Fast Swimmers: 10 Algae technologies, where are they in the race for the summit?

July 23, 2013 |

algae-everestWho’s in the lead? Who’s getting traction? Who’s near the summit? Who’s got the oxygen?

We look at algae, algae, and more algae to see who’s getting where, when.

Algae, algae, algae — growing almost as fast as algae itself are the number of companies that are exploring the technology since algae came back on the radar in 2007-09. The Summer of Algae has passed, but dozens of companies have remained hot in pursuit of a solution for fuels, feed, nutraceuticals, fragrances, flavorings and tailored renewable oils.

Their technologies? Closed systems, open-systems, hybrid systems. Hosts of different strains, some optimized for oil content, some for growth rate. Some in Europe, Australia, Canada and the US.

The category is something of a misnomer — after all, most companies want to be known for their products, not the microbial source of their production technology. Who thinks of Budweiser as a yeast company? Yet, for now, “algae” is a point of differentiation — and though most of them would prefer to be thought of as purveyors of tailored renewable oils, nutraceuticals and the like — they’ll continue to be desribed as “algae companies” for some time to come.

It’s gone global as an R&D effort. But who’s making news now — who’s reaching for scale?

In today’s Digest, we look at 10 on the Move on the Mountain, racing towards scale. What are their strategiies, their products, their protection, who are their Sherpas and sponsors?  

1.

Algae.Tec

Summary

Algae.Tec Ltd, founded in 2007, is an Australian 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 bioreactor, an enclosed modular engineered technology, is designed to grow non-GMO algae on an industrial scale, and produce biofuels that replace predominantly imported fossil fuels. 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 uses an enclosed modular high-yield algae growth manufacturing system to produce sustainable and renewable oil for fuel. The enclosed photo-reactor system offers cost, scale and yield advantages over the open pond method. In addition, the Algae.Tec system is designed to capture carbon dioxide waste (Carbon Capture and Storage CCS) from power plants and manufacturing facilities which feeds into the algae growth system.

algae.tec-2

In the News

Algae.Tec signed a deal with Australia’s largest power company to site an algae carbon capture and biofuels production facility alongside a 2640MW coal-fired power station near Sydney. Power company Macquarie Generation one of the largest in the world and owned by the New South Wales Government, has signed an agreement to site the Algae.Tec facility next to the Bayswater coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley NSW, and feed waste carbon dioxide into the enclosed algae growth system.

Bayswater uses approximately 7.5 million tonnes of coal per year and delivers power to eastern Australia, from South Australia to Northern Queensland. It is the centre-piece of the New South Wales energy system.

Algae.Tec tapped Biodiesel Industries Australia (BIA), to refine algal oil from its carbon capture and biofuels production facility alongside a 2640MW coal-fired power station near Sydney. The oil, to be produced from the Algae.Tec facility planned for 2014 at Macquarie Generation’s Bayswater coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley NSW, will be refined by BIA then used locally by mining and industry in the Hunter region. “This 50 million litre Algae.Tec deal would put us on a world-scale for biofuels refining,” said BIA Managing Director Andrew Hill said the company currently produced biodiesel for clients including Caltex, local councils, and the mining industry.

Past milestones

In September 2012, Algae.Tec and Lufthansa signed a Collaboration Agreement for the construction of a large-scale algae to aviation biofuels production facility. The site will be in Europe adjacent to an industrial CO2 source. Lufthansa will arrange 100% funding for the project. Algae.Tec will receive licence fees and profits from the Project, which will be managed by Algae.Tec. As part of the Agreement, Lufthansa commits to a long-term offtake agreement of at least 50% of the crude oil produced at an agreed price

The agreement forms the base for a long-term cooperation between Algae.Tec and Lufthansa for the industrial production of crude algae suitable for conversion into aviation kerosene and conventional diesel fuels.

In August 2012, he Algae.Tec advanced engineered algae to biofuels facility Shoalhaven One was officially opened today by the New South Wales Minister for Resources and Energy the Honourable Chris Hartcher, MP.

 

2.

