fish food protein. GNE-India owns and retains the territorial rights for distribution and sales of the proprietary technology to both India and Sri Lanka. The company has exclusive distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB 3000 system in India and Croatia. Earlier this year, the GB 3000 system was used to grow a combination of local algae species, as well as Chlorella, targeting the product to the fish feed and biodiesel markets.

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. is focused on bio-fuels produced from algae, which boasts substantially higher yields in comparison to ethanol derived from corn, rapeseed, jathropa and palm oil. The company also works with visionary enterprises in the multi-billion dollar renewable energy arena producing progressive, broad-based solutions for better physical, nutritional and environmental health worldwide. In addition, the company is pursuing an ancillary use of algae -- the efficient production of high-protein fish feed for commercial fish farms.

Ongoing Shareholder Updates

Shareholders and interested investors who would like to be added to WHEN's corporate e-mail list are encouraged to send an e-mail to info@worldhealthenergy.com for all future corporate press releases and industry updates.

About World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. is an emerging algae for food and renewable energy biofuel company. The company will produce, sub-license and market high-quality, low cost B100 Biodiesel to replace traditional fossil fuels with proprietary algae biofuel systems. Corporate website: http://www.worldhealthenergy.com

About GNE-India, Inc. http://www.gne.bz

GNE Global Natural Energy Ltd. is an algae tech company with unique systems to grow algae commercially for energy and food. The Company was founded by top experts in the plant and algae field after several years of research and development to create affordable and viable algae biofuel systems.

"Safe Harbor Statement" Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results, events and performance could vary materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.'s actual results in future periods to differ materially from results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, product demand and market competition. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before making investment decisions.

Original article available here.

Aurora Algae Targets $100M Raising, Then IPO

2012-01-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

A U.S. company seeking to fuel Western Australia state’s booming mining sector with biodiesel from algae is poised to raise an additional US$100 million from private investors mid-year ahead of a probable share market listing.

Aurora Algae would use funds to build a facility producing commercial quantities of biodiesel for use in mining trucks and other byproducts from algae in Karratha, a fast-growing mining town in Australia’s Pilbara region, which accounts for a quarter of the world’s trade in iron ore by sea.

: Getty Images; Geese swimming through algae

Construction of the commercial facility is due to begin later this year for completion early in 2013, supplanting an existing demonstration plant in Karratha.

Matthew Caspari, managing director of Aurora Algae’s Australian operations, said in an interview Monday that the California-based company aims to begin the process for a U.S. public listing by the end of the year, but wouldn’t speculate on its potential value.

Biofuels made from algae can be developed in arid areas, preventing the need to use agricultural land, and Western Australia’s vast, dry landscape provides an ideal place for harvest. The algae feeds on carbon dioxide, an environmental benefit sought after by large gas-export terminals in Karratha wanting to cap their carbon emissions.

Aurora has already raised over US$40 million from U.S. venture capital firms Oak Investment Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners and Noventi Ventures. They are likely to contribute to the US$100 million raising, along with an unnamed strategic investor that the company recently signed up, Caspari said.

Drawn by algae’s potential as a substitute for gasoline and diesel, ExxonMobil in 2009 invested US$600 million in a partnership with Synthetic Genomics Inc. of California to develop commercially viable biofuels.

So far though algal fuels haven’t been produced at scale and at a low enough cost to compete meaningfully with fossil fuels. Another company, Sapphire Energy, is making progress, having participated in a test flight of a Boeing 737 aircraft powered by algae juice in 2008 and beginning construction of a large-scale refinery in the U.S. state of New Mexico in 2010.

Caspari said Aurora can make cost-competitive fuels by also extracting Omega-3 oils from its algae and selling it to the dietary and pharmaceutical industries. The company is able to develop others types of product because it has researched the oil production qualities of different types of algae and developed its own refining technologies, he said.

“Profit, especially in the shorter term, is heavily weighted towards the Omega-3 product,” Caspari said. “And by having that higher margin product we’re able to sell fuel at parity with diesel.”

The company has forged a supply agreement with a major carbon dioxide producer in Karratha that Caspari declined to identify. It received about A$2 million funding from the Western Australia state government for its 2.6 hectare demonstration facility and hopes the government will contribute more to the 100-ha first-phase commercial plant.

Original post available here.

Aurora Algae's green light to capital raising

2012-01-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

Abundant sunlight means the algae grows quickly, doubling in volume in a day.

ONLY months after raising $22 million, Aurora Algae has its sights on raising a further $100 million as it seeks to commercialise algae harvesting and processing in Western Australia.

A 100-hectare operation is being developed, which is expected to be in production by the end of the year, with commercial product to be marketed from early 2013. By then, planning will be well advanced on the next stage, a 1000-hectare algae farm and processing facilities.

The venture is to produce biofuel and omega-3 from algae, with the residual matter to be used as biomass in the aquaculture sector, typically in fish or prawn farming in Asia.

Omega-3 is the high-value product that will underpin the project's expected fortunes.

Aurora Algae was attracted to Karratha, in Western Australia's north-west, by the abundant sunlight and saltwater, coupled with extensive cheap land, which more than compensates for the expensive labour and housing.

The abundant sunlight means the algae grows quickly - doubling in volume in a day - ensuring plentiful product for processing.

The last raising of $22 million, undertaken in August, has left the company fully funded until its next expansion phase.

The Karratha operation is expected to be progressively scaled up from the initial 100 hectares of commercial operation to 400 hectares in the next stage, and then 1000 hectares.

''The next phase will get us into profits,'' said Matthew Caspari, founder and managing director. ''It's highly scalable.''

The venture uses a large amount of marginal land, but being in Karratha enables it to take advantage of the improving infrastructure, thanks to the resources boom.

''It is easy to get things in and out, thanks to the resources industry,'' Mr Caspari said. ''The downside is labour is amazingly expensive and housing is amazingly expensive.''

The company has not provided any indication of likely production volumes as it scales up, but it will produce ''hundreds of tonnes of material a month; thousands of tonnes a year''.

Oil-yielding algae show promise as domestic, export energy trove

2012-01-07T01:21:00.000-08:00

TSUKUBA, Ibaraki Pref. — Not many people imagine that resource-poor Japan might one day become an oil exporter. But someone who does is Makoto Watanabe, a leading expert in research on producing oil from microscopic algae.

Research into creating biofuel from so-called microalgae may well grow more important as Japan looks for other energy sources to help reduce the reliance on nuclear power in light of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

"If we can develop technology that taps the potential of microalgae to the fullest extent, Japan may become a country that can export oil," the 63-year-old professor at the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture said at his lab.

The idea of producing fuel from algae is not new, with the oil crisis of the 1970s and concerns over climate change occasionally casting a spotlight on the organisms. Japan also spent more than ¥10 billion over a 10-year period up to around 2000 in a major national project to look into the properties of algae to see if its photosynthesis would help reduce carbon dioxide.

But after the project ended with lackluster results, Watanabe, who was until then interested in research on environmental problems caused by algae, such as red tide, decided to shift his focus to algae biofuel.

"After the project ended . . . researchers involved in it broke up. But I thought that studies should continue, even on a reduced scale, because the potential of algae is high," the environmental sciences professor said.

What makes the idea of using algae so special is that, unlike other biofuels made from agricultural crops such as corn and soybeans, it would not lead to an increase in food prices because algae can grow in conditions unsuitable for food crop production.

Oil production from microalgae is also up to several hundred times more efficient than that from terrestrial plants, although the biggest challenge is overcoming the high production costs, such as by improving cultivation methods, experts say.

Watanabe's research has centered on a microalgae called Botryococcus and more recently on a type called Aurantiochytrium.Both can produce hydrocarbon, the chief component of petroleum.

According to Watanabe, each has strengths and weaknesses. Botryococcus has high hydrocarbon content but grows slowly. Aurantiochytrium has only about one-third of the oil content of Botryococcus but grows 48 times faster.

Given the higher hydrocarbon productivity of Aurantiochytrium, Watanabe believes there is more room to reduce algae biofuel costs, which have run between ¥155 to ¥800 per liter when using Botryococcus and much more expensive than crude oil prices at about ¥50.

"By securing land or sea areas of 20,000 to 200,000 hectares, producing algae biofuel equal to the amount of Japan's oil imports for one year is not impossible," he said, noting there is plenty of unused farmland that could be made available.

Since Aurantiochytrium needs organic substances to produce oil, unlike Botryococcus, which creates fuel through photosynthesis, Watanabe is considering ways to create a system to cultivate the algae by making use of sewage water from households and factories, and cleaning the water in the process.

Companies are also joining the algae biofuel field, with heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. launching a research and development company with a university venture in August and planning a ¥400 million investment in the firm over two years.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. has conducted a joint study with other companies to create jet fuel from another microscopic algae, Euglena, which conducts photosynthesis and moves like an animal, with a view to seeking commercialization in fiscal 2018.

An official at the Natural Resources and Energy Agency welcomed what appears to be recent progress in the area, but added, "Still, I don't think this is something that will work out in the next five years or so. More improvement in technology is needed, as I hear of cases in which researchers find that algae, which has grown a lot inside a beaker, doesn't cultivate in a larger pool."

Hiroshi Uno, senior project manager of the Green Innovation Business Strategy Department at the Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute, predicts commercialization could begin around 2020.

"Unless algae biofuel can compete with usual petroleum in terms of costs, you can't really use it as energy . . . but I think Japan has a strong point in the area of algae culture," he said.

While global competition in algae research is intensifying, Watanabe is hoping to use his study not only to address his country's energy woes but also to contribute to rebuilding areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which set off the nuclear crisis.

Watanabe's current plan is to conduct experiments at a disaster-hit sewage treatment facility in Sendai, hoping eventually to make algae oil production part of the drainage treatment process.

Original post available here.

Algae Biofuels Inject Money Into San Diego’s Economy

2012-01-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

SAN DIEGO — A survey by the San Diego Association of Governments found the algae biofuels industry is responsible for 466 local jobs. That's a significant jump over the 210 jobs that existed two years ago. SANDAG's review said local efforts are responsible for a $41 million payroll and another $80 million in economic impacts. The impact will reach far beyond San Diego's borders.

Enlarge this image

Photo by Nicholas McVicker

Above: Stephen Mayfield in his lab on July 18, 2011. Mayfield is one of the scientists in San Diego working on turning algae into fuel.

"This year, we'll double the number of jobs in the algae biofuels industry," said Stephen Mayfield, director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology. "It's just that we won't double them here in San Diego. Because San Diego is still very much the research and the headquarters of the companies, but it is not going to be the production site for them."

Two years of research has refined the development of algae strains that grow fast and produce the most oil, according to Mayfield. The critical step this year is moving the technology to large-scale production and harvesting on algae farms. If it works, the impact will be huge.

"The next iteration of those will not be, 'hey let's build one more commercial plant.' It will be, 'this worked. Let's go build a thousand of these,' " said Mayfield.

Several San Diego companies are building large-scale farms, including Sapphire Energy, General Atomics and Synthetic Genomics. How those facilities perform will be a key to the technology's commercial viability.

Original post here.

The Importance of Due Diligence for Algae Startups

2012-01-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Algae holds promise as a next-generation biofuel, both for heat and electricity and especially for transportation fuels. Algae could potentially be a game changer for biofuels in the future. Critical to algae entering this game as a true contender is productivity.

Energy & Environmental Research Center research has shown that algae may be able to produce 100 times more gallons of oil an acre per year than soybeans. This is the one metric that has driven the algae-to-fuels industry to where it is today. Metrics are important, especially to biofuels. Of course, many important metrics must enter the conversation and be understood in order to determine if algae will be a successful biofuel feedstock of the future.

Water usage, chemicals and byproducts produced, nutrient utilization or removal, CO2 capture, capital expenses, operating expenses, and energy balances are all metrics of great importance.

Some metrics have been poorly used and reported by algae-to-biofuel startups in the recent past. For example, several years ago when I started working at an algae biofuels startup, the main metric was gallons of fuel an acre per year. At the time, this was the golden number. The higher the advertised fuel productivity, the more attention one received. As more and more startups joined the race, it became a runaway number. The largest number I remember hearing advertised was around 175,000 gallons an acre per year. In a situation like this, it is important for investors, journalists and scientists to know what is even possible.

For a time, the investment community seemed to freeze new investments because new startups were making more and more dramatic claims, into the hundreds of thousands of gallons an acre per year. The rapid change slowed or nearly stopped investments. These rising productivity claims, however, were simply not possible based on photosynthetic algae production and the annual average amount of energy that the sun provides at a given spot on the globe. Due diligence suddenly became extremely important. A white paper published in 2009 walked through the calculations to arrive at 4,350 to 5,700 gallons per acre a year (realistic).1 This paper helped the industry as a whole by plainly stating a theoretical possibility. That kind of order-of-magnitude analysis is important for investors, the media, and government regulatory and funding agencies to know what productivity can be expected.

Besides productivity, other metrics are important for defining the success of an algae startup. These metrics are not always the result of simple calculations. It will take a well-organized and technically diverse team of engineers and scientists to determine all of the intricacies of water usage, energy usage, CO2 capture, product generation or overall economics for an algae facility.

In summary, it is important to get all the facts straight about an algae project before diving in. Productivity and other metrics related to the life cycle of an algae biofuel must be carefully determined. The EERC has conducted several due diligence studies and research projects related to algae biofuels, tapping into a wide variety of expertise from mechanical and chemical engineers, microbiologists, and chemists to ensure project success. This approach, if repeated by good project developers, will at least give algae a chance to be a contender in the world of biofuels.

Original post here.

Sea Robots Farm Algae for Fuel

2012-01-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

What's the Latest Development?

A Pennsylvania-based energy start up envisions fleets of tiny robots harvesting the sea for algae which could then be converted into biodiesel. The company, BEAR Oceanics, is currently crowd-funding to create self-sustaining robot farms which must be engineered to avoid boats or ships as they harvest. "Building a robotic farm would take an estimated $1,200 and 140 man hours. Such robots could end up churning out biodiesel for between 30 to 60 cents per gallon, said Rudy Behrens, an engineer at BEAR.

What's the Big Idea?

In laboratory settings, the algae were found to be resistant to environmental conditions, growing even in winter and doubling in mass every 92 minutes, representing a potentially self-sustaining source for biofuels. When its harvest time, the robots fire an electric charge that bursts the algae cells to release lipid oils used to make biofuel. And in lieu of using toxic chemicals to turn the algae oil into fuel, BEAR Oceanics works with thermal depolymerization, a process which uses the combination of heat and pressure.

Original post available here.

Companies sign deal for algae biodiesel development in India

2012-01-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

World Health Energy Holdings (WHEH), a public holding company that works on forming joint ventures with algae companies for the production of biodiesel and fish food, says it has signed a deal with Indian company Prime to build a biodiesel facility.

The production site will sit on 250 acres and cost up to $100 million (€77 million) to build. So far two sites are being considered for the development – Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – both in India.

The technology that will be used is known as the GB3000 system and is involves growing algae in the Indian region and in the past customers have included Exxon, Shell, General Electric and Siemens.

The process allows for algae to be grown ‘quickly and efficiently’ according to Prime, and has previously been used to grow local algae species, such as Chlorella.

Original post available here.

Biodiesel company to develop algae farm

2012-01-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent with Prime Inc. India to develop a biodiesel production facility of up to 250 acres, with a budget of up to $100m.

World Health Energy is a public holding company developing joint venture partnerships for algae production for biodiesel and commercial fish food, and Prime Inc. India is an industrial and transport company.

The proposed sites for development are in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, India and will utilise an Algae Enhancement Technology, known as the GB3000 system, used for growing algae for the production of fish feed, proteins and biofuel in India.

Liran Kosman, CFO of World Health Energy, said: "We look forward to working with Prime Inc. India in the design, development and support of a cost-efficient algae production farm. We anticipate scaling up operations and completing a number of significant algae projects in 2012."

World Health Energy recently acquired GNE-India, an algae technology company with the distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB3000 system, to grow algae quickly and efficiently for the production of biodiesel and commercial fish food protein. GNE-India owns and retains the territorial rights for distribution and sales of the proprietary technology to both India and Sri Lanka. The company has exclusive distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB3000 system in India and Croatia. Earlier this year, the GB3000 system was used to grow a combination of local algae species, as well as Chlorella, targeting the product to the fish feed and biodiesel markets.

World Health Energy is focused on biofuels produced from algae, which is said to boast substantially higher yields in comparison to ethanol derived from corn, rapeseed, jatropha and palm oil. In addition, the company is pursuing an ancillary use of algae - the efficient production of high-protein fish feed for commercial fish farms.

Original post available here.

4 new ways to solve the energy challenge

2012-01-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

4. Tapping fuel from the ocean floor

Seaweed may become an abundant source of biofuels.

In the race to find an economically viable biofuel, researchers are now looking at a surprising source: seaweed. While making cheap fuel from pond algae has proved difficult, the potential advantages of seaweed, or macro-algae, are big. It's one of the world's fastest-growing plants, doesn't need fertilizer, requires less acreage than land-based crops (plus, no clear-cutting to make way for farms), and its fuel would emit less CO2 than the current ethanol champion, corn.

More important, more than half the dry mass in seaweed is sugar, which is the new crude, fuel scientists say. That's because sugar can be easily converted to ethanol or butanol. Bio Architecture Lab, a startup, has partnered with DuPont (DD), the Department of Energy's ARPA-E labs, and the venture arm of Norway's Statoil (STO) to develop the chemistry that would unlock the energy in that sugar and create a fuel that's cheaper than the alternatives.

Bio Architecture Lab, headquartered in Berkeley, has built three seaweed farms off the coast of Chile. Workers using winches and lines harvest giant strands of seaweed from boats. The company recently broke ground on a pilot ethanol manufacturing plant in the Los Lagos region of Chile, slated to start operations next year. The challenge: It's one thing to make small amounts of fuel in a lab, but fuel production is a big global business. Will this technology be able to scale affordably? --A.V.

Original post available here.

Ocean robots could sail seas and farm fuel from algae

2012-01-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Engineer says cheap biodiesel can be made on any scale year-round — he just needs cash

BEAR Oceanics

This was the second test of the production systems. BEAR Oceanics added more power and made it swan-proof.

The biofuel farm contained only a small wind turbine, solar panel and container of green scum packed within a tub-size frame floating on the water. But its design could someday spawn fleets of robotic farms that harness the ocean winds and sunshine to make cheap, algae-based biodiesel fuel for cars, trains and aircraft.

That vision set forth by BEAR Oceanics aims for self-sustaining robot farms capable of steering clear of boats or ships as they rely solely upon wind and solar power to grow algae year-round. The robotic farms would turn algae sludge into 5 gallons of biofuel per day with a sped-up version of the geological process that created Earth's fossil fuels — all without the risks of drilling for oil or fracking for natural gas.

"At this point, you've turned biomass into a biofuel, and you haven't used any chemicals, so that you don't have a toxic waste stream," said Rudy Behrens, an engineer at BEAR Oceanics. "We can do this on a large scale without disrupting the food chain or creating a hazard."

