4 Minutes With…Han Chen, CEO, Algenetix

Tell us about your organization and it’s role in the Advanced Bioeconomy.

Algenetix is a renewable biotechnology company addressing the growing global demand for industrial plant oils. PhotoSeed, the company’s€ flagship product, increases the yield and energy (oil) content of renewable energy crops.

Tell us about your role and what you are focused on in the next 12 months.

My 12 month goal is to grow Algenetix from a technology company to a product development one. We have been successful with PhotoSeed now in several crops where we have increased lipids in the vegetative tissue to 8% dry weight. With next generation improvements, Algenetix is aiming for 10%. For high yielding biomass crops, oil yields per acre are forecasted to be 10x that of soybeans. In several existing programs, PhotoSeed has also increased biomass yields by anywhere from 25%-50%. Higher yields will directly drive down feedstock prices.

We look forward to bringing these products from lab to field over the next 24 months. For myself and the team it will be a great achievement to see this science reduced to practice in our target crops and in the hands of customers. We will also be expanding our customer relationships as well as engineering partnerships on the processing side. The goal will be to show POC for an integrated system with biodiesel production under $2.00/gal.

What do you feel are the most important milestones the industry must achieve in the next 5 years?

The industry needs a success to rally behind. Success won’t even have to be about scale, but innovations that completely change the current production paradigm and can offer the step wise changes necessary to reach commercial feasibility. This will require significant technology partnerships across several areas (biotech, new crops, engineering)

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the Advanced Bioeconomy, what would you change?

As a start up, reluctance of investors is always at the top of the list. For those of us late to the party, we are picking up the tab of previous mistakes. The need for a bioeconomy is not going away, so the long term financial attractiveness of the industry is there. I would hope that investors take a new look with fresh eyes.

Of all the reasons that influenced you to join the Advanced Bioeconomy industry, what single reason stands out for you as still being compelling and important to you?

Growing up I wanted to be a superhero- where I could save the planet, end wars and improve the human condition. Creating sustainable domestic sources of bio energies and materials does all three in my mind.

What was your undergraduate major in college, and where did you attend? Why did you choose that school and that pathway? 

I attended Amherst College where I was a political science major. I thought I could change the world through policy. I later learned that innovation is much faster.

Who do you consider your mentors? What have you learned from them?

My mentor is Dr. Jerry Caulder. Jerry hired me as an intern when I first started in the industry and took me under his wing. I was able to draw on over forty years of industry knowledge and success, which became a springboard for us to launch Algenetix.

The greatest lesson Jerry taught me was how to be a good manager. Jerry’s greatest strength is that he brings out the best in everyone. He creates an environment where people are not afraid to challenge each other and themselves. For a start-up, there is nothing more important than a team that is willing to push the envelope. This is a management philosophy that I try to live up to everyday.

What’s the biggest lesson you ever learned during a period of adversity?

The most surprising and refreshing lesson I have learned during my period of adversity is to never underestimate the generosity of your peers. In an industry that is characterized by competition and first to market, I have always been pleasantly surprised at how many of my fellow entrepreneurs, investors and team members will come to my aid. I think beyond the success of our own companies, all of us want the industry to be successful overall. I think this is driven by the fact that we are not trying to create the lowest cost widget but to truly make the world a better place.

What hobbies do you pursue, away from your work in the industry? 

Hobbies?? What’s that…