Algenol Biofuels

Summary

Algenol LLC is a global, development stage, industrial biotechnology company that makes biofuels and high-value industrial chemicals cost-effectively from abundant, renewable resources. Algenol uses hybrid blue-green algae and specially designed photobioreactors as a sustainable, proprietary platform for making its products from carbon dioxide, sunlight, and saltwater. The Company’s first product is ethanol for the biofuel and ethylene markets that it produces with its patented DIRECT TO ETHANOL process. Oil giant Reliance Industries is an investor.

algenol

In the News

In March, Algenol confirmed that the company had exceeded production rates 9,000 gallons of ethanol per acre per year — and company CEO Paul Woods said that ” I fully expect our talented scientific team to achieve sustained production rates above 10,000 by the end of this year.”
Just last September, in the opening plenary session at the Algae Biomass Summit, Woods revealed that the company, at its 4-acre, outdoor Process Development Unit in Lee County, Florida, had achieved continuous production of ethanol at the 7,000 gallon per acre level.
It was a substantial increase over the company’s original target of 6,000 gpa, and were achieved in outdoor operation under normal operating conditions.
With the news, Woods confirmed that the company, after completing major construction activities at their integrated pilot scale biorefinery in 2012, has fully shifted focus to demonstrating the commercial viability of Direct to Ethanol technology at its pilot facility and identifying sites for commercial projects to begin in 2014.

Last month, Algenol CEO Paul Woods told NBC that he plans to switch a $500M advanced biofuels project to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona — among other possible sites, after Governor Rick Scott signed a bill to repeal the state’s E10 ethanol mandate. Woods noted that his current 30-acre R&D facility in Lee County, Florida now employs 120 workers with an average salary of $98,000 per year, but the prospect of a major commercial project in Florida was not enough to tempt the governor, who said in response that he does not support mandates for targeted industries.

Technology

The DIRECT TO ETHANOL technology uses the power of the sun, carbon dioxide, seawater and hybrid algae to produce ethanol and other green chemicals. Algenol hybrid algae use carbon dioxide as a feedstock. The efficiency of carbon dioxide conversion to ethanol is quite high.

Products

First product will be transportation ethanol for the growing fuel market. Algenol also has a small but focused group working on the green chemistry. At commercial scale, Algenol intends to have capital cost between $4.00-$6.00 /gallons and operating cost under $0.90/gallon.

Past Milestones

In the first quarter of 2011, Algenol completed the construction of its 49,000 sq. ft. research facility located in Lee County. This allowed Algenol to consolidate all its US operations that consist of engineering, aquaculture, physiology, analytical chemistry and molecular biology.

Construction on the 36 acre outdoor Integrated Biorefinery has begun in Fort Myers Florida (Lee County).

Algenol completed the acquisition of Cyano-Biofuels located in Berlin, Germany. The acquisition significantly increased Algenol’s research and development capacity and strengthened its access to European expertise in biotechnology and algal research.

Algenol completed an approximately $90 million private financing with a major multinational petroleum corporation that has become a new strategic partner for Algenol.

Future Milestones

Algenol intends to complete its DOE Biorefinery in 2013. At full scale, the facility will consist of 17 acres filled with photobioreactors, and will produce 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year.

Competitive Edge

Algenol has pioneered the production of ethanol using cyanobacteria and has been issued several patents in the field. Algenol’s unique photobioreactor and its energy efficient separations technology result in the DIRECT TO ETHANOL process having a net energy yield (energy out vs. energy in) of nearly 4 to 1. This combination of factors leads to a target cost of production of ethanol below $1.00 per gallon. In collaboration with Georgia Tech, Algenol has published its Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) in a peer-reviewed journal demonstrating an 80% reduction in its carbon footprint when compared to gasoline.

The Algenol website.

3.

Aurora Algae

Summary

Aurora Algae (formerly known as Aurora Biofuels) is a producer of high-performance, premium algae-based products for the pharmaceutical, nutrition, aquaculture and fuels markets.

Aurora burst onto the scene in June 2008 with the announcement that it had raised $20 million in series A financing from Oak Investment Partners, Noventi and Gabriel Venture Partners. Gabriel and Noventi had participated in a seed stage round. Aurora uses technology developed by Berkeley professor Tasios Melis for an open-pond algae production system to produce a range of products from algae. The company says that its process reduces the cost of biodiesel production by half, compared to current methods.

Aurora leapt into the news in 2011 with a projected $1.30 cost for algae in its second-generation technology, due in 2013.

aurora-algae

In the News

In June, Aurora Algae said it is boosting its production with a $300 million facility in Karratha to produce omega oils, aqua-feed and biofuels. The project is a result of a $10 million, three-year feasibility study into the company’s chosen algae Nannochloropsis A new report from Western Australia’s Future Directions International says that the growing algae industry could mean $50 billion a year and create up to 50,000 new jobs nationwide.

