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University of Texas and other area researchers are on forefront of studying promising biofuel. The U Tex also has an excellent culture collection of various algae species.
This article provides an overview of the kind of stuff available at U of Texas; it also provides useful details on a range of research that is going on in the university in this regard
Full article here
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Friday, October 31, 2008
Aurora Biofuels Raises $20M for Algae to Biofuels
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This is a June 2008 news item, but I felt it could be interesting.
Aurora Biofuels, an algae-to-biodiesel startup, said that it’s raised a second round of funding of $20 million; Oak Investment Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners and Noventi were included in the round.
Developed at the University of California at Berkeley, the company was founded in 2006 and uses genetically modified algae to create biodiesel. So far the company has been working in the labs and at pilot scale. Caspari says Aurora intends to be “the lowest cost producers” of algae for biofuels.
Aurora uses an open pond system to grow its algae, which is less expensive than the “closed system,” but keeping out “weed” organisms is difficult.
More from here
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This is a June 2008 news item, but I felt it could be interesting.
Aurora Biofuels, an algae-to-biodiesel startup, said that it’s raised a second round of funding of $20 million; Oak Investment Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners and Noventi were included in the round.
Developed at the University of California at Berkeley, the company was founded in 2006 and uses genetically modified algae to create biodiesel. So far the company has been working in the labs and at pilot scale. Caspari says Aurora intends to be “the lowest cost producers” of algae for biofuels.
Aurora uses an open pond system to grow its algae, which is less expensive than the “closed system,” but keeping out “weed” organisms is difficult.
More from here
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
Vinod Khosla Feels Algae Are not Yet Ready for Primetime?
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Vinod Khosla told more than 700 people attending the Algal Biomass Summit in Seattle on Oct. 23 that he has five criteria for investing in cutting edge energy technologies. Algae meets four of those criteria but fails on the last. Khosla said he believes the engineering problems of growing and harvesting algae are manageable. And he believes algae will have manageable startup costs and a quick innovation cycle.
Where algae fails to meet Khosla’s criteria is that he doesn’t believe algae will be able to compete unsubsidized with petroleum and other alternatives unsubsidized in the next five to seven years.
What algae needs, Khosla said, is a “black swan” solution. Black swans are those very important, industry disrupting ideas that may seem obvious in retrospect but no one forecast beforehand.
Full news report from here
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Vinod Khosla told more than 700 people attending the Algal Biomass Summit in Seattle on Oct. 23 that he has five criteria for investing in cutting edge energy technologies. Algae meets four of those criteria but fails on the last. Khosla said he believes the engineering problems of growing and harvesting algae are manageable. And he believes algae will have manageable startup costs and a quick innovation cycle.
Where algae fails to meet Khosla’s criteria is that he doesn’t believe algae will be able to compete unsubsidized with petroleum and other alternatives unsubsidized in the next five to seven years.
What algae needs, Khosla said, is a “black swan” solution. Black swans are those very important, industry disrupting ideas that may seem obvious in retrospect but no one forecast beforehand.
Full news report from here
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Australian Government to Spend $15m on Second Generation Biofuels Research
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The Federal Government will spend $15 million on second generation biofuels research and development.
Under the new program businesses and institutions researching second generation biofuels are now able to apply for grants of between $1 million and $5 million.
Second generation biofuels use fuel stocks such as biomass and algae rather than grain or other livestock feed.
Their development is seen as a crucial cog in moving beyond the 'food versus fuel' debate.
More from here
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The Federal Government will spend $15 million on second generation biofuels research and development.
Under the new program businesses and institutions researching second generation biofuels are now able to apply for grants of between $1 million and $5 million.
Second generation biofuels use fuel stocks such as biomass and algae rather than grain or other livestock feed.
Their development is seen as a crucial cog in moving beyond the 'food versus fuel' debate.
More from here
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Algae Biodiesel Nanofarming Research @ Ames Lab
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The U.S. DOE has awarded $885,000 to its Ames Laboratory, which is operated by Iowa State University in Ames, to research using nanoscale particles to harvest chemical compounds—such as triglycerides, neutral lipids, and fatty acids—from microalgae for biodiesel production.