A human-scale project
The first test system sank under the furious assault of a male swan caught up in the heat of mating season rivalries. Undiscouraged, Behrens and BEAR Oceanics have already built and tested a bigger, swan-proof system that resembles a pyramid-shaped greenhouse.

Now the Pennsylvania-based startup is looking for help from online do-gooders to build its first full-size robot farm. It recently posted a project on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter to ask for $2,000 in donations.

"I meant this to be a human-scale technology that people could do either as a part-time effort, or as a small business or as a major business," Behrens told InnovationNewsDaily. "It's meant to be economically viable at a very small scale, but you can scale it up as much as you like."

Building a robotic farm would take an estimated $1,200 and 140 man hours. Such robots could end up churning out biodiesel for between 30 to 60 cents per gallon, Behrens said.
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Turning sludge into fuel
The biodiesel relies upon a sludgy mixture of six organisms, including the blue-green spirulina algae and Azolla water fern. Such a mixture has proved capable of not only doubling its mass every 92 minutes inside a lab at Rutgers University, but also growing in the harsher environment of a Pennsylvania greenhouse from late summer through winter and spring.

"The whole basis of this system is that you use indigenous biomass, so you don't have the problems of invasive species in the environment," Behrens explained. "You certainly don't have the problems of using bioengineered organisms."

Then it's time for harvest. A mild electric current bursts the algae cells to release lipid oils that will eventually turn into biodiesel. The robotic farm ends up with something like hydrogenated vegetable oil floating on the surface, even as the remaining sludge gets recycled into growing more algae.

BEAR Oceanics
This was the first of the fuel production systems. It was attacked by a swan and sank.

To sidestep typical biodiesel production involving toxic chemicals, BEAR Oceanics turned to thermal depolymerization — a method that uses heat and pressure to turn the "vegetable oil" into proper biodiesel. Pumping the oil through a tiny opening creates tiny bubbles capable of reaching 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures of 5,000 pounds per square inch.

Turning robot dreams into reality
But all that biofuel won't do anyone any good if the robotic farms end up wandering lost at sea. BEAR Oceanics built a robotic control system that can detect movement around itself and calculate a path to avoid any other vessels.

It can even automatically head for a "safe zone" and drop anchor if an electronic glitch occurs — a safety feature that got the approval of the U.S. Coast Guard. Now all that Behrens and BEAR Oceanics can do is wait and see whether the online crowds at Kickstarter show similar approval by donating.

"I just read about Kickstarter, and it seemed consistent with how I wanted this to be human-scale technology," Behrens said.

Original article available here.

WHEH and Prime Inc to develop 250 acre algae biodisel farm in India

2012-01-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

World Health Energy Holdings Inc (WHEH) has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Prime Inc India to develop a US$100 million, 250 acre algae biodiesel and fish food production facility.

By Kari Williamson

The proposed sites for the algae biodiesel and fish food development are in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, India and will utilise the GB3000 algae enhancement technology system from GNE-India, used for growing algae for the production of fish feed, proteins and biodiesel.

Liran Kosman, CFO of World Health Energy, says: "We look forward to working with Prime Inc. India in the design, development and support of a cost-efficient algae production farm. We anticipate scaling up operations and completing a number of significant algae projects in 2012."

WHEH recently acquired the algae technology company GNE-India, which holds the distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB3000 system, to grow algae quickly and efficiently for the production of biodiesel and commercial fish food protein.

Original post available here.

New Year’s Eve at Cape Harbour

2012-01-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

When a new year rolls around, a lot of people look back on the year that was with a mix of reward and regret. Some things worked out perfectly while others could have been done differently.

For Steven Giffis, 2011 was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was just as it should have been for the long time Cape resident.

"All year has been great," Giffis said with a big smile on New Year's Eve at Cape Harbour. "I'm going to keep up the same thing because so far its been working."

There was little more than a few hours left in 2011 and Giffis was busy putting the final touches on his own party dockside at Cape Harbour.

Since the first New Year's Eve bash six years ago, Giffis has been been partying dockside. Stringing two boats together, Giffis goes all out, with lighting effects, music and lasers.

"It gets better every year. We have such a good time," he added.

Giffis, along with family and friends, was one of thousands that descended upon Cape Harbour for their annual bash.

With live entertainment provided by PUSH, spectacular fireworks and a ball drop, Cape Harbour is the party destination in Cape Coral to ring in the new year.

But the event also acts as a showcase for the development, which houses world class restaurants and boutiques that cater to all tastes.

David Stagman and wife, Sheila, owners of Islands, a tropical themed store at Cape Harbour, said the event is a prime opportunity to bring people through the doors of his business.

"(The event) does expose us to a wide range of people," he said. "It's a good will, family night and everyone has fun."

The event is possible, in part, because of the volunteers who make themselves useful throughout the night.

Max Givan was manning the parking lot for Rumrunner's, a Cape Harbour restaurant, who were booked solid all night long.

Givan works for Algae-X, a diesel fuel solution company based in Lee County.

Givan was thankful that Algae-X was able to survive the recession and he was looking forward to more positive growth in 2012.

"We've managed to grow through that period and I'm thankful for that," he said.

Glenda Swager from Realmark Realty, the company behind Cape Harbour, was happy that another successful celebration was held at the development.

Swager said that plans for next year's event will begin in June.

"It was just a tremendous turnout," she said. "Everyone had a blast."

Original post available here.

The Top 100 People in Bioenergy 2011-12: #76 through #100

2012-01-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

The Top 100 People in Bioenergy – what are the stories behind the list? Today, we look at the personalities ranked #76 through #100.

In Florida, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack headed the “Top 100 People in Bioenergy” as voted by the readers of Biofuels Digest and the Digest’s editorial board, just edging out BP Biofuels chief Philip New, and the heads of Raizen, POET, Solazyme and Amyris. In today’s Digest, we profile the Final 25 in depth.

The first 25 are here, profiled in depth.

The second 25 are here, profiled in depth.

The third 25 are here, profiled in depth.

The complete Top 100 list is here.

76. Neal Gutterson, CEO, Mendel Biotechnologies

Miscanthus has been growing in visibility and credibility all year, thanks to BP’s strong backing of the feedstock, and also the progress of Mendel Biotechnologies towards providing seed and performance suitable for scale. The long-time chief of Mendel, Neal Gutterson, has not been as visible as many on the industry conference circuit while shepherding his company towards scale, but picked up a surge in support from the voters this year as cellulosic biofuels gets closer to scale, and feedstocks of near-term promise become more and more important.

77. Sean O’Hanlon, Executive Director, American Biofuels Council

As well as being one of the best-known and respected of the biofuels Twitterati, Sean has been advocating at the grass-roots, and offering advanced bioenergy insight on a consulting basis, for a number of years. One of the most far-sighted of the “bioneers”, and always a “most-follow” for those tracking the industry’s path. “I can’t think of anyone who taught me more about the potentials and pitfalls in biofuels,” says Digest editor Jim Lane.

78. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries

The #1 figure in the Indian subcontinent is Praj Industries chairman and founder Pramod Chaudhari, as a late surge in voting this year propelled him to another Top 100 appearance. As we wrote last year, “Pramodh Chaudhari gives a crystal clear analysis of the sugar/molasses problems India has experienced recently and the two regulatory steps necessary to fulfill the E20 mandate. He also gives a very interesting description of how Praj solved the ethanol wastewater problem, and of the environmental education, conservation and outreach programs the company is running for its own employees, schools and its home city of Pune.”

79. Bob Mayer, CEO, Cobalt Technologies

The new chief at Cobalt is the former chief of Genencor, lured back into a CEO role by Cobalt’s near-term opportunities to scale, and the overall emerging promise of biobutanol. A legend in the industry, all eyes are on how he will be able to top a superb tenure as CEO by predecessor Rick Wilson. His trump card? As much successful experience as anyone in the chicken-and-egg world of scale-up.

80. Kef Kasdin, CEO, Proterro, Mike Hamilton, CEO, Renmatix, Andrew Richard, CEO, Comet Biorefining

This year, we paired three leaders developing low-cost sugars as feedstock for biofuels and materials. Which will succeed? Renmatix’ supercritical process, Proterro’s magic bug making sugars from sunlight, CO2 and date, or Comet’s synthetic biology approach to extracting sugars from biomass? Too soon to tell, but the contenders are more important, more organized and more impressive than ever.

81. Todd Taylor, Partner, Fredrickson & Byron

One of the more popular of the biofuels Twitteratri as well as chairman of the program at next year’s Algal Biomass Summit, Todd’s overall perspective runs across a gamut of cleantech technologies, but he’s best known in the algae field, where he is an ubiquitous presence both online and offline, and a go-to source for the scoop on what’s hot, smart and getting traction.

82. Kelly Tiller, CEO, Genera Energy

Feedstock providers were surging across the board this year – a perennial favorite among the voters is Genera Energy – figuring out the logistics and science of switchgrass at Scale. Kelly’s been a popular leader down in Tennessee for quite some time. Expectations are high for this venture to become a major player for partners such as Dupont Cellulosic Ethanol.

83. Jim Dumesic, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

If you’ve read much about Virent Energy Systems, the direct sugar-to-diesel technology known as bioforming, or the entire field of the catalytic conversion of feedstocks directlly into hydrocarbon fuels, you’ve been well exposed to the work from the Dumesic lab at the University of Wisconsin. Jim himself generally makes appearances at scientific conferences and is known to make technical presentations on new science, rather than grand pronouncements on biofuels policy. For that reason, it was a delightful surprise to see the Digest readership get behind Dumesic and elevate him to #52 in our poll. Though microbial fermentation approach to direct conversion to hydrocarbons get the lion’s share of publicity, the catalytic approach is attracting serious partners like Cargill Ventures and Honda.

84. Kevin Berner, CEO, Phycal

One of the most interesting emerging approaches to algal biofuels and materials at scale? Phycal’s hybrid model in which they grow “skinny algae” in ponds, then fatten them up in directors by feeding them cassava sugar. Phycal plans to design, permit, build and operate a 34-acre pilot farm near Poamoho Camp in Wahiawa, Oahu that will use carbon dioxide from industrial producers on Oahu. The algae will then be harvested and their oils extracted, using Phycal’s patented processes, and converted into renewable biofuel. Phycal expects to break ground for the pilot farm in late 2011 or early 2012.

85. John Plaza, CEO, Imperium Renewables

A lot of obits were written for Imperium Renewables back in 2008 when the market for biodiesel began to implode. John Plaza kept the company alive by finding markets in Canada, and managing costs down to a minimum. Lately, he’s partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop a catalytic process that converts biomass-based alcohols into renewable drop-in jet fuels. Imperium entered into the project in July 2010 through a collaborative research agreement with Battelle, the nonprofit research organization that manages PNNL for DOE. The ultimate goal is to use the process at a commercial plant such as Imperium’s Grays Harbor biodiesel refinery near Hoquiam.

86. Barry Cohen, Executive Director, National Algae Association

Since establishing the NAA several years ago, Barry Cohen has been a consistent advocate for commercial-ready fuels, and moving emphasis from R&D to commercialization, right down to establishing a NAA-sponsored algal testing facility.

87. Daphne Preuss, CEO, Chromatin

One of the prime movers in the surge of advanced feedsotcks, Chromatin’s Daphne Preuss has been guiding her company into effective partnerships in corn and sugar with major players like Syngenta, while retaining sorghum as its own playing field. This fall, Chromatin announced completion of a $10 million first closing of its Series D financing round that included two strategic investors — BP Ventures and Unilever Technology Ventures. Drawing on capital raised in earlier rounds of venture funding, as well as revenue from its seed and technology sales, Chromatin has launched production-scale tests in electricity-generating plants of its specially bred non-food sorghum crops that can grow on marginal land using less water and fewer chemicals than other energy crops.

88. Joanne Ivancic, Executive Director, Advanced Biofuels USA

One of the most visible of the NGOs working on popularizing advanced biofuels, Joanne has been a high-value advocate and information distributor for the niches as it begins to educate consumers about the opportunities in advanced feedstocks, processing technologies and fuels,

89. Philip Pienkos, PhD, NREL

One of the respected movers and shakers in algae at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are Phil Pienkos – a regular at industry conclaves like the Algal Biomass Summit, where he plays spotlighted roles, and organizing the effort at NREL on algal-based biofuels, which has gone from a near standing (re)start to a fast-moving, evolving machine in recent years. Though algae’s focus has shifted from fuels to feed and food, fuels remain a major market opportunity and Pienkos continues to be a widely-admired principal in the drive towards commercialization.

90. Rafael Garofallo, Secretary General, EBB

One of the higher-ranked European indusrty leaders, Garofalo has been leading not only the EBB but also pioneered the establishment of the European Algal Biomass group. Along with eBIO, he led a controversial walk-out from the Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels, saying that the RSB’s principles were incompatible with the needs of his membership. Occasionally controversial but always an entertaining industry presenter.

91. Arnold Klann, CEO, Bluefire Renewables

Arnie Klann and Bluefire Rewables have been fighting the good fight for a long, long time. Best known for putting together one of the most complete DOE Loan Guarantee package applications in history, lately BlueFire has formed SucreSource, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary that will manufacture cellulosic sugars from biomass for Biofuel, Bioplastic and Specialty Chemical markets. Established in November 2011, SucreSource will utilize BlueFire’s proven and patented high yield process of economically unlocking cellulosic sugars from biomass to produce multiple sugar streams for these growing markets.

92. John Benemann, PhD, CEO, Benemann Associates

The “Doctor No” of the algae industry, if he spends a lot of his time talking down the hype around algae, its more to do with the hype than a problem with algae. A co-author of the close-out report of the DOE’s Aquatic Species Program, he’s been instrumental in the formation of the Algal Biomass Organization. If John says its good, that’s rare, but it’s gold.

93. Chas Eggert, CEO, OPX Biotechnologies

A first time appearance for Eggert in the Top 100. During remarks this fall at the National Clean Energy Summit 4.0 in Las Vegas, Vice President Joe Biden highlighted five innovative companies that have attracted more than $100 million in outside private capital investment since receiving seed funding from ARPA-E. Biden highlighted OPX Biotechnologies, which received ARPA-E funding of $6 million, and subsequently raised private funding of $36.5 million. Scientists at OPX Biotechnologies are developing bacteria to produce a liquid biofuel using electricity and carbon dioxide. This liquid biofuel is being designed to replace petroleum fuel at a competitive cost.

94. Thomas Maschmayer, co-founder, Ignite Energy

A first-time appearance in the Top 100, Maschmayer is a godfather of thermocatalytic technologies Down Under. Most recently, Ignite subsidiary Licella announced the opening of its demonstration plant, a JV with Norsk Sko called Licella Fibre Fuels to commercialize the technology, and MOUs with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand to develop aviation fuels from Licella’s bio-oil. The process has been developed over the past three and a half years at Licella’s Pilot Facility in Somersby on the NSW Central Coast with guidance from Maschmeyer. Meanwhile, “Ignite Energy Resources uses a proprietary Super Critical Water (SCW) reactor to convert low-valued feedstocks into high-valued oil and coal products.

95. Philip Wolfe, Chairman, Ownergy

Philip Wolfe, a recognised pioneer of the renewables sector since founding BP Solar in the 1970s, is Ownergy’s chairman and business development director, and continues to be a popular face among Digesterati. In six high-profile years as Director General of the Renewable Energy Association (REA) he became the voice of renewable energy in the UK. Philip was a leading light of the campaign for the Tariffs and authored the first design blueprint presented to Ministers soon after the Energy Act was passed. He continues to work with many others in the industry through participation in the Energy Saving Trust’s Microgeneration Advisory Board and the REAL Code Panel, and his ongoing non-executive directorship of the REA.

96. Xiucai Liu, CEO, Cathay Industrial Bioetchnology

The company is the largest biobutanol producer with active capacity of 21 million gallons of biobutanol per year. Other key products are long-chain dicarboxylic acids. Since 1997, Dr. Xiucai Liu has been guiding the company as CEo and founder, after several years as founder and CEO of Unistone Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. From 1991 to 1994, he was a senior scientist of The Sandoz Research Institute. One of the companies driving attention away from, say Brazil, and towards China.

97. Jim Stewart, Chairman, Bioenergy Producers Association

One of the sleepers in this year’s poll, the unabashedly modest Jim Stewart who has been leading the fight in California on the policy front for the Bioenergy Producers Association. Jim writes: “We have been fighting major battles in California on behalf of this industry and encountering “head in the sand” opposition in the legislature and with environmental organizations in this state for the past six years, while, at the same time, weighing in on national issues. However, I had no idea that our efforts would have a high enough profile nationally for my name to appear on this list.” Ah, grasshopper, Digest editors are remarkably fallible, but Digest readers know all.

98. Riggs Eckelberry, CEO, OriginOil

The always quotable Riggs Eckelberry writes: It’s official: we came in 49th out of the top 100 people in Bioenergy worldwide! I share this amazing rank with my able CTO, Brian Goodall. We are honored and thankful. Editor Jim Lane told us yesterday: “kudos – you had an amazing outpouring of support from the US-based Digest readership, and pretty good votes from Australia too, indicating that your Australian partnership has drawn attention there. If you voted, thank you – because it was no simple process, signing up for Biofuels Digest and then following your personalized link to vote for the Top 100. Whew!”

99. Mark Emalfarb, CEO, Dyadic

A first-timer in the Top 100, another of a new generation of technologists focusing on enzymes and feedstocks that moved into this year’s rankings., In “Dyadic International: From Doom to Dawn — What’s Next?”, published by Logos Press . the authors note that “Dyadic was reduced to 31 employees from 125,” the authors wrote. “Its cash dwindled by a factor of 9, from $27 million to just about $3 million; the value of its stock fell from $5.30 to a mere 50 cents. But founder Mark Emalfarb returned as CEO and led a resurrection of the company, including a key deal with Codexis, and a vision that “he who can make proteins in large tanks affordable is going to rule the world.”

100. Susan Pond, Director, Dow US Studies Center, University of Sydney

A first-time appearance in the Top 100, in part due to her role as a catalyst of industrial biotechnology in Australia, and part for her role in fostering US-Australian ties in aviation biofuels. Dr. Pond recalls: “After Avalon, we had the idea of an MOU or an agreement between the US and Australia, which I presented to the Australian government in Canberra including people at the Ministry of Resources Energy & Tourism and Ministry of Transport. CAAFI, myself, FAA and Austrade had a meeting towards a more formal agreement at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in DC earlier this year, and as another part of the process we went to a prep meeting for APEC and put it on the APEC agreement agenda, and it was signed of the margins of the APEC meeting.”

Original article available here.

USD 100 millon invested in algae project for biodiesel

2011-12-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

Developer of joint venture partnerships for algae production for biodiesel and commercial fish food World Health Energy Holdings, Inc (WHEN) has announced the signing of a letter of intent with industrial and transport company Prime Inc to develop a biodiesel production facility ramping up to 250 ac with a budget of up to USD 100 million.

The proposed sites for development are in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and will use an Algae Enhancement Technology, the GB3000 system, employed for growing algae for the production of fish feed, proteins and biofuel. Prime Inc India's current clients include Exxon, Shell, General Electric (GE) and Siemens.