Products

The portfolio is comprised of four “algae-to-product” (A2 product) categories:

A2 Omega-3—a family of Omega-3 oils aimed at the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets with the goal of providing a natural, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to fish oil and fermented products. The first offering in this family, A2 EPA Pure™ will make the benefits of EPA available to a broader market since it is derived from an allergen-free, vegetarian source.
A2 Feed—a family of protein-rich algal grains specifically designed for the animal and aquaculture markets to supply a high-quality feedstock to raise sustainably farmed fish and healthy animals.
A2 Fuel—a family of biomass and biodiesel applications providing renewable alternatives for transportation and other energy-related markets.
A2 Protein—a family of protein-rich powder products for the food and beverage industry.

Past milestones:

AlwaysOn named Aurora Algae in the AlwaysOn 100.

The company completed an 18-month pilot in early 2009, and VC backer Jim Long of Gabriel Venture Partners told a group of biofuels execs at Biofuels: Science and Innovation that algae was “the focus” at GVP as far as biofuels.

In California, Aurora Algae announced that it has succeeded in optimizing its base algae strains to more than double CO2 consumption and fuel production, and has proven these results in an outdoor open system over the last several months. The company said that it has developed a proprietary process which allows for the superior selection and breeding of non-transgenic algae.

In September 2010, the company confirmed its emergence as Aurora Algae. The company also said that it would be transitioning from a pilot technology development to full-scale commercialization of the Company’s proprietary algae products, including high concentration eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA Omega-3 fatty acids), high-density proteins, fish meal and renewable fuels. The company’s key technology – an optimized strain of salt-water algae that is lighter in color than wild-type algae—allows deeper penetration of sunlight, thereby extending the zone for algae reproduction and increasing yield. The company said it has also adapted a technique used in the waste-water industry for low-cost algal harvesting.

In October 2010, Aurora Algae announced the company is expanding operations with the opening of a new regional headquarters in Perth, Australia. The new office, to be led by Australian Managing Director and Aurora Algae Co-Founder Matthew Caspari, will oversee the construction and operation of Aurora Algae’s first commercial-scale facility in the Northwest region of the country. In Q3, the company announced an expansion of their product portfolio to include renewable fuels, high concentration Omega-3 fatty acids, high-density proteins and fish feed.

In April 2011, Aurora Algae opened its demonstration facility in Karratha, Western Australia, where the Company’s algae-based biomass is being harvested for products in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable energy markets. The company has also secured an option agreement on over 1,500 acres of land located near its demonstration facility, which will allow it to begin the process of constructing a full-scale commercial facility equipped to manufacture thousands of tons of algae-based biomass annually.

Aurora also announced that it had received $946,000 AUD in additional LEEDS grant funding, and $750,000 AUD in research and development (R&D) tax credits from the Australian government for hitting key production and construction milestones. The company previously announced $750,000 AUD in LEEDS funding as part of a total potential grant of $2 million AUD.

Future milestones

Aurora produces 15 metric tons of biomass per month from its open and operating demonstration facility in Karratha Western Australia. The Company has secured land and intends to break ground on a full scale commercial facility close to the current site. This facility will size up from the current six – 1acre ponds to 250 acres at opening and will continue to scale exponentially.

The Aurora Algae website.

4.

BioProcess Algae

Summary

BioProcess Algae produces low-cost, high-quality algae feedstocks for a variety of downstream markets including food, feeds and fuels. BioProcess is based in Portsmouth, RI and is currently running a demonstration facility at the Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa. Grower Harvester bioreactors have been tied directly into the plant’s CO2 exhaust gas since October 2009. Initial co-location strategy has focused on bridging First Generation biofuels to Next Generation biofuels and bioproducts.

bioprocess-algae-2

In the News

BioProcess Algae was selected to receive a grant of up to $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as part of an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery project related to production of hydrocarbon fuels meeting military specification. The project will use renewable carbon dioxide, lignocellulosic sugars and waste heat through BioProcess Algae’s Grower Harvester technology platform, co-located with the Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. ethanol plant in Shenandoah.

Past Milestones

1. We announced commercial supply agreement for EPA-rich Omega-3 oils with KD-Pharma for use in concentrated EPA products for nutritional and/or pharmaceutical applications. June 2012
2. Groundbreaking on Five Acre Production Facility (Phase III) at Green Plains in Shenandoah, Iowa following the unveiling of our commercial scale bioreactors (Phase II) less than a year prior in April 2011. February 2012
3. Successful algae-based poultry feed trails complete. Algae strains produced for feed trials demonstrated high energy and protein content that were readily available, similar to other high value feed products used in the feeding of poultry today.