ISU just completed a research project that successfully used chemically-coated, honeycomb-like silica nanoscale particles to penetrate plant cell walls to deliver molecules to the cells. The biodiesel research project will attempt to use the nanoscale particles to penetrate the cell walls of microalgae to harvest chemicals from the algae to produce biodiesel without destroying the organisms - some kind of nanofarming.
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The U.S. DOE has awarded $885,000 to its Ames Laboratory, which is operated by Iowa State University in Ames, to research using nanoscale particles to harvest chemical compounds—such as triglycerides, neutral lipids, and fatty acids—from microalgae for biodiesel production.
ISU just completed a research project that successfully used chemically-coated, honeycomb-like silica nanoscale particles to penetrate plant cell walls to deliver molecules to the cells. The biodiesel research project will attempt to use the nanoscale particles to penetrate the cell walls of microalgae to harvest chemicals from the algae to produce biodiesel without destroying the organisms - some kind of nanofarming.
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Algae Biodiesel is Key Part of IATA’s Green Vision
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Here's a post that talks about the recent and sudden focus that the aviation industry has acquired for algae-based biofuels. The International Air Transport Association is backing the use of second and third generation biofuels to lower jet emissions — and they have set their target on algae. Unfortunately, algae biodiesel is decades and billions of dollars away, feels this post.
While some fuel savings can be achieved by streamlining operations and reducing weight, the IATA is looking to reach emission gains and create feel-good PR for international aviation. The IATA’s Green Vision, or its plan to green the industry, would like to see “zero emission” jets by 2050, but has a short-term goal of 10 percent biofuel use by 2013.
The IATA’s desire for biofuels isn’t coming completely out of left field. Airlines like Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and Lufthansa are trying out biofuel mixes with engine builders, mostly from the usual farm-raised crops like corn. But algae as a power source is mostly limited to government labs, where NASA is partnering with Boeing to study algae biodiesel.
Read more from this post @ BNet
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Here's a post that talks about the recent and sudden focus that the aviation industry has acquired for algae-based biofuels. The International Air Transport Association is backing the use of second and third generation biofuels to lower jet emissions — and they have set their target on algae. Unfortunately, algae biodiesel is decades and billions of dollars away, feels this post.
While some fuel savings can be achieved by streamlining operations and reducing weight, the IATA is looking to reach emission gains and create feel-good PR for international aviation. The IATA’s Green Vision, or its plan to green the industry, would like to see “zero emission” jets by 2050, but has a short-term goal of 10 percent biofuel use by 2013.
The IATA’s desire for biofuels isn’t coming completely out of left field. Airlines like Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and Lufthansa are trying out biofuel mixes with engine builders, mostly from the usual farm-raised crops like corn. But algae as a power source is mostly limited to government labs, where NASA is partnering with Boeing to study algae biodiesel.
Read more from this post @ BNet
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Green Star Products: Energy from Algae is Being Recognized as a Major Solution
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Press Release Source: Green Star Products, Inc.
Thursday October 30, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Green Star Products, Inc. today announced that it is releasing part two of a report covering the assessment of the 2nd Algae Biomass Summit hosted by Byrne & Company and Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.
Part one of this report was published on October 27, 2008 (see 10/27/2008 GSPI press release titled “Green Star States: Energy From Algae Is Being Recognized As A Major Solution” at http://www.greenstarusa.com/news/08-10-27.html).
Joseph LaStella, President of Green Star Products, attended the conference and reported, “Prominent speakers from all over the world displayed their research and the potential of algae to permanently solve the oil crisis, food crisis, and to control the buildup of global warming gases. The algae biological makeup was also investigated for the possibility to produce chemicals and new products limited only by our ingenuity to create them.
“One of the conference highlights was the presentation given by Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) from the state of Washington. Representative Inslee, being a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, has been a long term supporter of national sustainability and energy independence.
“Congressman Inslee started his speech by giving an account of what his father had told him as a young boy in 1959. Holding up a flask of algae, his father (a biologist) told him, 'Someday this will cure the world's energy needs.'