"We look forward to working with Prime Inc India in the design, development and support of a cost-efficient algae production farm,” Liran Kosman, CFO of WHEN, said. “We anticipate scaling up operations and completing a number of significant algae projects in 2012."

World Health recently acquired GNE-India, an algae technology firm with the distribution and licensing rights to a unique and innovative technology, the GNE GB 3000 system, to grow algae quickly and efficiently to produce biodiesel and commercial fish food protein. GNE-India owns and retains the territorial rights for distribution and sales of the proprietary technology in India and Sri Lanka.

The company enjoys exclusive distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB 3000 system in India and Croatia.

In 2011, the GB 3000 system was used to grow local algae species like spirulina, as well as chlorella, for fish feed and biodiesel markets, Biodiesel Magazine reports.

WHEN is focused on biofuels produced from algae because, the company explains, it gives substantially higher yields in comparison to ethanol derived from corn, rapeseed, jatropha and palm oil. The company also works with enterprises producing progressive, broad-based solutions for better physical, nutritional and environmental health worldwide.

In addition, World Health is pursuing another use of algae: the efficient production of high-protein fish feed for commercial fish farms.

Original post: http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=3&id=48761&l=e&special=&ndb=1%20target=

Solazyme Chief Operating Officer Webster Resigns Citing Health

2011-12-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

Solazyme Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Webster resigned from the biofuels maker, effective immediately, for health and personal reasons.

Webster joined the South San Francisco, California-based company on Sept. 12, it said today in a securities filing. He was previously general manager of Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN)’s renewable products business. Solazyme produces oil from algae that can be processed into fuel and chemicals.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-27/solazyme-chief-operating-officer-webster-resigns-citing-health.html

Federal Gov't Finally Kills $6B USD Corn Ethanol Subsidy

2011-12-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

Fresh debate focuses on eliminating blending/consumption mandates or replacing them with non-corn-based targets

Biofuels have become almost a dirty word, thanks to the government's dealings with respect to corn ethanol. Deep in campaign donations from farm lobbyists, federal politicans have sprinkled billions in subsidies on the corn farmers that helped pay their way into office. Many have argued these subsidies have cost the consumer both in direct taxes and by raising the cost of corn-derived food products at the supermarket. Still other critics accuse the government of greenwashing, pointing out that corn ethanol has actually been shown to increase greenhouse gas emissions, not cut them.

I. RIP "Dirty" Corn Ethanol Subsidy

In the end, it appears the critics prevailed. The federal government is at last axing the $6B USD in annual federal subsidies it had previously been bequeathing on corn farmers and ethanol production facilities.

As the Congressional year ended, corn ethanol's supporters failed to muster the support necessary to push through a new subsidy to replace the previous subsidy that was voted out over the summer.

Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, an ethanol trade group, clearly wasn't thrilled with the decision, but in an interview earlier this month he claimed the ethanol industry would survive without government handouts stating, "The blenders' tax credit initially helped the ethanol industry develop. But today, we don't have a production problem, we have a market access problem. Without the tax credit, the ethanol industry will survive; it will continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create jobs and strengthen our economy."

By some estimates the total gifts to corn ethanol business totalled $45B USD since 1980.

The subsidy cut -- approved by a 73-27 Senate vote in June -- also is accompanied by the end of a tariff on the importation of Brazilian ethanol. Brazil has an excess of sugarcane ethanol, but the U.S. government had previously penalized this fuel stream as a means of allowing U.S. ethanol producers to escape competing on the free market.

The ethanol debate has divided both political parties and even set federal representatives within certain corn-producing states against each other.

For example Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), whose state is the nation's 11th-largest corn producer -- with 11,000 corn growers using 4 percent of the state's land (2.45 million acres) to produce 315 million bushels in 2010 -- was among those who voted against cutting the subsidy, attacking the plan.

By contrast Michigan Reps. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township), Mike Rogers (R-Brighton), John Conyers (D-Detroit), Tim Walberg (R-Tipton), and Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) joined California's Darrell Issa (R-San Diego) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange County) in attacking higher ethanol blends in a letter "E15 is not ready for prime time".

II. The Next Front: Cutting Mandatory Blending Targets

The letter alludes to the next major front in the debate -- the question of mandatory ethanol consumption targets and fuel blends.

Many states have already forced gas stations to vend a blend of fuel that's 90 percent gas and 10 percent ethanol. But this blend is insufficient to fulfill the federal mandates of 15 billion gallons of biofuel to be consumed by 2015 and 36 billion gallons by 2022. These mandates were pushed through by the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush (R) and Barack Obama (D).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has called for using a higher E15 blend (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gas), while offering non-E15 options and warning stickers for drivers of older vehicles. Both the EPA and automakers agree that E15 use could do great harm to older engines. However, the automakers and the EPA dispute its effect on more modern engines. Automakers say E15 can still cause significant harm to some modern engine designs, while the EPA claims the automakers don't know what they're talking about and that it's own testing has proven E15 use in modern vehicles to be safe.

But the E15 scheme has been shelved indefinitely thanks to a 285-136 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The house is now debating whether to roll back biofuels targets and/or the existing ethanol blending mandates. Downsides to such actions are that other biofuels such as algae and cellulosic ethanol -- which lack the compelling negatives of corn ethanol -- could be harmed. A repeal could also create uncertainty in the fuel market, causing deleterious financial effects.

III. Moving Towards Better Biofuels

An alternative could be to scale back targets, focusing solely on more promising technologies like cellulosic ethanol and algae, while scrapping any sort of federal mandate for corn ethanol. Interestingly such an idea has support from some environmental lobbies who aren't a fan of corn ethanol.

Environmental advocacy Friends of the Earth's biofuels policy campaigner Michal Rosenoer cheered the decision to kill the subsidy, stating, "The end of this giant subsidy for dirty corn ethanol is a win for taxpayers, the environment and people struggling to put food on their tables."

His group supports focusing federal funding on "better" biofuels.

One particularly promising biofuel is algal oil.

While pure-ethanol vehicles can have a better performance power-wise than pure-gasoline vehicles thanks to higher fuel compression ratios, availability mandates mixed vehicles that can burn both pure gasoline or pure ethanol. These dual-mode engines offer the worst of both worlds, in terms of inferior gasoline performance, while falling short of the promised ethanol performance.

By contrast, algal fuel can be produced in a higher octane blend which mirrors standard gasoline. Thus lesser engine modifications are necessary even for pure supplies. Additionally, for blends the performance losses would be lessened.

The U.S. military has been doing some excellent pioneering work in terms of reducing the cost of algae biofuels. A year ago algae biofuel cost $424 USD/gallon, this year it costs $26.67 USD/gallon.

Algae biofuel production is inherently scalable, although it works best in relatively frost-free climates like Florida and the American southwest. Aside from the cost of the glass tanks, harvesting/processing equipment, and bioengineered algae strains, the only additional costs involved are the certain fertilizers/growth additives used to accelerate the growth of the oily algae.

Algae's biggest weakness is that it doesn't have the millions in special interest money backing it hat corn ethanol has. Thus even as corn ethanol has some firm advocates on The Hill, algal biofuel is just starting to be considered.

Source: The Detroit News

The 11 Top Biofuels Trends of 2011

2011-12-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

It’s that holiday time, time to look-back with misty eyes at the glories of yesteryear. In our case, at the 11 Hottest Trends of 2011, in what proved to be a vintage year for biofuels. There were IPOs a go-go, a big comeback from biodiesel. The global ethanol fleet has acquired new popularity amongst advanced biofuels developers looking for capital light steel in the ground. Meanwhile, gasification got hot. Seemed like every algae venture headed for Algstralia, and Brazil and the US Navy became everyone’s new best friends.

But it wasn’t all holly-jolly and ho-ho-ho. The long awaited biofuels shakeout began, with the are-they-with-us-or-are-they-not at Qteros, and the keel-over of Range Fuels. Who’s next, we wonder? Meanwhile, alcohol-to-jet fuel technology got hot, in part because oilseed-to-jet is so darn hard to find at scale.

We celebrate the holiday season with this look back at the 11 Trends for 2011.
1. The Rush for the Exit: Industry IPOs

The Great Green Bull Market in public equities opened up in early 2010 with the Codexis IPO, but gained momentum throughout 2010-11. Our IPO stories, generally styled the 10-Minute IPO, looked at the S-1 IPO registration statements and looked for the story underneath all the SEC gobbledygook. Our coverage of the Amyris, Solazyme, and KiOR IPOs were the most-read of the year.

More on this trend, here.
2. Biodiesel roars back with mandate, tax credits, B20 OKs

Turns out that predictions of biodiesel’s demise were a tad premature. The fuel’s boosters are gathering this week at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, touting a stream of good news. Highlights:

“The EPA has said that they are going to enforce the 800 million gallon volume RFS2 requirement” said National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe to Biodiesel magazine, “and we will have the tax credit in place. Last year we had neither in place.” He described the combination as a “powerful policy framework” and predicted that 2011 would be the biggest year yet for US biodiesel sales.

At the same time, more good news on vehicle acceptance. Jobe is touting that “We’ve got all of the Big Three American automakers accepting B20 in their vehicles.”
At the same time, there are challenges on the feedstock front. Bottom line, jatropha, camelina and algae are still emerging feedstocks, soy and canola are pricey, waste oils & greases are tough to find at scale, and palm is politically radioactive.

More on this trend, here.
3. Ethanol’s back, too, sort of, or is it that drop-ins have waned?

Drop-in fuels all the rage? Not smart, says Coskata CSO Rathin Datta, ethanol is the champion for biomass-based fuels.
In Washington DC last July , at the DOE’s Biomass 2011 annual conclave, Rick Wilson, the CEO of Cobalt Technologies, and Wes Bolsen, CMO of Coskata, engaged in a formal debate over the motion: “Federal funding for biofuels should focus primarily on the development of infrastructure-compatible, hydrocarbon fuels.”

There has been quite a lot of press in recent years around the development of “drop-in fuels” – from articles like 2009′s “Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On” to the coverage of recent DOE funding of consortia like the NABC that are pursuing infrastructure-compatible fuels.

But Coskata has been on the warpath of late to remind the industry, and the broader stakeholders in a future beyond fossil fuels, about why ethanol fuels were developed in the first place, and why they should be considered a superior alternative to drop-in hydrocarbons, when refining fuels from biomass.

At the end of last summer, Coskata CSO Rathin Datta didn’t exactly descend into the lion’s den, when choosing to present this strongly positive view on ethanol at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Indianapolis. It’s sort of like praising Cal Ripken Jr. in the friendly confines of Camden Yards.

More on this trend, here.
4. Aviation biofuels begins take-off

In Washington, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this month that the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a contract to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in biofuel, the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history.

More on this trend, here.
5. Jumpin’ Jack Flash! It’s a gas, gas, gas!

New technologies bring gases into the vanguard of advanced biofuels feedstocks. In traditional biofuels, the story to date been all about solids and liquids – grains, juices, mash, slurries and eventually files, chemicals and biomaterials.

A lot of the early companies through the advanced biofuels IPO gate – like Amyris, Solazyme and Gevo, work on liquids too. In short, the wet stuff is the publicity hog.

But a new generation of technologies is coming along fast, primarily in advanced biofuels, which is gasifying biomass at the front end along its path towards making fuels, chemicals or other biomaterials – or in some cases, using organic chemicals already in a gaseous state.

One of the most exciting new technologies, syngas fermentation – described recently as the “third path for cellulosic ethanol” by Advanced Biofuels USA, is profiled here.

But there are a variety of types. Fisher-Tropsch process companies, such as Rentech; gas fermentation specialists such as INEOS Bio, Coskata, LanzaTech; pyrolysis companies like KiOR; and companies using catalysts to convert gasified biomass to liquid fuels and materials, such as S4, SynGest, and TRI. Plus, there is the hybrid fermentation and gasification approach that ZeaChem takes.

Here is the latest on 12 companies to watch.
6. Algae heads for Algstralia

Are the reports of an algal biofuels revolution in the Back of Beyond true? The Digest takes a look (or, a Captain Cook) at Algae.Tec, Aurora Algae and more. What do you do with a country that is basically a desert, cut off from the global biomass trade by a tyranny of distance, with a carbon emissions problem, a wealthy population, a stumbling rural economy, and the occasional political will to do something about climate change?

As the saying goes: if life gives you lemons, make lemonade; if life won’t even give you lemons, make algal biofuels.
Well, that may not yet be a household saying, but it will be soon enough if Australia has anything to do with it. These days, it feels sometimes as if titer, rate and yield are right up there with “mate”, “G’day” and “she’ll be right” in the Aussie lexicon.

It’s been a giddy couple of years of development, all right.

Solazyme teaming up with Qantas for a renewable jet fuel project. A Dunaliella salina plant at Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia. The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), which has developed the NCRIS Photobioreactor Facility in Adelaide and is pursuing nannochloropsis and chaetoceros, and participating in an Algal Fuels Consortium with Flinders University and CSIRO to develop a pilot and pre-commercial scale facility on Torrens Island.

But there’s more, here.
7. Green-black technologies

This week, Warburg Pincus announced that it will invest up to $355 million in First Green Partners, a newly formed early-stage venture capital company.

First Green will, in turn, invest in early-stage companies that focus on developing methods of converting renewable carbon, such as non-food biomass and carbon dioxide to fuels and chemicals, and applications of clean or green technologies in the conventional energy or industrial process, otherwise known as green-black technologies.

What is green-black, anyway?

We have been hearing a lot more about these type of technologies of late.

Take LanzaTech as an example. Here’s a technology in which a microorganism ferments carbon monoxide taken from, for example, blast furnaces at steel mills, to make fuels and chemicals. It’s green, of course, in the same way as a microorganism that ferments, for example, low-cost sugars derived from cellulose.

But it’s more than just a greentech play, because it remediates, adds value to, and depends on the old technologies. Hence, it’s green-black, not just green.

Other green black technologies? “Technologies for treating oil sands tailing ponds,” says First green co-president Cameron, “and for the use of methane for making more complex fuels and chemicals.”

It’s a wide field of potential. For example, consider the opportunities in what have been termed XTL processes. There’s biomass-to-liquid (BTL) – that would be a typical biofuels technology such as cellulosic ethanol. But, then, there’s coal-to-liquid (CTL) and natural gas-to-liquid (GTL), and there are a few technologies that can combine two or more, hence XTL. Accellergy, for example, is gaining traction in China with a strategy that uses coal as its basic feedstock for making liquid fuels, and supplements biomass as a means of lowering the overall carbon impact.

More on this trend, here.
8. Consolidation and changing of the guard

Range Fuels fails. In Georgia, the AgSouth Farm Credit bank, which is the lender of record for an $80 million construction loan that Range defaulted on, is advertising a foreclosure sale of Range’s OneGeorgia plant in the local Soperton (Georgia) News, which will take place on January 3rd.

More on this trend, here.
9. Everyone all aboard for Brazil.

Like MSW? You’ll love bagasse. Lot of the advantages of waste, and there’s a lot more available.
Sugar’s the new oil, DOE Secretary Steven Chu is fond of saying. Codexis agrees, but argues that sugarcane residue (instead of competing for cane syrup) is the path to the real riches.

You can extract sugar from a lot of things. Things that generally cost too much to begin with, or are in short supply (compared to the vast demand for oil), like corn starch, or wheat, or cellulosic wonderstuff.

Then, there’s bagasse. That leftover residue at the sugar mill after squeezing out all the cane juice.

Exciting enough that Cobalt recently signed an agreement with the 10th largest global chemical company, Rhodia, to pursue a fast track program to evaluate, design, and build 30,000 – 75,000 ton plants based on Cobalt Tech’s technology to transform South American bagasse into butanol.

Now, a lot of the excitement about Brazil has centered around the cane syrup, not the bagasse.

Pshaw, says Codexis CEO Alan Shaw.

The problem with the easy sugars

Shaw grabs a magic marker and begins to scribble out the equations on a white board in Redwood City. “It costs $275 a ton for the sugar,” as he pencils out the conversion from sugar carbohydrates to hydrocarbons, “and you lose up to 60 percent in the conversion. You need 3-5 tons of sugar to make a ton of diesel, once you have blown off all the oxygen. No one is going to pay more for your diesel because it is renewable. Acrylic acid, adipic acid – now there you have some good margin to work with.

But not diesel fuel.

More on this trend, here.
10. Alcohol to jet and other R&D pops in aviation biofuels

In Washington, the monster event of the year for aviation biofuels, the CAAFI annual meeting, concluded yesterday with $7.7 million in new grants announced by the FAA, going to eight companies to assist in the development of sustainable, affordable, available renewable jet fuels.

The FAA funds are being distributed by the Department of Transportations (DOT) John A. Volpe Center. The contracts address a recommendation issued by the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee, which was commissioned by Secretary LaHood last year.
The committee, comprised of experts from industry, academia, labor and government, specifically recommended that DOT exercise strong national leadership to promote and display U.S. aviation as a first user of sustainable alternative fuels.

More on this trend, here.
11. Military matters. The Green Strike Group: the fuels, the force, the skinny

The US Navy has announced a Green Strike Group. What exactly is that, and what does it mean for energy security, and domestic biofuels production?

Tactically, a Green Strike Group, powered by renewable diesel-electric engines, nuclear power and aviation biofuels, is able to operate independent of fossil fuel supply line threat or disruption. In the near term, this is a theoretical independence, as the Group will operate on 50/50 blends of biofuels and conventional fossil fuels. It expands the range of suppliers and the available ports of call.

Strategically, of course, the overall thrust is to foster a domestic fuel supply capable of reducing the strategic threat to the US economy and security posed by dependence on imported fossil fuels and OPEC.

There are real world reasons to suppose a connection between fuel supply and military tensions. The conversion of the British fleet from coal to oil after 1911, which enabled a more powerful, compact class of warship, has long been identified as a contributing factor in tensions that caused the outbreak of the First World War. The 1941 embargo on export of US oil to Japan is routinely cited as a proximate cause of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The US Government recently invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950, issuing a presidential finding the advanced biofuels were total to national security. The DPA authorizes the President and Congress to directly invest in the commercialization of vital defense technologies that would otherwise not reach (or too slowly reach) commercial-scale production at affordable prices.

Original article here: http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/12/27/the-11-top-biofuels-trends-of-2011/

The great biofuel boondoggle

2011-12-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

On orders from the White House, the Navy has purchased 450,000 gallons of a biofuel mix for its aviation fuel for about $16 a gallon. JP-5, the normal fuel for jet aircraft, sells for less than $4 a gallon.

A fermented algae biofuel sold by the California firm Solazyme for $26 a gallon was mixed with oil products to bring the overall price down to four times the going rate for jet fuel. The mixing took place in a Louisiana plant built in part by a $21.8 million grant Solazyme received from President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill.

T.J. Glauthier, a “strategic adviser” at Solazyme, worked for Mr. Obama on the energy portion of the stimulus bill. This was the largest government purchase of biofuel ever. It was authorized by executive order under the Obama administration’s “we can’t wait” campaign.

“Administration officials gave no indication why they’re not going through Congress, instead of using a program that was established to promote rapid job growth by bypassing congressional debate,” said Fox News.