Future Milestones

1. Completion of Phase III project co-located with Green Plains in Shenandoah, Iowa that we broke ground on in February 2012. Commercial operation planned for end of this year.
2. Continue construction of 200 acres of bioreactor system in Shenandoah, Iowa.
3. Continue roll-out of production platform co-located with teaming Green Plains owned ethanol facilities, finalize design of first co-located bioreactor system in generation industry.

Business Model (e.g. owner-operator, technology licensor, fee-based industry supplier, investor): Owner-operator potentially followed by technology licensing, royalties and operational support to accelerate co-location roll-out.

Competitive Edge

• Low Cost
• Scalable
• Co-location advantaged with all CO2 emitters

The BioProcess Algae website.

5.

Cellana

Summary

Cellana, a leading developer of algae-based bioproducts, uses the most productive plants on earth – marine microalgae – to produce its ReNew(TM) line of Omega-3 EPA and DHA oils, animal feed, and biofuel feedstocks. Cellana’s patented ALDUO(TM) system enables economic, sustainable, and consistent production of photosynthetic, non-GMO algae at industrial scale. Cellana intends to construct and operate commercial facilities to produce these products as integrated algae-based biorefineries. To date, over $100 million has been invested in developing Cellana’s algae strains, patented and proprietary production technologies, and its Kona Demonstration Facility.

cellana

In the news

Neste Oil, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel, has signed a contingent commercial off-take agreement with Cellana, an algae biomass developer based in the United States. The agreement will enable Neste Oil to purchase Cellana’s algae oil for use as a feedstock in the future for producing renewable fuel. The agreement is contingent on Cellana’s future production capacity and on compliance with future biofuel legislation in the EU and US, among other factors.

Cellana expects to be able to produce algae oil on a commercial scale from late 2015 onwards. Based in Hawaii and California, Cellana has almost a decade of experience in growing oil-rich algae in its pilot- and demonstration-scale facilities in Hawaii using sea water in its photo-bioreactors and open ponds. Samples have shown that Cellana is able to produce algae oil suitable for renewable fuel production by Neste Oil.

“We want to support R&D efforts on new, sustainably produced raw materials and increased production of algae oil, which is one of the most interesting future alternatives in this area. Studies have already shown that algae oil can be used successfully in our NExBTL process,” says Neste Oil’s Senior Vice President, Technology, Lars Peter Lindfors. “The off-take agreement with Cellana allows us access to commercial-scale volumes of cost-competitive algae oil in the future. This new agreement fits very well with our strategy aimed at extending the range of feedstocks we use for NExBTL renewable fuel.”

The agreement between Neste Oil and Cellana is non-exclusive and allows each company to enter into additional agreements with other parties. Neste Oil is involved in university-led algae research projects in Australia and the Netherlands that are testing a range of methods for cultivating algae outdoors.

Neste Oil is currently the world’s only biofuel producer capable of refining premium-quality renewable fuel from over 10 different feedstocks on an industrial scale. Research is also under way at Neste Oil on using agricultural and forestry residues to produce microbial oil for feedstock purposes at a new pilot plant at the company’s Technology Centre in Porvoo.

Products

Whole algae biomass consists of natural oils, proteins, sugars, minerals, and other micronutrients that can make valuable feedstocks or supplements for human nutrition, animal feed, and biofuel applications. Cellana’s patented ALDUO process has produced over 20 metric tons (dry weight) of whole algae biomass to date, branded ReNew Algae, from a diverse variety of carefully selected, non-GMO microalgae strains. These industrial-scale quantities of ReNew Algae, and their valuable components, have been tested by Cellana and potential customers in all three of the following key application areas:

ReNew Fuel. Cellana’s ReNewTM Fuel consists of fuel-grade crude oils that are extracted from ReNew Algae. ReNew Fuel has been successfully tested by major energy companies, as well as by large-scale producers and refiners of petroleum-based fuels and biofuels from crop-based feedstocks. Algae-based biocrude applications provide renewable, sustainable, and economic feedstock alternatives for transportation fuels, particularly jet fuels for commercial and military aircraft.

ReNew Omega-3. Cellana’s ReNewTM Omega-3 consists of high-value Omega-3 nutritional oils that are extracted from ReNew AlgaeTM, primarily EPA and DHA. These Omega-3 oils are essential fatty acids that are made naturally only by algae from marine sources. Cellana’s ReNew EPA and ReNew DHA products enable producers to Cut Out The Middle FishTM and supply renewable, more sustainable, and vegetarian Omega-3 products without contributing to potential overfishing or exposure to fish-based pollutants such as mercury, dioxins, and PCBs. Product samples are currently being evaluated by potential customers in the nutraceutical and functional food industries.

