Algae Movers & Shakers: PetroAlgae

PetroAlgae was most recently in the news with expansion of their international sales staff to 28 people. Licensing commenced earlier this spring with an Asian deal focused on China and part of southern Japan. The company’s model farm is 12,500 acres and produces 60 Mgy of fuel and as much or more value in proteins, according to company execs.

In all, PetroAlgae added nine representatives in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The new team members bring experience from BP, ConocoPhillips, Cargill, Trinity Industries, Merrill Lynch and Syngenta. The company has grown to an employee base of 115, up 28 percent from the 90 staff that company has on the payrolls in December.

“The company now has virtually all of the elements in place to meet its goal of bringing its micro-crop technology to market this year giving PetroAlgae the first-mover advantage in a multi-billion dollar renewable-fuels market,” said PetroAlgae Chairman Dr. John Scott.

An update on PetroAlgae’s progress appeared in the Digest last month, in which the company said that it believes it is the closest company to commercialization of micro crops as a biofuel, will complete its microcrop demonstration farm in Florida this year and will commence booking revenues from technology licenses this year.

PetroAlgae management said that it is in discussions with customers in China, India, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany, the UK., Singapore, Finland and the U.S. In March, the company announced that GTB Power had signed to use or sublicense PetroAlgae technology to construct and operate ten facilities in the China, Taiwan, and the Japanese island of Yonaguni.

Chairman John Scott said in a statement to shareholders that “PetroAlgae’s business model is designed to generate revenues from licensing its technology (production systems, micro-crop strains, process controls, etc.) to those with the capital and market know-how to become high-volume producers. We consider our model to be the lowest-risk path to market-strength in what can be a high-risk, emerging industry. We are selling the tools that will allow producers to operate with maximum efficiency in a price-sensitive, competitive environment.”

The company has refocused its position around a broader group of micro-crops — including macroalgae, microalgae, diatoms, micro-angiosperms, and cyanobacteria that can be harvested daily, making maximum use of land, water and energy, and requiring water, nutrients, carbon dioxide and sunlight, and non-arable land.

“We select the best microorganism for each specific location, indigenous to the region,” said Scott, “and then apply our distinct proprietary processes to scale from a microorganism to a high output-producing micro-crop.”

The company revealed that it is generating 40 grams per square meter per day production levels – equivalent to 400 kilograms of biomass per hectare per day, and that the company’s process can now convert carbohydrate content as well as lipids into fuel.

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