About 300 people work at the Lousiana biofuels plant. That comes out to a taxpayer subsidy of about $73,000 per job — not counting the gouging the taxpayers are getting on the cost of the fuel.

Physics as well as economics make it impractical to produce much biofuel from algae, researchers at Kansas State University said in April. But the Navy, in partnership with the Departments of Agriculture and Energy, plans to spend up to $510 million over the next three years to develop infrastructure for supplying the military with biofuels, the White House announced in August.

Solazyme’s $26 a gallon biofuel is a bargain compared to the $1.5 billion in grants and loans the government has made to producers of cellulosic ethanol (ethanol made from wood, switchgrass, or the non-edible parts of plants).

From the standpoint of science and economics, ethanol is a terrible substitute for gasoline. It is a net consumer of energy. (More is used to produce it than ethanol generates when it is burned.) Ethanol is highly corrosive. It damages engines and can’t be transported in pipelines. Ethanol has a lower octane rating than gasoline, so it lowers vehicle mileage.

The great benefit of ethanol, allegedly, is that it emits less carbon dioxide. But production of bioethanol and biodiesel actually increases the greenhouse effect when the forest land in the tropics that is being cleared to plant energy crops is taken into account, a leading British scientist told the Royal Academy of Engineering last year.It will take up to 300 years for ethanol to compensate for the CO2 released from the forests already burnt, Dr. Roland Clift said.

Ethanol is more attractive from the standpoint of politics. Subsidies go mostly to the swing states of the Midwest. Subsidy recipients have made generous political contributions.

There was no commercial production of cellulosic ethanol in 2007. There still isn’t much. After Congress passed the subsidies, about half a dozen companies started up to get a piece of the $1.5 billion. The largest filed for bankruptcy last year, amid charges of fraud. The others are struggling because even with the subsidies, cellulosic ethanol costs too much to produce to compete with petroleum, the National Academy of Science said in a report in October. “Currently, no commercially viable biorefineries exist for converting cellulosic biomass to fuel,” the NAS said.

This is a problem, because the Democratic Congress in 2007 went beyond providing handsome subsidies for a product that didn’t exist. It passed a law requiring oil companies to buy cellulosic fuel to blend with conventional gasoline. The mandate for this year was supposed to be 250 million gallons, but the EPA quietly reduced that to 6.6 million gallons.That was still more than all the cellulosic ethanol produced, so oil companies had to spend $10 million to buy waiver credits for failing to obey a mandate to buy a product that wasn’t available for purchase.

The Obama administration in September lent Abengoa Bioenergy $134 million to build a cellulosic plant in Kansas.

The government “subsidized a product that didn’t exist, mandated its purchase though it still didn’t exist, is punishing oil companies for not buying the product that doesn’t exist, and is now doubling down on the subsidies on the hope that someday it might exist,” said the Wall Street Journal in an editorial. “We’d call this the march of folly, but that’s unfair to fools.”

Original post here: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/opinion/oped/the-great-biofuel-boondoggle/article_1d667241-4ec4-5e40-b74c-6a6b6ccd1b00.html

Maersk Tests Algae-Based Biofuel in Cargo Voyage to India

2011-12-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

Maersk is testing a range of algae-based biofuel blends aboard a container ship headed to India as part of a project with the U.S. Navy.

Maersk, based in Denmark, has worked with the Navy for about 30 years. However, the biofuels testing program is the first partnership between the world's largest commercial container carrier and the Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command.

Both the Navy and the Maersk Line, which is part of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group, are on a mission to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations at sea and on land.

The 300-meter Maersk Kalmar, which has a dedicated test engine and a fuel system that includes equipment to blend biofuel and house it in separate tanks, was chosen for the project. While on a month-long voyage from Bremerton, Germany, to Pipav, India, the ship used 30 tons of biofuel derived from algae in blends ranging from 7 percent to 100 percent.

The blends were evaluated for nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide and carbon dioxide emissions and particulate matter residue, in addition to basic performance issues, such as power efficiency and wear and tear on the engine. An analysis of the test results is pending. Maersk and the Navy announced their project mid-month, just as the data collection phase was wrapping up.

The Navy and the shipping industry are seeking more earth-friendly ways to power and design ships without sacrificing capacity or performance of the vessels. At the same time, industry regulators are working to tighten standards on emissions.

"We expect to identify an optimal blend of distillate and biofuel that will meet the more stringent requirements of the International Maritime Organization's forthcoming emissions regulations," said David Anderson, Maersk's technical representative for the biofuel testing project, in a statement.

Maersk, whose fleet includes more than 1,300, set a goal of reducing its emissions by at least 10 percent based on 2007 levels by 2012. It surpassed that goal and beat the target date by achieving a 13 percent reduction by the close of 2010.

By then, the company also was able to trace and track 85 percent of its emissions and became the first in its industry to verify the emissions of its ships. Maersk said in its latest sustainability report that the remaining 15 percent of corporate emissions come from office buildings and small vessels with scant historical data, a situation the company is trying to improve.

Earlier this year, the company said it had ordered the greenest container ship yet designed. The Triple E from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company is expected on average to consume half the energy and emit half the carbon of other carriers serving Europe-Asia trade routes. The Triple E is scheduled to launch 2013.

The Navy's work toward greater environmental responsibility includes a plan with the Energy and Agriculture departments to invest $510 million for production of advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels.

Original post available here: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/12/21/maersk-tests-algae-based-biofuel-cargo-voyage-india

Algae Biodiesel Company World Health Energy Holdings Inc. Announces Letter of Intent to Develop Up to 250 Acre Algae Farm With Prime Inc. India; $100

2011-12-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 12/21/11 -- World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: WHEN) (PINKSHEETS: WHEN), a public holding company developing joint venture partnerships for algae production for biodiesel and commercial fish food, announced today the signing of Letter of Intent with Prime Inc., an India Industrial and transport Company, to develop a biodiesel production facility ramping up to 250 acres with a budget of up to 100 million dollars.

The proposed sites for development are in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, India and will utilize an Algae Enhancement Technology, known as the GB3000 system, used for growing algae for the production of Fish Feed, Proteins and Bio-fuel in the Territory of India. Prime Inc. India's current clients include: Exon, Shell, General Electric (GE) and Siemens.

Liran Kosman, CFO of World Health Energy, said: "We look forward to working with Prime Inc. India in the design, development and support of a cost-efficient algae production farm. We anticipate scaling up operations and completing a number of significant algae projects in 2012."

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. recently acquired GNE-India, an algae technology company with the distribution and licensing rights to a unique and innovative technology, the GNE GB 3000 system, to grow algae quickly and efficiently for the production of biodiesel and commercial fish food protein. GNE-India owns and retains the territorial rights for distribution and sales of the proprietary technology to both India and Sri Lanka. The company has exclusive distribution and licensing rights to the GNE GB 3000 system in India and Croatia. Earlier this year, the GB 3000 system was used to grow a combination of local algae species, as well as Chlorella, targeting the product to the fish feed and biodiesel markets.

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. is focused on biofuels produced from algae, which boasts substantially higher yields in comparison to ethanol derived from corn, rapeseed, jatropha and palm oil. The company also works with visionary enterprises in the multi-billion dollar renewable energy arena producing progressive, broad-based solutions for better physical, nutritional and environmental health worldwide. In addition, the company is pursuing an ancillary use of algae -- the efficient production of high-protein fish feed for commercial fish farms.

Ongoing Shareholder Updates

Shareholders and interested investors who would like to be added to WHEN's corporate e-mail list are encouraged to send an e-mail to info@worldhealthenergy.com for all future corporate press releases and industry updates.

About World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. is an emerging algae for food and renewable energy biofuel company. The company will produce, sub-license and market high-quality, low cost B100 Biodiesel to replace traditional fossil fuels with proprietary algae biofuel systems. Corporate website: http://www.worldhealthenergy.com

About GNE-India, Inc. http://www.gne.bz

GNE Global Natural Energy Ltd. is an algae tech company with unique systems to grow algae commercially for energy and food. The Company was founded by top experts in the plant and algae field after several years of research and development to create affordable and viable algae biofuel systems.

"Safe Harbor Statement" Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results, events and performance could vary materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.'s actual results in future periods to differ materially from results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, product demand and market competition. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before making investment decisions.

Original article: http://www.sys-con.com/node/2108849

ALGAE-X exhibits diesel fuel filtration systems at Power-Gen

2011-12-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

ALGAE-X International (AXI) showcased its automated fuel filtration systems at Power-Gen International, which took place in Las Vegas, USA, from 13-15 December 2011.

AXI’s STS 7004 automated fuel filtration system are available with touch-screen controller, Modbus, TCP/IP LAN connectivity and E-mail and SMS alerts. They are Green Certified and are designed to prevent fuel-related engine failures by maintaining fuel quality and guaranteeing reliable emergency power whenever needed.
Proper generator service is an integral part of every maintenance plan, but most service agreements do not cover fuel-related engine failures. Fuel has a limited shelf life and even ‘fresh fuel’ may contain water, sediment, microbes and bio-fuel components upon delivery. However, periodic generator testing could significantly accelerate the fuel deterioration process.

Original post: http://www.filtsep.com/view/22817/algaex-exhibits-diesel-fuel-filtration-systems-at-powergen-/

Turning algae into energy gets Halifax company on award shortlist

2011-12-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

Three N.S. firms in running for green technology prize

A Halifax biotechnology company is hoping green slime will help its business take flight.

Marine Arctic & Antarctic Technologies Inc. is one of 10 startups that made the shortlist of the Nova Scotia Clean Tech Open, Innovacorp announced Wednesday.

The competition’s goal is to assist a clean technology company in getting established in the province.

Marine Arctic & Antarctic Technologies is developing technology to mass produce micro-algae for use in biofuel and other products.

"It’s like slop,” CEO Mather Carscallen said of the raw material during an interview.

“Some of it smells bad. Some of it doesn’t. It’s pretty much every different smell, shape, colour you could ever imagine.”

The algae would be incubated in a bioreactor that could vary in size and designed to be cost effective, he said.

Carscallen, a doctoral student at Dalhousie University, formed the company in the summer of 2010 in partnership with Neil Ross.

Carscallen, whose research focuses on polar conservation, said algae has huge potential as a source of biofuel.

“It grows in so many conditions across the globe. With so many strains of micro-algae out there, we can actually select (them), depending on what we’re looking for.”

Once the oil is extracted for fuel, the byproducts could be used in various products, including cosmetics, nutritional supplements and animal feed, he said.

The Clean Tech Open competition, launched in September, attracted 65 submissions from companies around the world.

The other companies still in the running are:

Amarok Industries, Halifax — Zero-emission electric motorcycles
Algae Energy, Halifax — Oil extraction from algae for use in biodiesel production
TocardoInternational BV, Netherlands — Tidal energy
Rentricity Inc., New York — Hydrokinetic energy recovery systems for the water and waste water industries
Pohuhvat LTD, Serbia — Tidal turbines and mobile underwater platforms
PearlLED Inc., California — LED light bulbs
Nitro-Turbodyne Inc., California — Low-to-medium power generation system
GridManager A/S, Denmark — Environmental business intelligence
CleanHydro Inc., Florida — Hydrogen production technology

For the second round of competition, the companies have to submit a full business plan by Feb.1 and pitch their ventures to a judging panel later that month.

The winner, to be announced in April, receives $100,000 in cash, a $200,000 negotiable seed investment, mentoring and in-kind business services, including one-year of free rent of space at the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre in Halifax.

Original post: http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/45109-turning-algae-energy-gets-halifax-company-award-shortlist

Federal agencies going green

2011-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Algae-fueled Navy boats at Naval Station Norfolk. Solar panels at NASA Langley Research Center's new office building. Geothermal wells at Fort Eustis.

Congress has not passed comprehensive energy and climate change legislation. As a result, federal agencies in Hampton Roads and beyond are investing in renewable energy. Nowhere is the trend more evident than the Department of Defense, which consumes more energy than all other federal agencies combined.

Other agencies, including the Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab in Newport News, are looking at renewables and nuclear energy. Because nuclear produces no emissions, it would help the lab reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for.

Original post: http://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-yir-science-story5-20111222,0,880817.story

Collaborative project to promote sustainable energy for USDA

2011-12-25T11:03:00.002-08:00

A $3.2 million grant awarded to four universities has New Mexico State University's College of Engineering and College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences collaborating with three other institutions to prom

The University of Texas at El Paso is the lead institution for the multi-university project entitled BGREEN (Building Regional Energy and Educational Alliances). Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Texas State University-San Marcos are also included in the grant.

The goal of the project is to create a collaborative network of sustainable energy researchers, educators, USDA agencies, and non-profit organizations to coordinate efforts and increase educational and post-graduation opportunities for Hispanic students pursuing careers contributing to sustainable energy and agriculture research.

NMSU has received $780,000 for its contribution to the project, focused on logistics, bio-energy and bio-materials, and economics in the areas of engineering and agriculture.

Industrial engineering professor Delia J. Valles-Rosales, principal investigator for NMSU on the project, industrial engineering professor Hansuk Sohn, civil engineering professor Nirmala Khandan, and agricultural economics professor Ram Acharya are collaborating on the research.

The goal of the BGREEN Project is to increase the number of U.S. citizens or permanent residents from underrepresented minorities with graduate degrees in science and engineering fields linked to the USDA mission, Valles-Rosales said.

Curriculum design and development, instruction delivery systems, student experiential learning, and student recruitment and retention are the four goals of the program.

"The main area is sustainable energy, and our role is to train students to conduct research in that area and be able to work priority areas for the USDA and its agencies," Acharya said. "We will work as a team. Sustainable energy involves energy technology as well as the economic impact of that technology. It could involve new technology to produce new energy sources like bio-energy and how that impacts the overall economy."

The four-year grant will support undergraduate and graduate students to advance their education in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency. This will include recruitment within the college of engineering and the college of agriculture. Students, if accepted into the program, will be co-advised by professors from both colleges and take classes specifically designed for the program that incorporate the engineering and agriculture aspects of the sustainable energy.

Each year, the project will support six undergraduate students to take the proposed courses and work on a research project. Funding will also support four undergraduate students to participate on a research project at one USDA agency. In addition, two master's students and four doctoral students will be supported each year to conduct research and have the opportunity to continue their research at USDA-Agricultural Research Service facilities.

The NMSU team will create a formal curriculum that incorporates agriculture and engineering, and a system to recruit students into the program. Students in the program will be required to take the courses specifically designed by these four professors and conduct research focused on biofuels and biohydrogen, biodiesel, microbial fuel cells, biomaterials, and distribution and pre-processing.

"This is a multi-disciplinary project, so each one of us has a significant contribution," Sohn said.

Khandan will develop curriculum materials and provide field experience to students in several on-going algal biodiesel research projects. Khandan is using a photobioreactor to study different species of algae at an outdoor test bed facility. His research efforts also include collaborations with industry leaders in this area and students will have opportunities to make visits to these industrial settings as well.

Acharya will provide students with knowledge in the area of agricultural economic. He will develop teaching materials on issues related to economic aspects of sustainable energy and incorporate them in a number of existing undergraduate level courses including Applied Production Economics and Marketing and Pricing Agricultural Products. He will also work to place students in summer internships at USDA facilities.

Sohn will contribute to curriculum development and educate students on biofuels, energy distribution, planning and related transportation issues. He will prepare materials and re-design an existing undergraduate and graduate level course to include materials in sustainable energy focusing on transportation. Additionally, he will coordinate efforts for evaluation and assessment of the program.

Valles-Rosales will manage all NMSU activities and coordinate with partner institutions. She also will redesign existing graduate and undergraduate-level courses on manufacturing processes to include biofuels process modeling and simulation, algae and other biomass resources plating, harvesting, and processing, life product cycle assessment, bioproduct design and manufacturing, and product degradation/reliability analysis.

Recruitment for the program will begin in spring and fall of 2012. For inquiries about the positions or to apply, email Valles-Rosales at dvalles@nmsu.edu, Khandan at nkhandan@nmsu.edu, Acharya at acharyar@ad.nmsu.edu, or Sohn at hsohn@nmsu.edu. Applications must include a two-page curriculum vitae, an official transcript, names and contact information of two references, and a cover letter stating research interests and motivations for applying.

Original article: http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_19619890

Collaborative project to promote sustainable energy for USDA

2011-12-25T11:03:00.001-08:00

Collaborative project to promote sustainable energy for USDA

2011-12-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Algae biofuel pilot plant construction starts

2011-12-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

The Biotechnology Consortium (Bal Biofuels) began the construction of the Experimental Centre of Algae (CEA) in Puerto Montt Campus of the University of Los Lagos. The plant is expected to be operational from August next year.

The proponents of the initiative plan to develop technology to produce advanced biofuels and high added value chemicals with low emissions of carbon dioxide and low cost, using native giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) farmed in a sustainable manner.

The ceremony of initiation of the pilot plant works was attended by the University Chancellor, Óscar Garrido; the director of the Regional Management of the Production Development Corporation (Corfo), Claudia Huber; the co-founder of the firm Bio Architecture Lab, Yuki Kashiyama; university officials; academics; students and BAL Chile executives.

The idea is to generate raw material (algae culture) in 2012 and then to produce advanced biofuels or renewable chemicals in the 600-square-metre pilot plant to be built in the region of Los Lagos.

"The University of Los Lagos is committed to offering support in a strategic public-private alliance that aims to be a significant contribution to the region. This is an investment and we expect the return of this investment will allow us to activate the aquaculture sector, generate employment and ultimately become a development pole," said Garrido.

Meanwhile, Yuki Kashiyama, co-founder of the firm Bio Architecture Lab, highlighted the "excellent conditions" of Chile for farming algae and expressed confidence that this activity "will benefit the country because it will create jobs and economic development."

The University of Los Lagos, through its Centre i~mar, manages the technology to successfully develop algae farming at a commercial level.

Meanwhile, BAL Chile SA provides the administrative management and the project general coordination and Bio Architecture Lab developed and patented the microbial system capable of producing low-cost biofuels from brown marine macroalgae, El Repuertero reported.

Original post:http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=21&id=48639&l=e&special=&ndb=1%20target=

U Georgia, U Puerto Rico, to launch algal fuels R&D center

2011-12-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

In Georgia, the University of Georgia has teamed with the University of Puerto Rico to develop a new R&D center that will focus on algae-based biofuels thanks to a $4 million grant from the Dept. of Defense.

In Athens, where UGA operates a state-of-the-art algae research facility, researchers will focus their efforts on production of different strains of microalgae grown in wastewater. In Rio Piedras, the researchers will identify local strains of marine macro-algae-kelp-like seaweeds-that can produce maximum yields of biogas.

Researchers at the Rio Piedras facility also will culture algae and develop pilot-scale facilities that produce biogas and liquid transportation fuels-biodiesel , bioethanol and biocrude-from algae. The project will use facilities of industrial partner Biolípidos de Puerto Rico for biodiesel production.

With a goal of establishing a biofuels industry in Puerto Rico, UPR and UGA researchers will study the economic viability of an algae-based biofuels industry, assist UPR in identifying local industrial partners and develop a future workforce.