ReNew Feed. Cellana’s ReNew Feed consists of the high-protein algae meal that remains after oils have been extracted from ReNew Algae. ReNew Feed leverages algae’s ability to provide an alternative, more sustainable, high-protein feed source for the aquaculture and animal feed markets. Multiple large- scale feeding trials for finfish, shellfish, pigs, chickens, and cattle, among other species of farmed animals, have been successfully completed or are underway in the United States, Europe, and Asia, involving more than 5 metric tons of ReNew Feed. This collectively represents one of the largest and most extensive set of feeding trials involving algae meal ever conducted in the world.

Past milestones

Back in 2011, Cellana said it was seeking looking for $70 million to $90 million in venture capital to expand its algae-based biofuels plans to include fish food and nutraceuticals. The investment is for a 217-acre commercial facility on Maui that the company hopes to have up and running in the next four years. It is currently producing 1.5 tons of algae per month at its demo plant at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority near Kona.

6.

Heliae

Summary

Heliae is a platform technology company that uses sunlight and waste carbon to produce high-value products from algae. Based in Gilbert, Ariz., Heliae is leveraging its core production technology into four target markets: nutrition, therapeutics, health & beauty and agrosciences. With a seasoned management team and world-class science, Heliae is advancing the future of the algae industry by delivering novel algae-based products to dynamic markets around the world.

In the News

Earlier this month, Heliae announced it has raised $28.4 million in funding from existing and new investors. Existing investors include select members of the Mars family and the ASEAN-based global conglomerate Salim Group, through one of its subsidiaries, Agri Investments Pte Ltd.

The funding will be used to support the operation and expansion of Heliae’s first commercial facility in Gilbert, Ariz. The facility will be operational in September of 2013, supplying high-value personal care and nutraceutical products to existing customers.

heliae

Competitive edge

Volaris combines the best of existing algae production pathways, utilizing both sunlight and waste carbon feedstocks to optimize facility economics. “The algae industry has been hindered by the limits of conventional technology,” stated Lee Tonkovich, Heliae’s vice president of research & development. “Phototrophy and heterotrophy, both have their weaknesses – namely contamination and low growth rates in phototrophy and extremely high capital and operating expenses in heterotrophy. We’ve developed a hybrid mixotrophic pathway which drives down capital costs, reduces contamination, and increases productivity to dramatically improve the economics of algae production.” The productivity gains Volaris provides will reduce much of the land required for a commercial facility.

Past milestones

In spring 2013, Heliae announced a partnership with Evodos to offer its proprietary Spiral Plate Technology to North America. The Evodos harvesting process delivers a dewatered live algae paste that is over 98 percent free of extracellular water and extremely stable for product development.

With this deal in place, Heliae has a license to distribute the Evodos technology with a focus on the North American markets. Heliae will be including Evodos harvesting technology in its new commercial facility scheduled for completion in Q3 2013, but will begin distribution for Evodos immediately.

Heliae announced the launch of its patent pending microalgae production platform, Volaris. Volaris is the result of five years of targeted innovation, investment and commitment to delivering a commercially validated technology platform for producing high purity microalgae at competitive prices. Volaris is a game-changer that will enable large-scale production for diverse markets and provide a natural, sustainable, and consistent supply of algae-based products to meet worldwide demand.

The Volaris platform is a core piece of technology amongst Heliae’s diverse intellectual property portfolio, which now includes more than 50 issued patents across the algae value chain, making it a top 3 US patent holder in the algae space. Deployment of the Volaris platform supports significant growth and commercial activities in Heliae’s target markets including nutrition, therapeutics, health & beauty, and agrosciences and will enable Heliae to fulfill several outstanding commercial contracts.

Heliae’s website.

7.

Muradel

Summary

Muradel is a start-up company that originated from a joint research project undertaken between the University of Adelaide, Murdoch University and SQC Pty Ltd. The project team at Murdoch University was able to isolate and optimise the production of high lipid yielding marine microalgae strains and the University of Adelaide team developed appropriate downstream processing technology, which was demonstrated at the project pilot plant located in Karratha, WA. Importantly the project concluded that microalgae-derived biodiesel produced via traditional trans-esterification processes was not a viable option, but produced important IP in relation to managing large-scale growth of marine algae in open paddle wheel mixed ponds and the associated downstream processing technology.

The University of Adelaide project team sought further funding through the Australian Research Council to advance the integration and development of their technology to improve the economic viability of Muradel’s processes and ensure that they are truly sustainable. The ARC approved the project (ARCLP100200616) in 2010 and funding ($940K) commenced in 2011.