“Congressman Inslee went on to say that the United States needs an energy, environmental and job creation program similar in national commitment to the Apollo Space Program launched by President John F. Kennedy. He also stated that President Kennedy knew that the U.S.A. could beat the Russians to the moon if the United States ingenuity engine was unleashed. A similar program sponsored by Congressman Inslee is called 'The New Apollo Energy Act' which challenges us on energy independence, global warming and creating jobs.
“Congressman Inslee outlined a four point program, to address the triple threat to the U.S.: imported oil, global warming and job losses (http://www.house.gov/inslee/). Representative Inslee asked all 600 participants of the algae summit to go to Washington, D.C., and help him on Capitol Hill.
“Congressman Inslee reminded us that our fathers fought in World War II and left a legacy for Democracy. Those born after World War II, the 'baby boomers,' must now leave a legacy of Clean Energy. Industries cannot keep dumping their garbage into the atmosphere like it's a free sewer, and it is obvious that the U.S. addiction to foreign oil now has critical economic and national security implications.”
Mr. LaStella also states, “There was a clear consensus of opinion from all the industries, including airline, energy and chemical industries, that algae biomass is the answer to this dilemma. Presently, there is no clear pathway to the reduction of cost to produce commercial algae biomass.
“In summary, the summit speakers identified the most important items challenging the commercial production of algae biomass were the reduction of costs associated with capital construction and operation.
“Green Star's Hybrid Algae Production System (HAPS), one of the largest demonstration facilities, was operated for a continuous nine month period that created a foundation for addressing these cost issues. The HAPS system is protected by 23 individual patent pending components involving construction and operating techniques which will make it very cost competitive. None of these 23 high tech components were incorporated in any presentation at this summit by other companies.
“Therefore, it is my opinion that Green Star is ahead of the technology curve associated with the production of commercial scale algae biomass. Green Star is planning an exciting year for 2009 in developing two 500-acre commercial algae production facilities.”
As an additional comment, our last press release (part one) contained some minor inaccurate information. The Algae Biomass Summit was hosted by Byrne & Company and Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and we would also like to give credit to John Williams of Scoville PR and the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) (algalbiomass.org) because we used several phrases from their press release to describe the attendance spectrum at the conference. We did reference their document in the previous press release; however, we would like to acknowledge again the efforts of Vinod Khosla in supporting this great industry.
Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC: GSPI - News) is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative, cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. Green Star Products and its Consortium are involved in the production of green sustainable goods including renewable resources like algae biodiesel and clean-burning biofuels, cellulosic ethanol and other products, as well as lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see Green Star Products' Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com, or call Public Relations at 1-800-741-7648 and 1-800-340-9784, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites, including http://www.pinksheets.com, http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI".
Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Green Star Products, Inc.
Joseph LaStella, President
800-741-7648
800-340-9784
619-864-4010
619-789-4743 (fax)
info@GreenStarUSA.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Green Star Products, Inc.
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Press Release Source: Green Star Products, Inc.
Thursday October 30, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Green Star Products, Inc. today announced that it is releasing part two of a report covering the assessment of the 2nd Algae Biomass Summit hosted by Byrne & Company and Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.
Part one of this report was published on October 27, 2008 (see 10/27/2008 GSPI press release titled “Green Star States: Energy From Algae Is Being Recognized As A Major Solution” at http://www.greenstarusa.com/news/08-10-27.html).
Joseph LaStella, President of Green Star Products, attended the conference and reported, “Prominent speakers from all over the world displayed their research and the potential of algae to permanently solve the oil crisis, food crisis, and to control the buildup of global warming gases. The algae biological makeup was also investigated for the possibility to produce chemicals and new products limited only by our ingenuity to create them.
“One of the conference highlights was the presentation given by Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) from the state of Washington. Representative Inslee, being a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, has been a long term supporter of national sustainability and energy independence.
“Congressman Inslee started his speech by giving an account of what his father had told him as a young boy in 1959. Holding up a flask of algae, his father (a biologist) told him, 'Someday this will cure the world's energy needs.'