Original post: http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/12/20/u-georgia-u-puerto-rico-to-launch-algal-fuels-rd-center/

Missoula biochemical research fueled by ancient algae

2011-12-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, to see the future you have to look back - say, 2.5 billion years back.

That's the plan at Missoula-based Blue Marble Biomaterials, a young company exploring ways to make extremely valuable products out of prosaically natural processes.

"We concentrate on making things worth between $5,000 and $6,000 a kilogram," Blue Marble co-founder James Stephens said. Things like food colorings, flavors and nutritional oils derived from coffee grounds, beer mash and algae. And a recent discovery about a very old form of algae may revolutionize both Blue Marble and the whole business of bioengineering.

Stephens graduated from the University of Montana and went to Seattle to start a business. In 2010, he moved back to Missoula and went to his alma mater's office of technology transfer, looking for promising research.

When tech transfer director Joe Fanguy handed over a description of geoscience professors Carrine Blank and Nancy Hinman's work on algae evolution, Stephens wasn't immediately interested. He'd worked with algae before, trying to get the primitive plant form to produce biofuels or digest water pollutants. Those projects either required too much government subsidy to be economical or didn't attract enough interest to be profitable.

Algae had another problem. It typically needs a lot of nitrogen-based fertilizer to feed on. Most nitrogen-based fertilizer comes from petrochemicals, which are both expensive and produce lots of greenhouse gases - something Blue Marble was trying to eliminate, not produce.

"But the metabolic path they discovered is unique to the algae world," Stephens said. "It's a non-fertilizer nitrogen source that grows a broad variety of organisms. It opens up a chance for a wide diversity of products."

Blank specializes in evolutionary biology, the study of how and when organisms developed crucial traits that improved their chances of survival. In looking at the genetic structure of some old strains of algae, she noticed they were feeding off a form of nitrogen very different from the typical sources.

The development occurred at a time in Earth's history when primitive lifeforms were trying out lots of different ways to make energy: feeding off of sulfur, iron and carbon compounds because oxygen wasn't yet a major component of the atmosphere. As more plants developed the ability to photosynthesize carbon and give off oxygen, the diversity of life exploded. But some forms held onto their old ways, and continued to exist in strange environments like Washington's Soap Lake, where the water is highly acidic.

Blue Marble and Blank are in the process of confirming an international patent on the discovery, so they can't reveal the details until the paperwork is filed. But the company is already working up methods of using Blank's discovery to produce algae in large enough quantities for a commercially viable operation.

They've moved from test tubes to 2,000-liter bioreactors, lit with glowing rods that can be tuned to mimic virtually any kind of sunlight characteristic on Earth. That makes it possible to make an algae from a Yellowstone National Park hot pot or one from an Ecuadorian jungle feel right at home.

Once produced, the algae pigments can be refined for various shades of food coloring that have no genetic modification or petrochemical basis. Plus, the process consumes large amounts of carbon dioxide, one of the worst greenhouse gases, and releases oxygen as a waste product.

Other products include the kinds of omega-3 oils commonly derived from fish, which themselves produce the oil by consuming the algae. And the spent algae can be sold as a soil treatment for farms.

"We have 26 strains, and we're developing new strains," Blank said. "Each makes different products like oils and pigments. They do different things under different conditions we can use for different industrial applications."

Stephens said in his prospecting for chemical innovations, he's frequently talked with researchers in forestry and pharmaceutical departments, where new product discoveries are common.

"Why would you ever talk to an evolutionary biologist?" he joked. "It's not a traditionally tapped resource."

Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-biochemical-research-fueled-by-ancient-algae/article_7d58d43e-2ac3-11e1-b7b7-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1h7vgzVqS

Algae…Soylent Green…and the Future of Biofuel

2011-12-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

With more and more cars on roadways worldwide – and fossil fuel supplies running low, can renewable fuels really replace crude oil?

In Nebraska, the alternative of choice is ethanol because corn is the mainstay of our economy. But corn, along with many other crops, takes lots of land…and huge amounts of water. As important as it is to Nebraska, ethanol, at best, is a 10% additive, not a future fuel in its own right.

So what’s a real alternative? Research shows one promising alternative seems the least obvious – algae (see QUEST Nebraska: Algae for Fuel).

Algae is a microscopic plant-like marine organism. There are billions of them in our world, and they exist all around us. Algae are found in ponds, lakes, streams – all types of bodies of water…even in your bathtub if it’s not cleaned regularly.

It’s green and a bit slimy to the touch. For the most part, we avoid contact with algae – but it just may be the key to our energy future. How’s that? Companies like Sapphire Energy in San Diego, CA are working with universities, including the University of Nebraska to make microscopic algae into the fuel for the future.

Algae conjures up thoughts about Soylent Green, the 1973 sci-fi movie thriller that depicts human survival dependent upon on a green food ration made of “high protein plankton.” Algae are a type of plankton.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read the next sentence if you’ve never seen this movie.

But there was more to the content of Soylent Green. Charlton Heston solves the riddle with a horrific warning: Soylent Green is PEOPLE!

Remember when I said algae are slimy? There’s a reason for that. If Charlton Heston was warning us, he’d exclaim: Algae is OIL! Not exactly – but oil we use for our fuel today is actually made from ancient, ancient algae.

“Each algae contains up to 50% oil,” says University of Nebraska-Lincoln biologist George Oyler. Over millions of years, billions of algae die, collect, and over time are chemically altered through pressure and heat that converts algae oil into “crude oil” which we seek and drill for to energize our world. Finding a way to convert algae into oil faster than nature would create an almost endless supply of oil. “We want to accelerate that process into a single year.”

In 2009, a QUEST video Algae Power, surveyed algae biofuel as a grand experiment, “not ready for prime time.” The problem was scaling up to industrial production. Now, Sapphire Energy is leading the way towards industrial production. It’s no longer a survey experiment.

The process begins as Sapphire technician Emma Valdez swipes a metal loop over an algae filled petri plate (culture dish) and transfers cells to a new plate. “Algae is one of the fastest growing plant on the planet. This plate contains millions of algae cells. I can take this plate and make multiple copies.” Pointing to a stack of petri dishes, she explains that these plates are added to water to make a dense culture, giving rise to 20-liter glass carboy containers. “I can grow this to scale in a little over a week.”

The carboy containers are then added to long oval test pools in a greenhouse, creating larger concentrations of promising algae species.

Growing algae outdoors is a huge challenge. But that’s exactly Sapphire’s goal – creating algae farms. But algae is a wild plant. “No one’s taken a wild plant and just grown it to scale,” says Mike Mendez, Sapphire’s former VP of Technology (now a research professor at UC-San Diego). “Algae isn’t an industry. It’s a commodity, like corn. We have to think like a farmer and grow algae as a crop.”

But plants like corn haven’t become crops overnight. Mendez says, “It took 7,000 years to get corn where it is today. I’m gonna have to do whatever it takes to speed up the process.” Sapphire wants to plant, harvest and process algae oil in real time.

So, Sapphire has created a 20-acre aquatic test farm in arid Las Cruces, New Mexico. Why here? New Mexico has an abundance of sunlight and a rich supply of salt water beneath the dry sands that can’t be used for farming or drinking, but is perfect for growing algae. Nonetheless, the algae has to survive stress, disease, summer heat and winter freeze. For two years, scientists and technicians have been successful in scaling up algae from the carboys to 40-foot, then 100-foot, and finally 300-foot oval ponds.

Once the algae mature in the ponds, it’s sent to an industrial centrifuge that separates the algae from the water, creating a thick algae paste. That paste is fed into a test pilot extractor that uses eco-friendly solvents to crack open the algae cells and release oil – green crude.

Sapphire will soon open a 300-acre in 2012. It will be the largest algae biofuel test plant in the nation. They expect to produce 1 million gallons of algae biofuel per year – an industry record. Once Sapphire can create even larger quantities of green crude, they believe the cost of creating an algae fuel will begin approaching the cost of oil. Stay tuned to see if their plan creates a viable renewable fuel for our future.

Original post: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/12/19/algae%E2%80%A6soylent-green%E2%80%A6and-the-future-of-biofuel/

Algae Biofuel Closer as NATO and NASA Step Into the Slime

2011-12-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

Interest in creating biofuels from algae is increasing. We’ve covered Isaac Berzin from GreenFuel who rejuvenated NASA’s original idea; then there is Iran creating biofuel from algae (they didn’t answer our emails though); and Seambotic an Israel company launching a commercial algae farm in the USA to grow algae for use in both biofuel and food products.

There are other players in our global village: California based OriginOil, an innovator in algae based biofuel technology is forming a joint venture, Future Energy Solutions Unlimited Inc (FES), with the Energime Group of Companies to test and eventually produce algae based biofuels for strategic fuel centers throughout the world. This biofuel is targeted to be used for satisfying a “mission-critical need of US military and NATO for strategic fuels independence.”

Algae biofuel farm

The biofuel development will be part of feasibility studies which will be carried out by FES and its Australian subsidiary, Alternate Energy Systems Pty (AES). Marketing area emphasis will begin in the USA and in Australia, with later long term marketing in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Interest in using algae as a biofuel has resulted in a number of projects in various parts of the world, including a joint venture with Israel’s Seambiotic and China’s giant Goudan Utility Company.

Algae is one of the world’s most common aquatic plants. Studies have already shown it to have great potentials to create oils for for the food industry as well as for various fuels; making it an excellent replacement for fossil fuels.

Algae as both a food source and as a biofuel has been the subject of many projects all over the world; utilizing one of the earth’s most abundant plants that has been supplying much of our oxygen as well as food for marine life. Vegans get Omega 3 from algae sources.

Being able to utilize this natural wonder product made result in long term solutions to provide food products for both animals and human beings, as well as an environmentally cleaner bio fuel. This possibility could have important possibilities for Middle East countries with large populations – such as Egypt.

Source: http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/algae-biofuel-nato-nasa/

UGA to get $1.2M for algae research, biofuel study

2011-12-19T17:04:00.001-08:00

The University of Georgia will work with the University of Puerto Rico to develop a renewable energy center focused on growing algae-based biofuels, reports the Associated Press.

The partnership will be funded through a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. UGA will receive $1.2 million of the money for its algae research facility, the news service reports.

As part of their work, researchers will study the economic viability of an algae-based biofuels industry, AP reported.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2011/12/uga-to-get-12m-for-algae-research.html

UGA to get $1.2M for algae research, biofuel study

2011-12-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

“Biorefinery” building begins

2011-12-19T17:02:00.000-08:00

FORT MYERS — GCM Contracting Solutions Inc. began construction on a new “biorefinery” for Algenol Biofuels last week.

Algenol Biofuels is a 5-year old company that hopes to generate competitively priced ethanol from algae. The firm has not yet generated any revenues.

GCM is building the biorefinery on a 36-acre parcel located north of Alico Road in Lee County. Completion is scheduled for late 2012.

GCM Contracting has worked with Algenol before; in 2010, the firm built a research and development complex for the alternative fuel producer. Like Algenol, GCM is based in Fort Myers; company President and owner Robert Brown founded the firm in 1988.

Algenol founder and CEO Paul Woods spoke to the Business Review in September about his company’s plan for success. That story, “Algae Bloom,” is available online.

Source:http://www.review.net/section/detail/12-19-2011-biorefinery-building-begins/

Is Algae-based Biofuel an Energy Game Changer?

2011-12-19T16:59:00.000-08:00

Algae is one surprising potential energy source that is showing great promise. It has gained recent media attention as the U.S Navy has announced plans to test the use of algae biofuel in one of its cargo ships. Unlike oil which is only found in underground deposits in certain parts of the world, algae grows in abundance all over the globe. Approximately half of algae’s weight is comprised of lipid oil can be converted into biodiesel. Biodiesel burns more cleanly and efficiently than petroleum.

Alternative fuel sources must be perfected and made cost effective in the coming years if we are to offset the ever-increasing price of gasoline and electricity generated from fossil fuel sources. We have become accustomed to electricity rates that are very low compared to what they may become as fossil fuels continue to deplete. It is critical that we find cost-effective and economically viable alternatives.

Unlike oil, algae are renewable and ubiquitous. Algae grow almost any place on earth. Pond scum, the most prominent of all the varieties of algae is the form best suited to develop biodiesel. Unlike other forms of crop-based fuel production algae does not reduce food supply. In fact, algae byproducts that are not converted to fuel can be made into fertilizer.

Many large corporations are coming around to the possibility of large-scale energy production from algae. In fact, currently private sector research is taking place on a larger scale than government or university funded research. There's growing pressure to focus more public funds into research of this potentially game-changing technology. Many people feel passionately that algae is the key to changing our energy mix away from fossil fuel and that algae could produce most of our electricity and fuel our vehicles if only more funding and effort is put into the research needed to perfect the technologies for processing algae into fuel.

Algae vs. Oil

Despite the large amount of interest from the private energy sector compared to the public sector skeptics maintained that oil companies will not easily allow oil to be usurped as the energy source of choice for the worlds energy needs. Despite the global economic slowdown that began in 2008 oil prices have remained stubbornly resilient. If supply continues to decline oil prices have nowhere to go but up. The world's energy needs will not go down absent some kind of global economic calamity. This means oil companies will always be able to find willing buyers for oil even as prices climb.

Many people vilify fossil fuels. It's true that they have had a damaging impact on the environment as well as social harmony. However the fact remains that ever since the first ox was yoked by a man society has relied on some source of energy other than our own bodies to sustain us. As the industrial revolution took hold fossil fuels met that need for energy and helped fuel and amazing century of human achievement. However, the world’s fossil fuel reserves were a onetime endowment. They don't replenish themselves on a practical timescale. Renewable energy sources such as algae will not be an optional energy choice forever.

Geopolitical Implications of a Shift in Energy Production

The current word political and power structures is driven in large part by the need to produce and trade in fossil energy. This means that algae energy technology has the potential to be disruptive in the short term yet stabilizing in the long-run. Entire nation's credit their political standing and wealth in very large part to the oil found within their borders. Algae, by contrast to fossil fuels, can be grown and refined into electricity and other energy by essentially any nation on earth. That shift in political and economic power structure on a global scale would be seismic. However, in a world where almost every nation on earth is energy independent a major cause of political and economic strife would be removed from the world dynamic.

Today's model of extracting fuel from one place in the globe and shipping it thousands of miles across oceans could be transformed to one of local production of algae to produce electricity and transportation fuel. This would mean more jobs in places where economic opportunity may be lacking today.

If scientists are able to transition the technology of algae to biofuel from the lab to full scale, real world production impact could be far-reaching.

Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/green/article/is-algae-based-biofuel-an-energy/page-2/#ixzz1h249aayI

BIO Supports Extension of Cellulosic Tax Credits, Inclusion of Algae

2011-12-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON, Dec 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Extension of cellulosic biofuel tax credits now and eligibility for algae biofuels are needed to help companies raise financing for first-of-a-kind biorefineries. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today thanked Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) for their request to Senate leadership for this extension.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO's Industrial & Environmental Section, stated, "The advanced biofuels industry is at an inflection point and is rapidly maturing because biotech companies have made significant private investments to commercialize the technology. Additional investment is needed to build commercial scale biorefineries to produce these advanced biofuels. The cellulosic biofuels production tax credit and the accelerated depreciation for cellulosic biofuel property have the potential to unlock this vital project financing. Algae biofuels also need to be eligible for these credits. But the December 31, 2012, expiration date for these credits prevents project developers from leveraging their full value.

"BIO and its member companies thank the Senators who have recognized the importance of supportive, stable federal policy to ensure that advanced biofuels developers can move forward on first-of-a-kind commercial projects. We ask that any tax package that considers effectively expired provisions extend the cellulosic biofuels production tax credit and accelerated depreciation for cellulosic biofuel property, and include eligibility of algae-based biofuels."

In addition to extending the tax credits for cellulosic biofuels, BIO supports extension of the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project credit and the Research and Experimentation credit.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtech NOW, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling "innovations transforming our world." Subscribe to BIOtech NOW.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO Asia International Partnering Conference January 31-February 1, 2012 Osaka, Japan

BIO CEO & Investor Conference February 13-14, 2012 New York, NY

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing April 29-May 2, 2012 Orlando, FL

2012 BIO International Convention June 18-21, 2012 Boston, MA

SOURCE: Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

UGA Helping Grow Algae for Renewable Biofuel

2011-12-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Georgia researchers have teamed up with the University of Puerto Rico to create a renewable energy center.

Algae grows fast, can make a home almost anywhere, and doesn't compete for resources with other important plants -- making it one of the most promising fuel sources for renewable energy, according to a University of Georgia press release.

To help realize that promise, the University of Georgia and the University of Puerto Rico are launching a center in San Juan, aiming to provide power to Puerto Rico and reduce fossil fuel dependence in the U.S. The Defense Department is funding the $4 million project.

UGA has an algae research facility in Athens, and researchers here will study production of different kinds of microalgae grown in wastewater.

"This new center is designed to connect the basic research at the university level with the practical and applied needs of industry and will serve as a gateway for students to find successful careers in this new and rapidly growing industry," UGA engineering outreach faculty member Ryan Adolphson said in the release.

Source: http://athens.patch.com/articles/uga-helping-grow-algae-for-renewable-biofuel

Investing in a green revolution

2011-12-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

Southern Ute Tribe sets sights on clean energy, to invest millions to develop oil from algae

La Plata County’s billion-dollar tribe is looking to the future of energy to keep its wealth secure.

“This is not going to pay us back next week or next year,” said Bob Zahradnik, director of the tribe’s far-reaching business arm, the Growth Fund.

About 93 percent of the tribe’s annual wealth and profits each year comes from “conventional energy,” or natural gas and oil, he said. But as the nation sets its sights on cleaner, greener energy for the future, so is the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

One of four major investors in Solix Biofuels, a company focused on developing algae-based energy production systems, the Southern Utes, tribal officials said, are investing in technologies they hope will change life economically and environmentally for their “grandkids,” Zahradnik said.

Diving into a new cutting-edge technology means longer wait times to see profits on investments, including the millions of dollars tribal officials have funneled into Solix in recent years. But they think they’ve found a way to make a little cash in what Zahradnik called “a very tough sector of business” that’s highly secretive as the industry remains years away from unlocking the technology that could make fuel from algae a viable consumer product.

Recent industry advances have led to successful refining of algae oil and the first plane flight using an algae-blended fuel, but Solix officials said algae fuel has not yet successfully been put into cars, and it is a long way from being an affordable solution for consumer use.

“We are really making an effort to see what else we can do with those algaes,” said Lewis Abrams, business development manager for Solix.

They have narrowed their focus for now to an algae strain that is found off the northern coast of Scotland that so far seems to thrive in the sunny but erratic Southwest Colorado climate at the Solix facility on the Southern Ute reservation, he said.

“This strain seemed to overcome our obstacles here,” Abrams said.

Animal feed, food and vitamin supplements and agricultural products are among the most promising and potentially profitable uses for the algae strain they’re growing, Abrams said.

They also have positioned the company to bring in revenue through the sales of multiple algae-development systems that other energy entrepreneurs, researchers and colleges can use to conduct their work in algae technologies.