A major aim of the ARCLP work was to optimise the recycle of substrate (nutrients and water) from as many sources as practical within the microalgae to fuel processes to overcome one of the main hurdles for economic viability, which is the supply and cost of nutrients (carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorous). 

The 2 projects allowed Muradel to continue R&D for the production of green crude from marine microalgae that can be processed in existing oil refinery infrastructure for traditional liquid transportation fuels.

muradel

In the News

Last month, the Australian Minister for Resources and Energy, The Hon. Gary Gray AO MP, unveiled the first “green crude” produced by Muradel from microalgae at pilot scale.“ Australia is in a strong position to capitalise on the growing global biofuel market, with companies like Muradel leveraging our abundance of sun and space to grow sustainable feedstocks, and applying their expertise to drive down the cost of advanced biofuels,” Minister Gray said.

Muradel converted the algae to green crude as part of a $10.7 million project supported by a $4.4 million investment from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and $2 million through SQC . In the next phase of the project, Muradel will construct a scaled-up demonstration plant near Whyalla, South Australia, to further reduce the cost of producing the green crude. The site at Whyalla has been approved by the Whyalla Council and Muradel has commenced the design for the demonstration plant, the tendering process and community consultation. The demonstration plant is scheduled for completion early next year.

Past Milestones

1) Establishment of a viable saline tolerant microalgae for biofuels production
2) Development, operation and research with a pilot plant facility near Karratha in Western Australia
3) Development of a low a energy algae harvesting system

Future Milestones

1) To development of a demonstration scaled algae biofuels plant at Whyalla , South Australia
2) To establishment of a algae biomass conversion to green crude
3) To achieve justifiable commercial readiness for an integrated system for the production of renewable fuel

Products

Algal biofuels technology development and future commercialisation based on elite algae genus of Tetraselmis, Algae harvesting technology, and Australian location and Government support

Competitive Edge

1) An elite saline tolerant microalgae
2) Cost effective and reliable algae harvesting technology

Muradel’s website.

 

8.

Pond Biofuels

Summary

Pond Biofuels converts raw smokestack emissions from heavy industry to algal biomass.  Algal biomass has value.  One tonne of algae can yield 100 litres of diesel, conservatively valued at 85 cents per litre.  Once the algae oil is extracted for bio-diesel production, the remaining biomass can be used as a renewable coal substitute, valued at more than $180/tonne.  Heavy industry emits massive amounts of CO2, a green house gas (GHG), widely viewed to have a negative environmental impact – and targeted for reductions in many jurisdictions.  These same GHG emissions, however, are feedstock for the Pond process. Thus an unwanted byproduct of industry becomes a significant source of revenue.

In most jurisdictions, future CO2 emissions have been benchmarked or “capped”. Production ofindustrial CO2 in excess of these amounts will result in increased taxation or necessitate the purchase of offsetting CO2 credits on the open market. Alternative technologies for carbon capture are unproven, expensive and revenue negative. Competing bio-photosynthetic solutions using open ponds require vast amounts of adjacent land to the emitter. Moreover, these systems are limited to the number of “growing days” in a particular region.

Pond Biofuels provides a scalable turnkey system that utilizes an emitter’s CO2 as feedstock for algae growth. It operates year round with no disruption to the host facility processes. The Pond solution requires a fraction of the land that would otherwise be required by a competitive algal solution.Customers are eligible for Carbon Credits for the realized reduction in CO2 emissions, a secure supply of biodiesel and biomass, and a “Greener” product to market. Low Capex and high Gross Margins provide an opportunity for private sector participation in the construction of the Pond Biofuels production facility.

pond-biofuels

In the News

In May, the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), Canadian Natural Resources Limited, and Pond Biofuels announced plans to build a $19-million facility in Alberta to convert greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian oilsands into biofuels. The company will use algae to recycle carbon dioxide emissions from Canadian Natural’s Primrose South oilsands site. The project is expected to be completed in three years.

Competitive Edge

Pond Biofuels has used a disciplined approach to innovation management, as required for the implementation of the Business Plan and Strategy.  After successfully completing the first 4 stages (milestones shown at right) identified with the highest technical risk, Pond Biofuels has secured an Intellectual Property portfolio that includes 6 patents filed, and 4 in process.

Past Milestones

Pond’s close collaboration with St. Marys Cement and its parent company Votorantim, have provided a clear focus and paved a direct path for potential deployment of our technology at their over 100 plants worldwide.  Beginning in January 2011, Pond will be completing the commercialization of its Industrial Platform, operating at economically sustainable levels.  This work will launch the world’s first operating industrial scale algae plant, capturing 30% of St. Marys emissions, to be constructed beginning 2012.