“Congressman Inslee went on to say that the United States needs an energy, environmental and job creation program similar in national commitment to the Apollo Space Program launched by President John F. Kennedy. He also stated that President Kennedy knew that the U.S.A. could beat the Russians to the moon if the United States ingenuity engine was unleashed. A similar program sponsored by Congressman Inslee is called 'The New Apollo Energy Act' which challenges us on energy independence, global warming and creating jobs.
“Congressman Inslee outlined a four point program, to address the triple threat to the U.S.: imported oil, global warming and job losses (http://www.house.gov/inslee/). Representative Inslee asked all 600 participants of the algae summit to go to Washington, D.C., and help him on Capitol Hill.
“Congressman Inslee reminded us that our fathers fought in World War II and left a legacy for Democracy. Those born after World War II, the 'baby boomers,' must now leave a legacy of Clean Energy. Industries cannot keep dumping their garbage into the atmosphere like it's a free sewer, and it is obvious that the U.S. addiction to foreign oil now has critical economic and national security implications.”
Mr. LaStella also states, “There was a clear consensus of opinion from all the industries, including airline, energy and chemical industries, that algae biomass is the answer to this dilemma. Presently, there is no clear pathway to the reduction of cost to produce commercial algae biomass.
“In summary, the summit speakers identified the most important items challenging the commercial production of algae biomass were the reduction of costs associated with capital construction and operation.
“Green Star's Hybrid Algae Production System (HAPS), one of the largest demonstration facilities, was operated for a continuous nine month period that created a foundation for addressing these cost issues. The HAPS system is protected by 23 individual patent pending components involving construction and operating techniques which will make it very cost competitive. None of these 23 high tech components were incorporated in any presentation at this summit by other companies.
“Therefore, it is my opinion that Green Star is ahead of the technology curve associated with the production of commercial scale algae biomass. Green Star is planning an exciting year for 2009 in developing two 500-acre commercial algae production facilities.”
As an additional comment, our last press release (part one) contained some minor inaccurate information. The Algae Biomass Summit was hosted by Byrne & Company and Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and we would also like to give credit to John Williams of Scoville PR and the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) (algalbiomass.org) because we used several phrases from their press release to describe the attendance spectrum at the conference. We did reference their document in the previous press release; however, we would like to acknowledge again the efforts of Vinod Khosla in supporting this great industry.
Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC: GSPI - News) is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative, cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. Green Star Products and its Consortium are involved in the production of green sustainable goods including renewable resources like algae biodiesel and clean-burning biofuels, cellulosic ethanol and other products, as well as lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see Green Star Products' Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com, or call Public Relations at 1-800-741-7648 and 1-800-340-9784, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites, including http://www.pinksheets.com, http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI".
Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Green Star Products, Inc.
Joseph LaStella, President
800-741-7648
800-340-9784
619-864-4010
619-789-4743 (fax)
info@GreenStarUSA.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Green Star Products, Inc.
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Alternate Fuels for Commercial Aircraft - Boeing White Paper
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This is a white paper by the Boeing Co, done in 2007. Excellent report, provides detailed data and analysis on the various fuels and feedstock that have been attempted by the Boeing Aircraft Co for possible use in aircraft.
Of course, algae is one of the feedstock that is being analysed. Good reference for all folks interested in researching the aviation fuel from alternative sources
Read the full report from here (PDF file, 8 pages).
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This is a white paper by the Boeing Co, done in 2007. Excellent report, provides detailed data and analysis on the various fuels and feedstock that have been attempted by the Boeing Aircraft Co for possible use in aircraft.
Of course, algae is one of the feedstock that is being analysed. Good reference for all folks interested in researching the aviation fuel from alternative sources
Read the full report from here (PDF file, 8 pages).