Solix’s smaller systems, which help developers test and narrow algae strains for bigger production and research efforts start at $50,000. Their product prices increase with the size and scale of their production systems, reaching a top price for the firm’s largest system of more than $500,000.

Solix and tribal officials tout claims that the systems produce among the highest algae yields in the industry, allow for genetic modification of strains, and prevent the “colony collapses” and contamination issues that require researchers to start anew mid-project and are common in pond-based algae production techniques. They said Solix is among the few algae-driven companies with systems that “can actually produce oil quantities.”

It means Solix and the tribe could be selling the systems that will eventually help unlock the secrets of success in algae-based products of the future, including a renewable fuel source for passenger vehicles.

Solix is working to provide “the platform” from which others can develop new algae strains, uses and technologies. A few universities and even the Department of Defense already are using or plan to use Solix’s technologies, officials said.

It also opens the door to ensure that as viable and profitable algae uses are developed, Solix could be ready to jump into full production using that new knowledge and its production systems.

“We hope to be one of the companies in full-scale production when the technology warrants it,” Zahradnik said.

Source: http://durangoherald.com/article/20111218/NEWS04/712189991/-1/s

ADVANCED BIOFUELS COMPANY ALGAE.TEC CONGRATULATS THE GOVERNMENT IN RECOGNISING CARBON CAPTURE AS AN ENERGY SOLUTION

2011-12-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

Perth, Western Australia/Atlanta, Georgia - 13th December 2011 - Algae.Tec Limited (ASX: AEB) an advanced biofuels company said the Government had recognised the potential of carbon capture as part of Australia's energy future in the draft Energy White Paper released today.

Algae.Tec's Executive Chairman Roger Stroud said the draft Energy White Paper released by the Resources Minister, highlights carbon capture as a key part of the new energy solution for Australia.

Algae.Tec's advanced algae to biofuels technology delivers carbon capture as part of its algae growth system.

"The Algae.Tec technology is designed to be built along-side power stations and manufacturing facilities and captures carbon pollution which feeds into the algae growth system," said Stroud.

The recent deal signed between Algae.Tec and Holcim Lanka, a cement and building materials company, is evidence of how the Algae.Tec solution can reduce the carbon footprint of big industry by channeling waste carbon dioxide into the algae growth system and generating valuable biofuel at below market cost.

Carbon-capture, used in advanced technology such as this, produces some of the most economically viable biofuels available.

(ASX: AEB, FWB: GZA:GR, ALGXY:US)

Algae.Tec is an advanced renewable oil company that has developed a high-yield enclosed algae growth and harvesting system, the McConchie-Stroud System.

The company has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Perth, Western Australia. The company has a highly experienced global team with over 200 years of technical, professional and business expertise in key energy and environmental industries and core competencies in biofuel technologies and energy markets.

The McConchie-Stroud System is a high efficiency microalgae production technology via a modular photo-bioreactor system, which features improved algae harvesting and product refinement technologies. Its algae technology has demonstrated exceptional performance in productivity, product yield, carbon dioxide sequestration, and production unit footprint requirements versus agricultural crops and other competitive algae processes in the industry.

Source:http://www.4-traders.com/news/ADVANCED-BIOFUELS-COMPANY-ALGAE-TEC-CONGRATULATS-THE-GOVERNMENT-IN-RECOGNISING-CARBON-CAPTURE-AS-AN---13934903/

OriginOil Enters Joint Venture to Develop Biorefineries for U.S. Department of Defense Biofuels Programs

2011-12-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

JV receives preliminary funding commitment of $4.5 million to carry out bankable feasibility studies

LOS ANGELES, Dec 15, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- OriginOil, Inc. (otc/bb:OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, today announced it has co-founded a new joint venture (JV), to develop biorefineries serving U.S. and NATO military requirements for alternative fuels.

The JV, Future Energy Solutions Unlimited, Inc. (FES), with its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Alternate Energy Systems Pty Ltd (AES), plans to carry out bankable feasibility studies supporting project development and project delivery for diversified biofuel refining centers in strategic locations around the world.

OriginOil intends to contribute its proprietary systems and process knowledge to help develop multi-feedstock blending standards that will be needed for the new biorefineries. OriginOil recently announced a research agreement with the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, in part to tackle these standards.

The Energime Group of Companies has given preliminary commitments to provide $1.5 million in matching funds to AES and $3 million to FES, for a total of $4.5 million. The investments, to be finalized in early 2012, are intended to fund the planned bankable feasibility studies, leading to a key role for Energime in designing, building, operating and owning these refineries.

"We are excited to be involved in this dramatic development in biofuels production," said Bill Sosinsky, CEO of Energime. "We look forward to co-developing projects with Larry Sirmans throughout the world in this fast growing space. We believe other key players in private industry will soon be joining OriginOil in this venture, which responds to a mission-critical need of the U.S. and NATO for strategic fuels independence."

"Through its massive commitment to alternative fuels, the U.S. military has provided the market both opportunity and challenge, which we intend to meet," said Larry Sirmans, CEO of FES. "Our project delivery team has a unique blend of industry-specific knowledge and experience as well as very relevant military experience. We know and understand what both the military and the industry face to make this a reality. We are focusing on projects initially in the U.S. and Australia. Longer term, we see tremendous opportunity for Asia, Europe and Africa."

A veteran of large-scale biofuels project development, Sirmans was Projects Director for Agri Energy and project developer for Australian Biofuels-Swan Hill Ethanol. He is the outgoing Technical Director of Australia's MBD Energy Ltd, a leading player in Australia's fast-growing algae biofuels sector.

"Our venture with Larry Sirmans is a game-changer for algae because these biorefineries will rely on algae to provide high energy values and a molecular structure that is virtually identical to petroleum," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. "It all starts with these feasibility studies and the setting of multi-feedstock standards. We're excited to be helping out."

In August, the departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy announced their intent to invest up to $510 million during the next three years in partnership with the private sector to produce advanced drop-in biofuels to power military and commercial transportation.

About Energime, Inc. ( www.energime.com )

Energime is a bottom-line solutions provider for businesses looking to lower their operating costs and create a more sustainable business model. Specializing in designing and integrating energy conservation, efficiency, renewable energy generation and high density food growth systems, Energime works with and represents more than 65 companies globally. The company's goal is to provide its clients with an affordable, money-saving, one-stop answer to rising operating expenses.

About OriginOil, Inc. ( www.originoil.com )

OriginOil helps algae growers extract oil from algae for use as a feedstock for the commercial production of transportation fuels, chemicals and foods. In a single step, our breakthrough technology efficiently dewaters and breaks down algae for its useful products, overcoming one of the greatest challenges in making algae a viable replacement for petroleum. As a pioneer and the emerging leader in the global algae oil services field, OriginOil supports its core algae extraction technology with an array of process innovations for some of the world's most successful algae growers and refiners, just as pioneers like Schlumberger and Halliburton have done in the oilfield services industry. To learn more about OriginOil(R), please visit our website at www.originoil.com .

Safe Harbor Statement:

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with our history of losses and our need to raise additional financing, the acceptance of our products and technology in the marketplace, our ability to demonstrate the commercial viability of our products and technology and our need to increase the size of our organization. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Abstract

OriginOil enters JV to develop biorefineries for U.S. Department of Defense biofuels programs, JV receives preliminary funding commitment of $4.5 million to carry out bankable feasibility studies

SOURCE: OriginOil, Inc.

Sapphire Energy Installs Custom-Made Software from CLC bio for Biofuel Research

2011-12-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

SAN DIEGO & AARHUS, Denmark, Dec 15, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CLC bio, the market-leading bioinformatics sequence analysis software provider, today announced that Sapphire Energy, Inc. has installed a custom-made bioinformatics solution from CLC bio in their research center in San Diego. Sapphire Energy is at the forefront of the biofuel industry with the potential to radically change the world's energy landscape with 'Green Crude' - a renewable crude oil that is a result of a proprietary process of turning sunlight, CO2, and algae into green oils to be refined into fuel.

"Using sophisticated breeding and selection methods, we're perfecting the efficiency of oil-producing algae, which live mostly on sunlight and carbon dioxide, and improving algae's resistance to disease and its harvest-capability," says Dr. Christopher Yohn, principal scientist at Sapphire Energy. "To meet our development goals, we recognized the need for bioinformatics software. CLC bio has delivered quality custom solutions to automate several critical processes in our R&D workflows."

"I'm pleased that we could assist Sapphire Energy in automating their bioinformatics analysis pipeline in time for a large scale-up in their sequencing projects," states Dr. Cecilie Boysen, Senior Consulting Manager at CLC bio. "It is always exciting to be able to help and work with companies in the renewable energy sector, as this is an area that has a huge potential to shape everyone's future in a positive way."

CLC bio's consulting department designs and implements customized bioinformatics solutions that help organizations work more effectively, shifting the efforts from repetitive, manual tasks to tasks that adds scientific value, and thereby reduce the time-to-market for their research results.

About Sapphire Energy

http://www.sapphireenergy.com

About CLC bio

http://www.clcbio.com/about

SOURCE: CLC bio

Maersk Talks Algae: Joint R&D Program Aims to Shed Light on Future Use of Algae-based Biofuels

2011-12-18T12:26:00.000-08:00

As gCaptain reported earlier, shipping conglomerate Maersk and the U.S. Navy have been collaborating on a unique and possibly ground-breaking R&D program that will test the use of algae-based biofuel to power ships. With any luck, the program will shed light on how biofuels, a natural and sustainable alternative to other fossil fuels, can be used to diversify a vessels fuel supply and improve environmental performance. Here, Maersk sheds some light on the joint-R&D program and address’ the challenges, and possibilities, that come with the use algae-based biofuel.

Algae to power Maersk Kalmar container. Photo: Maersk

Can a ship sail on algae power? That’s the expectation as a partnership involving the United States Navy and a handful of Maersk companies gets underway.

For the Maersk Group’s fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages—and real challenges. One project underway right now is exploring the prospects of one especially green fuel.

Maersk Line’s 300-meter long Maersk Kalmar container vessel is sailing its normal route from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, delivering cargo to the usual ports along the way. However, during its one-month-long, 6,500 nautical mile voyage, Kalmar will be doing something very much out of the ordinary—it will be burning 30 tonnes of fuel derived from algae.

A team of engineers from Maersk Line, Limited, Maersk Maritime Technology and Maersk Line are onboard Maersk Kalmar running the project. They are testing blends of the fuel—which is clear, not green—ranging from 7 percent algae fuel up to 100 percent in one of the ship’s auxiliary engines. That means Maersk Kalmar isn’t actually sailing on algae power, yet; the energy produced will only power the ship’s electronics. But if all goes as planned, the main engine could also eventually run on algae fuel.

“The properties of this fuel are similar to marine gas oil, so if we can successfully run the auxiliary engine on this fuel for long periods of time as we suspect, we will also be able safely use it in the main engine as well,” says Klaus Jørgensen, engineer in Maersk Maritime Technology.

The challenges with biofuel

Two of the biggest challenges surrounding biofuels are the price and sustainability. Any alternative fuel must be available on a large commercial scale and should not have a negative impact on agricultural production, says Maersk Line’s Jacob Sterling.

“Biofuel made from algae is one of the less developed biofuels and with further technological advancements it has the potential to be scaled up without impacting agriculture,” says Sterling. “At this point it is early days for biofuels, so our focus is to continue pursuing tests and partnerships like this to keep building our knowledge around a variety of technologies and fuel types.”

Fuel for the future

The U.S. Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 percent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its ‘Great Green Fleet’ initiative. For Maersk Line, testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing it’s the CO2 emissions. By 2020, it is Maersk Line’s target to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 25% per container moved, compared to 2007 – a target that will be reached by means of efficiency gains.

“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving energy efficiency. In the longer term, say 15 years or more, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment for Maersk Line.

Source: Maersk

Navy Pushes Algae Biofuel as Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Sputters

2011-12-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

While the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline is temporarily stalled, the U.S. Navy is helping to push the market for algae biofuel. That’s good news for the U.S. biofuel industry and it could also help influence the growth of the biofuel industry internationally as well, since the Navy is coordinating its biofuel program with NATO fuel standards. In the latest development, the algae biofuel company OriginOil has announced a multinational joint venture to develop biorefineries that would supply both the U.S. and NATO.
OriginOil and International Algae Standards

The new joint venture is called Future Energy Solutions, and it’s still in the early stages of lining up investors and planning feasibility studies. In the meantime, in support of the joint venture OriginOil has partnered with the Idaho National Laboratory to develop international standards for algae biomass. OriginOil will contribute its proprietary, high efficiency algae oil extraction technology, and INL will chip in with its advanced biofuel processing technology and other equipment.
Many Feedstocks, One Biofuel

While the emphasis of the INL partnership is on algae, one major aim of the project is to integrate different kinds of non-food feedstocks into standardized biofuels, which would help to scale up global biofuel production more rapidly than a single-feedstock focus. Part of the rush has to do with the Navy’s intention to ramp up its use of biofuel within the next few years, starting with a demonstration of its new Green Strike Group at the Rim of the Pacific exercise this summer in preparation for the launch of a Green Fleet in 2016.
Joining Forces for Biofuels

President Obama has also gathered support for the program in the form of a $510 million biofuel partnership between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Navy. Aside from helping to ensure the armed forces a growing supply of domestic alternative fuel, the initiative is designed to help build sustainable economies in rural areas by creating permanent new jobs in biorefining, transportation and related operations.

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/14Upn)

PTT sponsors algae technology conference

2011-12-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

PTT Plc takes the lead in sponsoring the 2nd Asia-Oceania Algae Innovation Summit (AOAIS 2002) in Bangkok next year, in line with its policy to support oil extraction from algae and to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

The conference, during Sept 3-5, 2012, wins support from "Think Algae", an algae research network that covers PTT, PTT Research Institute, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol Universit, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Thonburi, Petroleum Institute of Thailand, and National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

PTT President and CEO Pailin Chuchottaworn said that the company has extended full support to the project to commercialise algae oil extraction. The company has contributed over Bt50 million to the project and prepared another Bt150 million.

"The network would be expanded, as PTT is committed to promote the innovative alternative energy. Thanks to Thailand’s geographical area, algae can grow well all year round under the appropriate temperature and light," he said.

He noted that the search for environmental-friendly energy and attempts to reduce global warming has been increasingly challenging, in light of the climate change.

Rattanawalee In-ochanont, an R&D chief of PTT Research Institute, added that algae research has been continuing in several countries particularly those in North America and Europe. In the first AOAIS in Japan, public and private research institutions have been enlisted.

The second conference will welcome researchers from parts of the world, who will unveil the updated knowledge and technology. It expects to welcome about 500 participants from 25 countries.

"This will be the stage where Thailand can demonstrate its potential in the international level. This also presents a good opportunity for knowledge and technology exchange as well as the extended cooperation for advanced algae technology and high-value environmental-friendly products, to cope with the energy crisis and global warming," Pailin concluded.

Original post: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/PTT-sponsors-algae-technology-conference-30172030.html

Maersk Teams with US Navy to Test Algae Biofuel

2011-12-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

The US military is set to invest billions in clean energy, and the Navy has just launched a new partnership with with Maersk, a leading player in the global shipping industry, to put renewable algae biofuel to the test. When two behemoths like this join together, it’s a significant breakthrough for the biofuel industry. If there are any remaining doubts that biofuel can compete with petroleum products on a massive scale, this new test should put them to rest. The only thing that might be a surprise is why the Navy, with its high tech, high performance fleet, would be interested in plain old container ships.

The U.S. Navy and Maersk

The Navy’s interest in container ships is actually quite simple, and it intersects with the interests of virtually all private sector companies that rely on the shipping industry. The Navy has to shuttle supplies all over the globe, and it relies on chartered container ships and tankers from companies like Maersk (with which it has a long-term relationship) to get the job done. However, the shipping industry is a significant and growing source of global warming pollution, and the Navy has emerged as a strong voice for global warming action. In this context, the Navy is exercising the kind of supply chain leverage that any private sector company with a sustainability plan would be expected to exert on its contractors.

A Big Test for Algae Biofuels

In the new test, Maersk has agreed to sail a 300-foot container ship 6,500 nautical miles from Germany to India on about 30 tons of biofuel. The ship is already outfitted with a separate, dedicated engine, fuel tanks and blenders for Maersk’s own biofuel initiative, so it can test a range of blends beyond the Navy’s 50-50 standard blend, ranging from 7 percent to 100 percent. The crew will also monitor the ship’s emissions and fuel efficiency.

The US Navy and Algae Biofuel

The partnership with Maersk is just one element in the Navy’s Green Strike Group initiative, in which the Navy plans to launch an entire group using non-petroleum fuels in time for the international Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise this summer, with the ultimate goal of launching an entire Green Fleet in 2016. Although the Navy will still rely heavily on nuclear powered ships for the Green Strike Group and the Green Fleet, the essential goal is to transition toward forms of energy that do not contribute to global warming pollution, and that can be produced within U.S. borders.

Maersk and Global Warming Emissions

Maersk has positioned itself as a sustainability leader in the shipping industry, and a this year the company launched a new line of energy efficient Triple-E class container ships, said to be the largest in the world. Maersk anticipates that the ships’ new hull and bow design, combined with heat recovery systems and other energy-saving equipment, will cut their carbon emissions by half on the Asia-Europe trade lane. They also come with a cradle-to-grave “passport” that designates about 90 percent of their components as recyclable to build future ships.

Original post available here: http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/12/maersk-teams-navy-test-algae-biofuel/

Australian-first project at Tarong Power Station uses algae to absorb carbon emissions.

2011-12-14T17:46:00.000-08:00

An Australian-first project to reduce carbon emissions is being implemented at Tarong Power Station using algae to absorb carbon emissions.

Australian-first project at Tarong Power Station uses algae to absorb carbon emissions.

The Queensland Government had committed $1 million to Phase 1 of the project, which is underway at the South Burnett power station following successful trials of the new technology at a purpose-built pilot facility at James Cook University in Townsville.

It uses algae to soak up the carbon dioxide emissions from the coal-fired power station, and has the potential to enable a wide range of large emitters to reduce the amount of carbon they release into the atmosphere.

Under a process called Algal Synthesis, captured flue gases from the coal-fired power station are injected into waste water contained in long plastic membranes next to the station.

Algae then grow rapidly in the water, with the captured gases providing carbon dioxide and other nutrients, doubling in quantity every one to two days.

The algae biomass is then used to make bio fuels which can be used to create valuable products such as livestock feed or oils for transport fuels.

When fully operational, it is anticipated that per hectare per annum, the project will capture up to 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 170 cars off the road for a year.

It is also expected to produce one tonne of algal biomass per day, 120 tonnes per annum of algal oil and 240 tonnes per annum of algal meal.

The first stage of the one-hectare Tarong Power Station facility is complete, with earthworks finalised, most services connected and vertical growth columns for the algae installed. The project is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2012.

The project was a joint initiative between MBD Energy and Queensland Government-owned Stanwell Corporation, the state's largest power generator.

This process developed by MBD Energy and its R&D team at James Cook University has the capacity to recycle waste water.