With the successful completion of its demonstration plant at St. Marys Cement, Pond Biofuels is one of only 4 microalgae companies in the world to grow algae from raw stack gas. Votorantim, the parent company of St. Marys Cement based in Brazil, owns 25 cement plants worldwide. In addition to cement, Pond Biofuels is targeting other large CO2emitting industries, including steel, coal-fired power generation, oil refining, chemicals and glass manufacturing.

9.

Sapphire Energy

Sapphire Energy produces algae-based “Green Crude” oil, a completely fungible substitute for fossil-based crude oil. It’s renewable, scalable, and can be refined into our most important liquid transportation fuels: jet-fuel, diesel, and gasoline that are completely compatible with existing infrastructure and engines. The company’s process uses sunlight, CO2, non-potable water, and non-arable land to grow algae in ponds.

Sapphire Energy is headquartered and has an R&D facility in San Diego, CA, an outdoor R&D facility in Las Cruces, NM, and its’ Green Crude Farm in Columbus, NM. As the world’s first commercial demonstration scale algae-to-energy farm, the Green Crude Farm integrates biotechnology, agriculture and energy to demonstrate the entire value chain of algae-based crude oil production, from cultivation, to harvest, to extraction of ready-to-refine Green Crude.

farm-sapphire

In the News

Sapphire and Linde just announced that they will expand their partnership to commercialize a new industrial scale conversion technology needed to upgrade algae biomass into crude oil.

Together, the companies will refine the hydrothermal treatment process developed and operated today by Sapphire Energy at pilot-scale.

In addition, they will jointly license and market the technology into an expanded list of industries, including algae, municipal solid waste, and farm waste, in order to upgrade other biomass sources into energy. The agreement spans a minimum of five years through the development of Sapphire Energy’s first commercial scale, algae-to-energy production facility.

Past Milestones

• On-time and on-budget completion of the first phase of Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm (100 wet acres), which began production on June 1, 2011.
• Commencement of year-round operations at the Green Crude Farm with continuous cultivation, harvesting and extraction process in-place and exceeding company’s output goals.
• Between 2010 and 2012, Sapphire Energy announced collaborations with the Monsanto Company, The Linde Group, Earthrise, and the Institute for Systems Biology, as well as closed a series-C funding round that brought total company funding to over 300 million dollars.

Future milestones

• Year-round Green Crude Oil production. Sapphire Energy recently announced that it is successfully extracting Green Crude oil year-round from biomass grown at the Green Crude Farm.
• Securing off-take agreement partnerships for Green Crude oil. Sapphire Energy recently announced its first commercial refiner agreement with Tesoro Refining and Marketing.
• Continued improvement of technologies and expanding capacity at the Green Crude Farm in order to scale up production and increase oil yields. Sapphire Energy expects to be at commercial demonstration scale in 2014.

Competitive Edge

Sapphire Energy is the only company that is currently producing renewable crude oil from algae that fits into the existing infrastructure for crude oil and finished transportation fuels. Its focus is to develop the entire value chain of technology needed to produce renewable crude oil from algae to compete with new sources of crude oil. Sapphire Energy has intellectual property across the entire algae-to-energy value chain, from seed, to cultivation, to harvest and extraction. The company’s proprietary processes are protected with over 300 active patent cases.

10.

Solazyme

Summary:

Solazyme is a renewable oil and bioproducts company that transforms a range of low-cost plant-based sugars into high-value oils. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Solazyme’s renewable products can replace or enhance oils derived from the world’s three existing sources – petroleum, plants and animal fats. Initially, Solazyme is focused on commercializing its products into three target markets: (1) fuels and chemicals, (2) nutrition and (3) skin and personal care.

Solazyme has developed a proprietary biotechnology platform that creates tailored oils to address products across the fuels and chemicals, nutritional, and beauty and personal care markets. Solazyme’s innovative capability to “tailor oils” refers to their ability to produce oil with specific desired chain lengths, saturation and functional branching, providing benefits and functionality beyond those typically available with traditional oils.

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In the News:

Solazyme-Bunge. Solazyme and Bunge have broken ground on a their 100,000 metric ton renewable oil production facility adjacent to Bunge’s Moema sugarcane mill in Brazil. Construction started on schedule and the plant is targeted to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2013. It will service the renewable chemical and fuel industries within the Brazilian marketplace and will initially target 100,000 metric tons per year of renewable oil production.