By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
Interview with John Glass @ Craig Venter Institute - Role of Bacteria, Algae in Future Fuels
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I really liked this interview with John Glass, a senior scientist at the J. Craig Venter Institute’s Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy division in Rockville, where researchers are working to create synthetic bacteria that could be engineered to make cheap, abundant fuel. He provides insights on how to use bacteria and micro-organisms to make fuel, please read the full interview here . This is what he has to say about the role of algae:
"
What excites you in alternative fuels? All of it, I think. I really like the idea of convincing algae to make long-chain fatty acids or long-chain alcohols. So if we could convince algae to efficiently produce oils — and there are algae that make up to 70 percent of their weight as oils — now, these are slow-growing algae, but if we could convince these algae, by genetically manipulating them, to grow rapidly and produce these oils, then you could develop ponds in non-arable land that would have this thin film of algae on the top. Every so often you harvest all the algae off the top, extract the oil, use the rest as animal feed, and a few days later you come back and you’ve got more.
What would it take for this to become reality? It’s hard to know yet. There are untold species of algae. Untold species of bacteria. We have to understand the pathways that lead to the production. We have to understand more how about algae do this. We have to convince organisms to make these fuels and still survive and propagate and make more organisms. And so this will involve understanding how life works in some ways that we may not understand it right now. The key discoveries, I don’t know what they’ll be. I think that the tools of synthetic biology can go a really long way towards developing biofuels that are truly carbon neutral and potentially also neutral in terms of impacting the world’s capacity to produce food. There are remarkable things that may become possible in the very near future.
"
By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
I really liked this interview with John Glass, a senior scientist at the J. Craig Venter Institute’s Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy division in Rockville, where researchers are working to create synthetic bacteria that could be engineered to make cheap, abundant fuel. He provides insights on how to use bacteria and micro-organisms to make fuel, please read the full interview here . This is what he has to say about the role of algae:
"
What excites you in alternative fuels? All of it, I think. I really like the idea of convincing algae to make long-chain fatty acids or long-chain alcohols. So if we could convince algae to efficiently produce oils — and there are algae that make up to 70 percent of their weight as oils — now, these are slow-growing algae, but if we could convince these algae, by genetically manipulating them, to grow rapidly and produce these oils, then you could develop ponds in non-arable land that would have this thin film of algae on the top. Every so often you harvest all the algae off the top, extract the oil, use the rest as animal feed, and a few days later you come back and you’ve got more.
What would it take for this to become reality? It’s hard to know yet. There are untold species of algae. Untold species of bacteria. We have to understand the pathways that lead to the production. We have to understand more how about algae do this. We have to convince organisms to make these fuels and still survive and propagate and make more organisms. And so this will involve understanding how life works in some ways that we may not understand it right now. The key discoveries, I don’t know what they’ll be. I think that the tools of synthetic biology can go a really long way towards developing biofuels that are truly carbon neutral and potentially also neutral in terms of impacting the world’s capacity to produce food. There are remarkable things that may become possible in the very near future.
"
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Hydrogen from Algae - Hydrogenase, Sulfur Depletion...
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In 1939 Hans Gaffron, a University of Chicago research scientist, observed that the green algae he was studying, Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, would occasionally switch from the production of oxygen to the production of Hydrogen. Gaffron was unable to discover why the algae would change to Hydrogen production and the answer would remain elusive for many years. In the late 1990s, UCLA Berkeley Professor Anastasios Melis discovered that if the algae culture medium is deprived of sulfur it will switch from the production of oxygen (normal photosynthesis), to the production of Hydrogen.
Further research revealed that the enzyme responsible for this reaction is Hydrogenase, but that the Hydrogenase lost this function in the presence of oxygen. Melis determined that depleting the amount of sulfur available to the algae interrupted its internal oxygen flow, allowing the Hydrogenase an environment in which it can react, causing the algae to produce Hydrogen. Chlamydomonas moeweesi is also a good strain for the production of Hydrogen.
More from here
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In 1939 Hans Gaffron, a University of Chicago research scientist, observed that the green algae he was studying, Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, would occasionally switch from the production of oxygen to the production of Hydrogen. Gaffron was unable to discover why the algae would change to Hydrogen production and the answer would remain elusive for many years. In the late 1990s, UCLA Berkeley Professor Anastasios Melis discovered that if the algae culture medium is deprived of sulfur it will switch from the production of oxygen (normal photosynthesis), to the production of Hydrogen.