MBD Energy expects to use the Tarong Power Station display plant as a blueprint for one or more potentially much larger projects that seek to recycle waste flue gases into algae biomass on a commercial scale.

In order to protect local biodiversity, only strains of micro-algae local to Tarong Power Station have been selected for growing.

Original post available here: http://www.pacetoday.com.au/news/australian-first-project-at-tarong-power-station-u

IATA pushes for greater biofuel uise

2011-12-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

GENEVA, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- With sources of fossil fuel more difficult to find and the likelihood of crude oil prices staying relatively high, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is pushing for greater production and use of sustainable biofuels.

"We need them to become a commercial reality," said Tony Tyler, IATA's Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, when advocating greater research into sustainable fuel source at the association's recent Global Media Day here.

Sustainable biofuels, he said, were crucial in helping to achieve the climate change targets.

Some airlines are already trying them out in commercial flights. Virgin Galactic was the first airline to fly with biofuel when its Boeing 747-400 flew from London to Amsterdam on Feb 28, 2008, carrying in one of its four fuel tanks 20 per cent of biofuel.

Last month, United Continental flew an aircraft between Houston and Chicago on a fuel mix of 60 per cent jet fuel and 40 per cent algae-based biofuel.

Alaska Airlines has also started operating flights using a mix of 80 per cent conventional jet fuel and 20 per cent biofuel derived from used cooking oil or fast-food restaurant discards.

Tyler said biofuels were currently too expensive and too scarce for them to be successful commercially.

To overcome this obstacle, he said, governments needed to foster research into new energy sources and refining processes.

In recent times, algae has emerged as potentially the most promising feedstock for producing large quantities of sustainable aviation biofuel.

These microscopic plants can be grown in polluted or salt water, deserts and other inhospitable places.

They thrive on carbon dioxide, which makes them ideal for carbon capture (absorbing carbon dioxide) from sources like factories.

One of the biggest advantages of algae for oil production is the speed at which the feed stock can grow.

It has been estimated that algae produces up to 15 times more oil per sq km than other biofuel crops.

Another advantage of algae is that it can be grown on marginal lands that are not used for growing food, such as on the edges of deserts.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has approved grants for research into algae as a source for aviation fuel.

The Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre, under the auspices of the Malaysian industry Government Group for High Technology, will spearhead the country's initiative to research and identify algae for producing aviation fuel.

Some RM15 million has already been approved for the industry-led research and technology centre for its first year of operation.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has been appointed the lead university in the research which could lead to Malaysia establishing a major leadership role in global biofuel production for the aviation industry.

Other partners in the project are EADS, the producer of Airbus aircraft, and aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls Royce.

Datuk Dr Radin Omar, Vice Chancellor of UPM, said the university has a research station at Port Dickson, which would form part of the research initiative.

Speaking at UPM's Media Day in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, he said, the university was evaluating a number of proposals on the proposed venture, which would capitalise on the country's natural resources and knowledge in collaboration with foreign expertise.

Radin said UPM, as a major research university in Malaysia, would be stepping up research efforts, especially those which could create greater value and be commercially viable.

Original post available here.

Container vessel to sail on algae power

2011-12-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Biofuel engineer Bart Frehse and David Andersen working on the Kalmar biofuel project. (Photo: Maersk/FIS)

Can a ship sail on algae power? That’s the expectation as a partnership involving the US Navy and a handful of Maersk companies gets underway.

For the Maersk Group’s fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages—and real challenges. One project underway right now is exploring the prospects of one especially green fuel.

Maersk Line’s 300-m-long Maersk Kalmar container vessel is sailing its normal route from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, delivering cargo to the usual ports along the way. However, during its one-month-long, 6,500 nmi voyage, Kalmar will be doing something very much out of the ordinary—it will be burning 30 tonnes of fuel derived from algae.

A team of engineers from Maersk Line, Limited, Maersk Maritime Technology and Maersk Line are onboard Maersk Kalmar running the project. They are testing blends of the fuel—which is clear, not green—ranging from 7 per cent algae fuel up to 100 per cent in one of the ship’s auxiliary engines.

That means Maersk Kalmar isn’t actually sailing on algae power, yet; the energy produced will only power the ship’s electronics. But if all goes as planned, the main engine could also eventually run on algae fuel.

“The properties of this fuel are similar to marine gas oil, so if we can successfully run the auxiliary engine on this fuel for long periods of time as we suspect, we will also be able safely use it in the main engine as well,” says Klaus Jørgensen, engineer in Maersk Maritime Technology.

The US Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 per cent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its ‘Great Green Fleet’ initiative. For Maersk Line, the testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing CO2 emissions.

By 2020, it is Maersk Line’s target to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent per container moved, compared to 2007 – a target that will be reached by means of efficiency gains.

“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving energy efficiency. In the longer term, say 15 years or more, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment for Maersk Line.

Original post available here.

Maersk, US Navy testing algal biofuels as long-range marine fuel

2011-12-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

In Virginia, Maersk and the U.S. Navy are testing algae-based biofuel on the container ship Maersk Kalmar currently en route from Germany to India. The 300 meter-long container ship has a dedicated auxiliary test engine, which reduces the risks of testing, and its fuels system includes biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks. The biofuels test is the first collaboration between Maersk and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).

During its month-long, 6,500 nautical mile voyage from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, the ship will use 30 tons of biofuel. Engineers and crew onboard are testing blends ranging from 7% to 100% biofuel.

The team is also analyzing emissions data on NOx (nitrogen oxides), SOx (sulphur oxides), CO2 and particulate matter from the fuel use, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear. Tests are scheduled to conclude in December with an analysis of results following soon thereafter.

Original post available here.

Container Line and US Navy Cooperate on Biofuel from Algae Tests

2011-12-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Maersk Searches for Cleaner Options

DENMARK – US – WORLDWIDE –Never the one to do things by halves Maersk Line, as the largest shipping company in the world, is leading the fight for shipping to clean up its act. This week the company posed the question ‘Can a ship sail on algae power’ and gave the current details for the experiment it is currently undertaking together with the US Navy to establish if bio fuels are a credible source of power for large marine diesel engines using one of the company’s 6,700 TEU container ships, the 89,000 tonne Maersk Kalmar, as a test bed.

As we illustrated last month algae based fuel is already being used to power commercial aircraft but for anyone who thinks these trials to be a gimmick Maersk say that for their fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages. The U.S. Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 percent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its ‘Great Green Fleet’ initiative. For Maersk Line, testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing it’s the CO2 emissions. By 2020, it is Maersk Line’s target to have reduced its CO2 emissions by 25% per container moved, compared to 2007, a target it believes will be reached by means of efficiency gains.

Maersk Kalmar has two key attributes that make it a suitable vessel for biofuel testing. The 300 meter-long container ship has a dedicated auxiliary test engine, which reduces the risks of testing, and its fuels system has special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks, plus of course it is now thirteen years old. The US Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, visited Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen last year and was sufficiently impressed by the company’s efforts conserve energy that he authorised this, the first collaboration between Maersk and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).

During its month-long, 6,500 nautical mile voyage from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India along its normal route the ship will use up the 30 tonnes of algae based fuel with a team of engineers from Maersk Maritime Technology, Maersk Line, Limited (the company’s US operation) and Maersk Line onboard running the project and testing blends ranging from 7% to 100%. The team is also analyzing emissions data on nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, CO2 and particulate matter from the fuel use, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear.

Exciting as it sounds Maersk Kalmar isn’t actually sailing on algae power as yet; the energy produced will only power the ship’s electronics, but the tests are a precursor to full sea trials if successful. Maersk Maritime Technology, the group’s centre of excellence for ship technologies is of course intimately involved and the company also has a website devoted to illustrating its sustainability. David Anderson, Maersk Line, Limited’s technical representative for the algae project commented:

“We expect to identify an optimal blend of distillate and biofuel that will meet the more stringent requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s forthcoming emissions regulations. The test is part of a journey to spur innovation in fuel R&D, diversify the fuel supply and improve environmental performance. It is a long-term goal Maersk shares with the Navy.”

Many environmentalists are concerned that the use of plant matter to produce fuel can have a negative impact on rural communities dependent on the types of plants produced and their effect on the local economy but the use of algae based biofuel does not seem to attract the same level of criticism. Added to this, unlike road haulage which can utilise electrical and hybrid technologies, ocean freight requires the power that only traditional engines or those powered by nuclear technology can currently provide.

Original post available here.

OriginOil to Establish Standards for Algal Biomass

2011-12-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

OriginOil will work with DOE's Office of Biomass Programs to create standards for algal biomass

OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, recently announced the funding of a new research agreement with the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under the agreement, OriginOil and INL will collaborate with a goal toward establishing industry standards for algal biomass, a critical step toward making algal biofuels a competitive alternative to petroleum.

Under the terms of the new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), OriginOil will provide INL with its Single Step Extraction(TM) technology, and contribute its knowledge of how to stimulate oil production and pre-treat for consistent extraction of the algae and its co-products.

OriginOil expects to benefit from INL's scientific and engineering expertise and its large Process Demonstration Facility which boasts advanced biofuels processing capabilities and equipment, including biochemical, thermochemical and other downstream conversion technologies. A primary effort will be to integrate algae with terrestrial biomass sources to achieve large-scale biofuels production.

"The US Navy alone plans to achieve 50% use of alternative fuels in just eight years, a goal of eight million barrels of biofuels per year that must be blended from non-food fuels like algae," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil's CEO. "But to blend, we must standardize, using the latest breakthrough technologies. We are proud to contribute to this effort and will share what we learn with our approved partners worldwide."

Deborah T. Newby, Molecular Biologist at INL's Biofuels and Renewable Energy Department, commented, "INL develops tests and deploys advanced renewable energy technology, including research on algae. This agreement is to assist OriginOil by conducting evaluations of processes and technologies that may help find solutions to converting algae into energy feedstocks more efficiently, by optimizing and standardizing various formats. This research may accelerate the pursuit of national energy independence initiatives."

Paul Reep, OriginOil's senior vice president of technology and formerly a manager at the Idaho National Laboratory, was responsible for bringing the parties together. Mr. Reep stated, "OriginOil's focus on developing standards for the industry in partnership with the US Department of Energy will set the stage for a multi-source system that depends heavily on algae, leading to its rapid expansion as a major fuel source alongside petroleum oil and natural gas."

In operation since 1949, the Idaho National Laboratory is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the DOE on energy research and national defense. Its mission is to ensure the nation's energy security with safe, clean, competitive, and sustainable energy systems and unique national and homeland security capabilities.

Original post available here.

Algae for Biofuels: LEDs Can Help

2011-12-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

Algae seem to be suited for regenerative energy applications due to their photosynthetic efficiency and high yield in biomass. This biomass can be used for the industrial production of biofuels. The challenge in this field is that only a few micro-algae species offer suitable high yields in the desired lipids.

Thus, a renowned American institute in cooperation with the company DASGIP carried out comprehensive research with regard to algae growth parameters. They investigated the conditions under which Tetraselmis sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta provide high lipid yields for biofuel production.

The researchers controlled the relevant process parameters, in particular different light spectra and light intensities, using the DASGIP PhotoBioreactors (PBR). The internal arrangement of the LED illuminators provides effective and consistent light supply of the culture.The deployed benchtop vessels are each fitted with an overhead drive and four illuminators.

These illuminators are placed inside each bioreactor and serve light spectra with accurate wavelengths that meet the specific photosynthesis requirements. Based on their specific wavelengths, the LEDs are combined into three groups with defined spectral ranges: A (453 nm), B (572 nm, 625 nm, 640 nm), and C (660 nm, 780 nm). The spectral compositions were set via the control software.

The results of this research revealed that Tetraselmis sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta are promising candidates for the production of biofuels, due to their high lipid level and because of their good culturability in photobioreactors. Improved growth was obtained by imitating a day/night cycle, through slowly increasing and decreasing the light intensity, rather than immediately switching the lights on or off. Day/night phases of solar output were programmed using the control software’s undulated “Cosine” mode. Start time was 5:30 a.m. and the highest light intensity was achieved at 12:00 p.m.

In order for biofuels production from algae feedstock to become feasible in the alternative energy market, further research must be conducted to improve the competitiveness of this option and to increase and optimize production quantities.

Original post available here.

Maersk, U.S. Navy Conduct Algae-based Biofuel Test

2011-12-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Dec 12, 2011 2:47PM GMT

The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

Alternative fuel-powered ship to sail from Northern Europe to India

Maersk Line is working with the U.S. Navy to test biofuel derived from algae on a Maersk container ship on a voyage from Northern Europe to India.

The Maersk Kalmar has two key attributes that make it a suitable vessel for biofuel testing: a dedicated auxiliary test engine that reduces the risks of testing and a fuel system that has special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks. The ship, which has a capacity of 6,690 20-foot equivalent units, will use 30 metric tons of algae-based biofuel on a month-long, 7,480-mile voyage from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Pipavav, India.

Engineers and crew onboard are testing blends ranging from 7 percent to 100 percent. The team is also analyzing emissions data on nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter from the fuel use, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear.

Tests are scheduled to conclude in early December, with an analysis of results to follow.

The U.S. Navy is collaborating on the biofuels test because it charters ships from Maersk Line, Ltd., which owns and operates U.S. flag vessels that it charters to the Navy. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen in October to learn of energy conservation initiatives across Maersk’s fleet of over 1,300 vessels.

These programs fit well with the Navy’s interests in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The biofuels test is the first collaboration between Maersk and the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command.

“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving fuel efficiency. In the longer term, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available, low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, head of climate and environment at Maersk Line.

Original article available here.

Navy completes final alternative fuel demo for the year, achieves record speed

2011-12-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Navy has successfully concluded its final alternative fuel demonstration for the year with the operational tests of the 50/50 algae-derived, hydro-processed algal oil and petroleum F-76 blend in a Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) amphibious transport vehicle at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City.

The tests also marked the fastest speed achieved to date by a U.S. Navy surface craft using alternative fuel blends, as LCAC 91 reached a maximum speed of 50 knots. The fastest speed demonstrated on the 50/50 algal blend in previous tests was 44.5 knots by the Riverine Command Boat (experimental) (RCB-X) in October 2010 at Naval Base Norfolk, Va.

"Our Navy is working to be resilient to any potential energy future. Pursuing sustainable resources, such as alternative fuels that are drop-in replacements, assures our performance and mobility while protecting us from the volatility of the fossil fuel market. This demonstration is another Wright Brothers-moment for the Navy. We have shown that we can achieve more than 50 knots on the water and Mach 1.7 in the air - all on biofuel blends," said Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director, Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division.

LCACs move elements of a Marine Air/Ground Task Force – weapons systems, equipment, cargo, and personnel—from ship to shore and over the beach. The vehicles have four gas turbine engines, and two generators that traditionally run on NATO F76 or NATO F44. They have a 7,000 gallon fuel capacity, an average range of 200 nautical miles, and can carry up to 150,000 lbs.

“For the test, the craft was operated out in the Gulf of Mexico using two different fuel configurations so we could compare the craft’s operations as powered by each fuel type,” said Naval Sea Systems Command’s Navy Fuels Engineering Manager Richard Leung. “After draining the diesel, LCAC 91 received approximately 5,000 gallons of the 50/50 algal blend. We assessed the engine performance capabilities on the biofuel blend, and collected data on engine torque, acceleration rates, craft speed, fuel flow rates, propeller pitch, compressor discharge pressure, and inlet and exhaust gas temperatures”

Mechanical engineers bore scoped the engines and collected the technical data. LCAC operators then provided input on how the craft performed and operated.

“We are going to compare how the engines performed during the test both on the straight diesel and on the 50/50 mix. Results from the comparison will help us assess the performance of the fuel,” said mechanical engineer Ben Canilang, NSWC Carderock’s Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, Philadelphia, Pa.

“To see what type of numbers came out, we connected a laptop with a harness that read into our digital and analogue data collectors,” said mechanical engineer Peter Diamond. “The type of analysis is simply comparing numbers. We’ll plug in a stream of numbers and compare results from each of the tests.”

“The test run on the 50/50 alternative fuel mix was very successful," said Scott Feenstra, mission director, Landing Craft Air Cushion, NSWC Panama City Division. "LCAC 91 performed without issue. The operators were able to use high power and reported that the craft handled beautifully and without problems.”

Meeting the secretary of the Navy’s call for a drop-in fuel replacement, no changes were required to the LCAC or fueling equipment infrastructures for the test. Alternative fuel efforts also support the secretary's overall energy strategy to increase energy security and safeguard the environment; as well as his goals to demonstrate a Green Strike Group by 2012, and deploy a strike group composed completely of alternatively powered ships,“The Great Green Fleet,” by 2016.

Original post available here.

Tiny Algae Could Be a Big Source of Power

2011-12-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Dr. Jerry Brand direct UT’s Algae Culture Center. Photo by Mose Buchele

The Biology Building at the University of Texas at Austin houses one of the University’s most exceptional collections. Not books or art or dinosaurs. This is the Algae Culture Collection.

Think of it as a living library. Shelves line the walls stacked with beakers, each a different shade of green. The hallways are lined with green jars, each of them containing a different strain of algae, around 3,000 in all.

Tiny Algae, Big Energy?Researchers report progress in Algae as Biofuel Download

It’s not a quiet place. Machines shake beakers in the corners to aerate the algae. AC units hum to keep samples at the right temperature. On a recent tour of the collection, Dr. Jerry Brand, the director of the Center, held up a sample of his favorite algae.

“Each of these little balls contains 512 cells. And they just swirl and tumble like [they’re] dancing on a dance floor,” he said. It’s easy to think of each little jar as a world unto itself. But these small organisms could one day bring major benefits to life outside the university walls.

“People see algae as pond scum. We see algae as fuel, cures for cancer nutricuticals, sources of chemicals that are greener than we’ve ever had before,” said Dr. Robert Hebner, director of the school’s Center for Electromechanics.

Dr. Robert Hebner has pioneered a method of extracting oil from algae.

Hebner is at the forefront of algae research. His interest began about five years ago when a colleague pointed out the challenge of extracting naturally occurring oils from algae.

“I went to my white board and I started writing down some circuit to do this,” he remembers.

Today, the fruits of those early ideas are visible at Hebner’s lab at the UT Pickle Research Center. That’s where a huge algae process device separates algae from oil. It’s an ongoing experiment into the green stuff’s potential as a biofuel.

Last summer, Hebner brought the device to a sewage treatment plant outside of Austin, where he produced biofuel from the naturally occurring algae there. That sums up the promise: Algae takes what we generally think of as waste — be it sewage, C02 emissions or, fertilizer runoff — and uses it to grow.

“The US Air Force even had an ambitious plan to flow the Mississippi River through an algae plant so you don’t create the dead zone in the gulf of Mexico,” said Hebner.

Although that never got past the proposal stage, entrepreneurs are looking for ways to make some greenbacks out of that green slime. Hoyt Thomas is with Open Algae, a group trying to commercialize the device in Hebner’s Lab.

Photo by Mose Buchele

Research Engineer Robert Pearsall looks into a vat of algae.