In November 2012, Solazyme and Bunge announced in a framework agreement that they intend to expand production capacity from 100,000 metric tons to 300,000 metric tons globally by 2016, and that the portfolio of oils will broaden to include a range of healthy and nutritious edible food oils for sale in Brazil.

Last month, Solazyme and Roquette Frères announced the dissolution of their two-year old joint venture, Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals. The cause, “divergent views on an acceptable commercial strategy and timeline for the manufacturing and marketing of joint venture products” and in the announcement, Solazyme tipped that it “intends to accelerate commercialization of its suite of innovative microalgal food ingredients.” Important to note – this is styled as a disagreement on timeline, rather than technology. The primary product in question, Solazyme
Roquette algal flour, has been cleared by the FDA and commissioning of what had been expected to be the next-phase in commercial capacity built-out, in Lestrem, started on time.

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Products

– Solajet™: 100% algal-derived renewable jet fuel
– Solazyme’s 100% algal-derived hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ-5) meets military specifications
– SoladieselRD® : 100% algal- derived renewable diesel
– Solazyme’s 100% algal-derived hydrotreated renewable diesel (HRF-76) meets military specifications
– Algenist™, a line of advanced anti-aging skincare products formulated with alguronic acid, sold at 850 Sephora locations throughout the US and Europe and all 26 Canadian Sephora stores. Algenist has been sold on Canada’s only nationally televised shopping service, The Shopping Channel, in addition to QVC in the US, one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world. Algenist is also available throughout the United Kingdom in all 60 retail locations of the innovative beauty retailer, Space NK.

Past Milestones

– Produced over 283,000 liters of military-spec diesel (HRF-76) for U.S. Navy contract. Further solidifying its relationship with the U.S. Navy, Solazyme has completed production of over 283,000 liters of in-spec marine diesel fuel, HRF-76, for the U.S. Navy, in fulfillment of the first phase of its Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) contract that calls for production of up to 550,000 liters in two phases.

– Signed framework agreement with Bunge Limited for commercial renewable oil plant in Brazil. Both companies have entered into a framework agreement for the formation of a joint venture focused on the production of triglyceride oils in Brazil. The JV will focus on the production of triglyceride oils from sugar cane, and will result in the construction of the first commercial facility dedicated to tailored oils.

– Partnered with Dow Chemical for development of Solazyme’s micro algae-derived oils for use in bio-based dialectic insulating fluids. Solazyme and Dow Chemical announced a non-binding agreement for the execution of both a joint development agreement and a letter of intent to advance the development of Solazyme’s algal oils for use in bio-based dialectic insulating fluids.

– Purchase of Peoria, IL facility and commencement of the build-out of Peoria facility including DOE approval of relocation of IBR . Solazyme will shift the location of its integrated biorefinery to its Peoria facility. Solazyme began the build-out of this recently acquired facility, adding fermentation capacity and performing upgrades after completion of the acquisition in May 2011.

Future Milestones

– By the end of 2014, Solazyme expects to be approaching its goal of having 550,000 metric tons of production capacity by 2015, which would support over $1 billion in product revenue

Competitive Edge:

Feedstock and target market flexibility. Solazyme’s technology platform provides them with the flexibility to choose from among multiple feedstocks on the input side and multiple specific products (and markets) on the output side, while using the same standard industrial fermentation equipment.

Low production cost enables broad market access. The production cost profile Solazyme has already achieved provides attractive margins when utilizing partner and contract manufacturing for the nutrition, and skin and personal care markets in which they are currently selling their products.

Tailored oils. Solazyme has created a paradigm that enables the company to design and produce novel tailored oils that cannot be achieved through blending of existing oils alone. These tailored oils offer enhanced value as compared to conventional oils. Their oils are drop-in replacements such that they are compatible with existing production, refining, finishing and distribution infrastructure in all of their target markets.

Technology proven at scale. Solazyme believes that they have produced more non-ethanol, microbial-based fuels and oils than any other company in the advanced biofuels industry. From January 2010 through February 2011, Solazyme produced well over 500,000 liters (455 metric tons) of oil.

Further solidifying its relationship with the U.S. Navy, Solazyme has completed production of over 283,000 liters of in-spec marine diesel fuel, HRF-76, for the U.S. Navy, in fulfillment of the first phase of its Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) contract that calls for production of up to 550,000 liters in two phases.

Commercial products today. In 2010, Solazyme launched its first product, the Golden Chlorella® line of dietary supplements, as a market development initiative, with products incorporating Golden Chlorella currently being sold at retailers including Whole Foods and GNC.

The Solazyme website.

Category: Top Stories

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