“We see ourselves as being an equipment supplier to growers, and it’s very similar to what you might see in the oil patch. With companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton, where they’re supplying services to the oil patch. We see ourselves as a service provider to the growers,” said Thomas.

Harvesting algae is already profitable at a small scale. Things like Omega fatty acids and food supplements are extracted using the technique. But when it comes to biofuel applications, the technology has a long way to go. UT’s Hebner says it would take a plot of algae about the size of Iowa to provide for U.S. fuel needs. But, he points out, advances in research are coming quickly.

Original article available here.

Algae-powered Navy destroyer part of capability-driven energy strategy

2011-12-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

By Jack Moore
Federal News Radio

Late last month, the U.S.S. Paul H. Foster, a Navy destroyer off the coast of California, sailed into history.

About 20,000 gallons of algae helped power the ship in a test of the Navy's efforts to run its vehicles on renewable energy sources.

"We took it out there and took it around the block, so to speak, and we tested it on different types of fuels," said Rear Adm. Phillip Cullom, director of the Energy and Environmental Readiness Division in the office of the chief of naval operations.

The fuel used — a 50-50 blend between the algae-based alternative and a traditional petroleum — operated smoothly on the seas, Cullom said in an interview on In Depth with Francis Rose.

"It performed exactly as if it was a petroleum-based fuel," Cullom said. "Absolutely no difference."

People often point to the Navy's energy efforts and "immediately look to the alternative fuels arena," Cullom said. But the Navy's energy strategy takes a wider view than that, he said, especially in terms of delivering more combat capabilities to deployed service members.

"It's why the vast majority of our effort, and energy and resources are really devoted to figuring out how to be more efficient," he said. "In other words: How to sip, not guzzle our fuel."

The Navy has a history of managing its energy supply smartly, he said, pointing to Col. James H. Doolittle's use of stripped-down B-25 bombers during World War II.

"We certainly have a good history of doing .. and showing that we can manage energy smartly," Cullom said.

The goal is for an alternative-fuel-powered Navy Strike Group by 2012 and, eventually, a "Great Green fleet" by 2016.

Original post available here.

Algae.Tec spurred on with $6m La Jolla Cove Investors backing

2011-12-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB) will fast track a number of its projects in Asia and Europe with the A$6 million financial backing of La Jolla Cove Investors.

The convertible note facility, which can be drawn down over a three year period, will be used for projects such as the recently announced Holcim Lanka biofuels and carbon capture facility in Asia.

Algae.Tec announced earlier this month it has signed a collaboration agreement with Holcim Lanka Limited to build its first algae biofuels production facility in Asia that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cement manufacturing.

Holcim Lanka, a cement and building materials company, has agreed to build the facility in Sri Lanka in conjuction with Algae.Tec as its technology is in line with Holcim's desire to be environmentally sustainable.

Executive chairman Roger Stroud welcomed the La Jolla Cove Investors funding deal saying the money will also be used to expand the company’s technical engineering team with experts specifically in the fuel industry.

Milestone Achievements

Algae.Tec has reached a number of significant milestones in 2011 besides the Holcim Lanka Limited deal.

In October, Algae.Tec announced that its demonstration facility Shoalhaven One had been granted development approval under the Shoalhaven City Council Environment Planning and Assessment Act.

The demonstration facility will be located next to the nation’s largest ethanol producer Manildra Group’s industrial facility.

Funds raised in the 2011 ASX float will be used to build the Shoalhaven One biofuels production and carbon capture facility at Nowra, south of Sydney.

Last month the company shipped its first photo-bioreactor module from the Algae Development and Manufacturing Centre in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States bound for Australia.

The enclosed modular technology captures carbon dioxide waste from power stations and manufacturing facilities, which feeds into the algae growth system.

This shipment is one of five that will be delivered over the next month to Shoalhaven One.

The company continues to gain momentum, particularly with news of the Australian Government’s price on carbon, which should spur on carbon dioxide emitters to seek out clean energy and carbon capture solutions.

Algae.Tec is one of few advanced biofuels companies globally with an enclosed modular engineered technology designed to grow algae on an industrial scale and produce biofuels that replace predominantly imported fossil fuels for transportation use.

The Algae.Tec solution is less than one tenth the land footprint of pond growth options, while its enclosed module system is designed to produce algae biomass in virtually any environment.

The system is designed to deliver the highest yield of algae per hectare and, importantly, does not require the use of food producing land for biofuel production.

AMIC In Search Of That Special Algae

2011-12-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

LANGKAWI, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- Selecting an optimal algae strain to produce jet fuel in Malaysia will be a top research priority in the first year of Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre's (AMIC) operation.

With RM15 million having been approved in spending for the first year, the industry-led research and technology centre is also eyeing innovative new standards in aero structure manufacturing and sustainable green aeronautic materials, as well as improved technologies for systems integration.

"Quickly identifying an effective algae strain for the production of jet fuel will open the way for future work in Malaysia and could lead to the country cementing a major leadership role in global biofuel production for the aviation industry," AMIC chief executive officer Datuk Rosdi Mahmud said.

Developed and championed by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), the centre is described as an innovative model which is expected to substantially improve the commercial success of aerospace research and development projects undertaken in Malaysia and boost private sector research and development (R&D) spending.

In a statement, MIGHT said, the centre was funded by RM40 million in grants from the Malaysian government, EADS and Rolls-Royce.

"The centre is an industry-driven organisation pairing industry demands for research and technology with local Malaysian capability from universities, including lead university, Universiti Putra Malaysia," it said.

AMIC co-chairs, Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid and EADS chief technical officer Dr Jean Botti, in a joint statement, said the centre was a significant step towards advancing Malaysia's national competency in the aerospace sector.

"This centre will help both the public and private sectors rally together to push for a renaissance of innovation," they said.

Dr Zakri, who is science advisor to the prime minister, noted that a prerequisite for technological advancement was R&D.

"Reaching the 10th Malaysia Plan goal of R&D investment of at least one per cent of GDP by 2015 will require creative new models to partner public and private sector interests in science, technology and innovation.

"AMIC is one of those creative new models," he said.

Ric Parker, director of research and technology at Rolls Royce, a lead member of AMIC, expressed confidence that AMIC would provide an innovative platform for all the lead members to work with local universities and companies to translate research into technologies that the aerospace sector could adopt.

Original article available here.

OriginOil Announces New Research Agreement with U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory

2011-12-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

OriginOil will work with DOE's Office of Biomass Programs to create standards for algal biomass

LOS ANGELES, Dec 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- OriginOil, Inc. OOIL +12.63% , the developer of a breakthrough technology to extract oil from algae and an emerging leader in the global algae oil services industry, today announced the funding of a new research agreement with the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under the agreement, OriginOil and INL will collaborate with a goal toward establishing industry standards for algal biomass, a critical step toward making algal biofuels a competitive alternative to petroleum.

About Idaho National Laboratory

With more than 300 scientists and engineers, INL's Energy, Environment Science & Technology Directorate integrates nuclear energy research and its unconventional application with other bio and fossil energy systems, advances renewable energy technologies, and develops alternative energy sources and transportation fuels. With science and engineering capabilities in key areas, the Directorate provides talent to support research efforts in all energy systems and the support research and development needed for national and homeland security technologies. More information is available at www.inl.gov .

About OriginOil, Inc. ( www.originoil.com )

OriginOil helps algae growers extract oil from algae for use as a feedstock for the commercial production of transportation fuels, chemicals and foods. In a single step, our breakthrough technology efficiently dewaters and breaks down algae for its useful products, overcoming one of the greatest challenges in making algae a viable replacement for petroleum. As a pioneer and the emerging leader in the global algae oil services field, OriginOil supports its core algae extraction technology with an array of process innovations for some of the world's most successful algae growers and refiners, just as pioneers like Schlumberger and Halliburton have done in the oilfield services industry. To learn more about OriginOil(R), please visit our website at www.originoil.com .

Safe Harbor Statement:

Original article available here.

Could algae step in when (affordable) oil runs out?

2011-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:00

Back in the heyday of the muscle car, even the fuels had a macho air (“Put a tiger in your tank.”) It’s hard to imagine a similar campaign these days, considering how much corn now ends up in the average car. (“Five a Day: It’s good for cars, too”?)

While corn-based ethanol is big business, it’s showing fewer signs of being good, sustainable business. Other biofuel stocks promise less environmental impact, smaller carbon footprints and less reliance on agricultural lands … but they’re not there yet.

Take algae, for example. There’s a lot of potential oil that could be wrested out of pond scum, seaweed and cyanobacteria. Seven years ago, algal fuel proponents touted amazingly promising stats, noting for instance that the US could in theory grow all the transportation fuel it needed on just 15,000 square miles of desert land. In succeeding years, the predictions have become a bit more circumspect: a US Department of Energy study earlier this year found the country could replace 17 percent of its oil imports with algae-based biofuels.

Still, it’s not for lack of trying that we aren’t yet filling up our cars on 15-percent kelp blends. Companies like California’s OriginOil envision being at the forefront of ambitious biofuel goals, such as the US Navy’s plan to be using 50-percent alternative liquid fuels in the next eight years. In fact, the company has just signed an agreement with the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to work on developing industry standards to make algae-based fuel a “competitive alternative to petroleum.”

Crafting biofuel industry standards and setting 17-percent petroleum replacement goals might not sound as sexy as growing all the oil you need on a small slice of the Sonora. But these are the slow, steady and incremental steps it’ll take — along with improving fuel economy standards, promoting public transportation and, hopefully, finally putting a decent price on carbon — to build a more sustainable society.

On a final note, isn’t it interesting that the horsepower wars of the muscle-car era peaked around the same time as US oil production? Is the recent observation of “peak car use” in some of the world’s cities the first sign of a similarly dramatic shift?

Original article available here.

VG Energy Highlighted in Branson's "Carbon War Room" Jet Fuel Initiative

2011-12-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

New website aimed at reducing the use of traditional jet fuels by as much as fifty percent

SAN MARINO, Calif., Dec 07, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Viral Genetics' VRAL +20.00% majority owned subsidiary, VG Energy, has been highlighted in Sir Richard Branson's Carbon War Room effort as one of the approved technologies in the accelerating evolution toward renewable sources for the bio-fuels sector. VG Energy's algae "lipid trigger" technology tricks algae into storing energy as fat, rather than carbohydrates. In ongoing studies, VG Energy's "lipid trigger" technology has been shown to increase the lipid levels in plant, yeast and algal biofuel by a significant percentage.

Business titan Sir Richard Branson, philanthropist extraordinaire, Chairman of Virgin Air, and an early investor in the green energy sector, has taken a lead role in the global search for biofuels for use in the airline industry. Appearing on MSNBC earlier this week, Mr. Branson laid out the rationale for investment in the green energy sector, and his long term commitment to the effort through the creation of the Carbon War Room. The Carbon War Room is a global, independent non-profit that brings together complementary NGO's, entrepreneurs, corporate entrepreneurs, financiers, and the climate change community to focus on gigaton-scale, market-based solutions to climate change.

The Carbon War Room teamed with Elsevier as, "we know that a lot of the solutions to the energy problems have to come from new technologies," said Jan Paul Grolle, of Elsevier. Interviews with hundreds of people working in the alternative energy sector "indicated they lack reliable information." The request was to make sure that any information is organized by experts, reviewed and made available. "And, we are not only talking about jet fuel but also other biofuel sectors," Grolle said.

Monica Ord, VG Energy's SVP of Corporate Development stated, "Carbon War Room and Suzanne Hunt have created a valuable platform which allows us to rapidly share VG Energy's technology on a much broader scale. Our goal is to be a key additive in making biofuel a more viable cost effective option, whether from algae, yeast or plant sources." Ord added, "This site will give us the opportunity to get our technology in front of all the relevant producers, financiers, and research arms in biofuel worldwide. I applaud Suzanne and Carbon War Room on their efforts and vision and we are honored they have chosen VG Energy to be involved."

According to Carbon War Room, WWW.RENEWABLEJETFUELS.ORG is a new advanced database which contains key information on companies working across the biofuel value chain, their products and their technologies. The aim is to accelerate the use of sustainable biofuel in aviation by making it clear which companies have viable technologies and the way these technologies can be applied.

The online resource contains information about the sector and facilitates contact between producers of biofuels and the aviation industry as "the airline industry generates about 2-3% of carbon emissions," said Suzanne Hunt of the Huntgreen Environmental Agency, based in Washington, D.C. "This might not sound like much but it is accelerating very fast," Hunt said. "We started talking to buyers and producers of aviation fuel and discovered that the technology is ready and demand outstrips supply, but that there was not much information available that would connect buyers and producers." Carbon War Room's groundbreaking site provides information to finance providers, fuel purchasers, supply chain managers and technology developers involved in technology and production relating to renewable jet fuel.

Algal and plant based bio-fuel has emerged as one of the most promising viable options in this and other drop in fuel replacement sectors. VG Energy's technology looks poised to accelerate the acceptance of this option as it shows promise in changing the economics of algal biofuels.

"The biggest problem at the moment is the high price of renewable energy," Hunt said, "but if demand increases, the price can come down. Producers also lack access to finance, and we are facilitating contact between investors and producers."

About Viral Genetics, Inc.

San Marino, California-based Viral Genetics discovers drug therapies from two platform technologies based on over 60 patents: Metabolic Disruption (MDT) and Targeted Peptides (TPT). Founded in 1994, the biotech company is researching treatments for HIV/AIDS, Lyme Disease, Strep, Staph and drug resistant cancer. A majority-owned subsidiary, VG Energy ( http://www.vgenergy.net ), is dedicated to developing biofuel and agricultural applications for the MDT platform. For more information, visit http://www.viralgenetics.com .

About Carbon War Room

The Carbon War Room harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to unlock gigaton-scale, market-driven solutions to climate change. Over 50% of the climate change challenge can be addressed today -- and profitably -- under existing policy and technology conditions. We seek to facilitate a better flow of capital to entrepreneurial solutions that make economic sense right now.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties associated with financial projections, budgets, milestone timelines, clinical development, regulatory approvals, and other risks described by Viral Genetics, Inc. from time to time in its periodic reports, including statements about its VG Energy, Inc. subsidiary. None of Viral Genetics' drug compounds are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or by any comparable regulatory agencies elsewhere in the world, nor are any non-pharmaceutical products of VG Energy, Inc. commercialized. While Viral Genetics believes that the forward-looking statements and underlying assumptions reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, including, but not limited to, the ability of Viral Genetics to establish the efficacy of any of its drug therapies in the treatment of any disease or health condition, the development of studies and strategies leading to commercialization of those drug compounds in the United States, the obtaining of funding required to carry out the development plan, the completion of studies and tests on time or at all, the successful outcome of such studies or tests, or the successful commercialization of VG Energy, Inc.'s non-pharmaceutical products. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Viral Genetics or any other person that the objectives and plans of Viral Genetics will be achieved.

Original post available here.

Research hub to identify algae for making aviation fuel

2011-12-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

LANGKAWI: The Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) is set to advance the country’s competency in the aerospace sector.

Its top research priority in its first year of operation will be to select an optimal algae strain to produce jet fuel in Malaysia.

Some RM15mil has already been approved for the industry-led research and technology centre for its first year of operation.

“This could lead to the country cementing a major leadership role in global biofuel production for the aviation industry,” AMIC chief executive officer Datuk Rosdi Mahmud said in a statement yesterday.

The centre, developed by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), brings together stakeholders from the public and private sectors and academic and research communities.

Funded by RM40mil in grants from the Government, EADS and Rolls Royce, the centre pairs industry demand for research and technology with local Malaysian capability from universities, including lead university, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched the Malaysian Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Strategic Plan 2020 – a maritime blueprint to ensure the industry’s success – during a visit to the MIGHT booth at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2011 yesterday.

Original post available here.

Algal Biomass Organization Applauds U.S. Navy's Algae Biofuels Purchase

2011-12-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

Purchase of 450,000 Gallons of Biofuels, Including 100,000 Gallons of Algae-Based Fuel Moves Industry Toward Commercial Production

WASHINGTON, DC, Dec 06, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Today, Mary Rosenthal, Executive Director of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, released the following statement regarding the U.S. Navy's plans to purchase 450,000 gallons of drop-in biofuels, with 100,000 of those made from algal oils produced by ABO member Solazyme, Inc.

"On behalf of the U.S. algae industry, I want to recognize both the U.S. Navy and the Department of Agriculture for their continued support for domestic biofuels derived from algae. The purchase announced yesterday represents another milestone in our industry's progress in creating domestically produced, drop-in renewable biofuels.

"This purchase, as part of the Navy's effort to build a 'Great Green Fleet,' is also an important vote of confidence for an industry that is developing drop-in biofuels at a national scale to supply our military with a more secure source of fuel, create jobs across the country, and provide consumers with an alternative to imported oil.

"The algae industry is proud to be playing a role in the development of strategically important and scalable supplies of domestic fuels that don't compete with food production and have a minimized carbon footprint. As an industry we are well positioned to meet those challenges, and provide jobs and economic development across the country as we do it. We look forward to working with the U.S. Navy and Department of Agriculture as they continue to push for the commercial development of advanced biofuels derived from algae."

About ABO The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algalbiomass.org .

Original post available here.

Navy Orders Cooking Oil, Algae to Power Ships

2011-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Navy has placed the world’s largest advanced biofuel order of 425,000 gallons with Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture between Tyson Foods Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation; and bioproducts company Solazyme Inc.

Dynamic will be supplying fuel derived from used cooking oil, while fuel from Solazyme comes from algae. The biofuel will be delivered to the government by May 1, 2012, and is to be used to power war games next year, Reuters reports.

The Navy contract comes on the heels of both companies’ involvement in commercial airline flights using biofuel. This includes Dynamic Fuels’ renewable jet fuel work with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Finnair, Thomson Airways and Alaska Airlines, and Solazyme’s recent partnership with United Airlines.

In November, the Navy sent a destroyer ship powered by Solazyme’s algae-based fuel on a 20-hour trip along the California coast.

Some 20,000 gallons of the fuel were pumped into the U.S.S. Paul F. Foster test ship to power it overnight from San Diego to Port Hueneme, Calif.

Original post available here.

Malaysia to develop jet fuel from algae

2011-12-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has launched a centre for aerospace innovation, setting its sight on technology to develop jet fuel from algae.

The Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) would also innovate new standards in aero structure manufacturing and sustainable green aeronautic materials as well as improved technologies for systems integration.

A statement from AMIC said the centre's Board of Directors has approved RM15mil in spending for the first year of operation.

According to AMIC chief executive officer Datuk Rosdi Mahmud selecting an optimal algae strain to produce jet fuel in Malaysia will be a top research priority in the first year.

"Quickly identifying an effective algae strain for the production of jet fuel will open the way for future work in Malaysia and could lead to the country cementing a major leadership role in global biofuel production for the aviation industry," said Rosdi.

The centre is a unique platform, developed by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) that convenes stakeholders from both the public and private sector as well academic and research communities.

Funded by RM40mil in grants from the Government of Malaysia, EADS and Rolls Royce, the centre is an industry-driven organisation pairing industry demands for research and technology with local Malaysian capability from universities, including lead university, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Original article available here.