Further research revealed that the enzyme responsible for this reaction is Hydrogenase, but that the Hydrogenase lost this function in the presence of oxygen. Melis determined that depleting the amount of sulfur available to the algae interrupted its internal oxygen flow, allowing the Hydrogenase an environment in which it can react, causing the algae to produce Hydrogen. Chlamydomonas moeweesi is also a good strain for the production of Hydrogen.
More from here
By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
Hydrogen from Algae - Hydrogenase, Sulfur Depletion...
You are at: Oilgae Blog.
In 1939 Hans Gaffron, a University of Chicago research scientist, observed that the green algae he was studying, Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, would occasionally switch from the production of oxygen to the production of Hydrogen. Gaffron was unable to discover why the algae would change to Hydrogen production and the answer would remain elusive for many years. In the late 1990s,
University of California at Berkeley Professor Anastasios Melis discovered that if the algae culture medium is deprived of sulfur it will switch from the production of oxygen (normal photosynthesis), to the production of Hydrogen.
Further research revealed that the enzyme responsible for this reaction is Hydrogenase, but that the Hydrogenase lost this function in the presence of oxygen. Melis determined that depleting the amount of sulfur available to the algae interrupted its internal oxygen flow, allowing the Hydrogenase an environment in which it can react, causing the algae to produce Hydrogen. Chlamydomonas moeweesi is also a good strain for the production of Hydrogen.
More from here
By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
In 1939 Hans Gaffron, a University of Chicago research scientist, observed that the green algae he was studying, Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, would occasionally switch from the production of oxygen to the production of Hydrogen. Gaffron was unable to discover why the algae would change to Hydrogen production and the answer would remain elusive for many years. In the late 1990s,
University of California at Berkeley Professor Anastasios Melis discovered that if the algae culture medium is deprived of sulfur it will switch from the production of oxygen (normal photosynthesis), to the production of Hydrogen.
Further research revealed that the enzyme responsible for this reaction is Hydrogenase, but that the Hydrogenase lost this function in the presence of oxygen. Melis determined that depleting the amount of sulfur available to the algae interrupted its internal oxygen flow, allowing the Hydrogenase an environment in which it can react, causing the algae to produce Hydrogen. Chlamydomonas moeweesi is also a good strain for the production of Hydrogen.
More from here
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Algae to Assist Plant Powers on the Rise - Research at Sequim Marine Sciences Lab
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Algae and seaweed grown in the open ocean could provide biodiesel and even jet fuel, according to Michael Huesemann, a biochemical engineer at the Sequim Marine Sciences Laboratory. The facility, the only U.S. Department of Energy marine lab in the country, is a center for algal fuel research. -- Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
At the Marine Sciences Laboratory on Sequim Bay, Michael Huesemann, a biochemical engineer who grew up near Hamburg, Germany, is at the front of the quest for algal biofuel. To him, it's not so new. Huesemann started working with algae six years ago, and has only recently seen interest in his research bloom like roses in a greenhouse.
The Sequim lab, which sits on 140 acres facing Sequim Bay, is the only U.S. Department of Energy marine research facility in the country, so it is indeed interesting to know that this lab is doing research on algal biofuels.
More from here
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Algae and seaweed grown in the open ocean could provide biodiesel and even jet fuel, according to Michael Huesemann, a biochemical engineer at the Sequim Marine Sciences Laboratory. The facility, the only U.S. Department of Energy marine lab in the country, is a center for algal fuel research. -- Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
At the Marine Sciences Laboratory on Sequim Bay, Michael Huesemann, a biochemical engineer who grew up near Hamburg, Germany, is at the front of the quest for algal biofuel. To him, it's not so new. Huesemann started working with algae six years ago, and has only recently seen interest in his research bloom like roses in a greenhouse.
The Sequim lab, which sits on 140 acres facing Sequim Bay, is the only U.S. Department of Energy marine research facility in the country, so it is indeed interesting to know that this lab is doing research on algal biofuels.
More from here
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First Cars Run on Algae Biodiesel @ 2008 Sundance Film Festival
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This is a Jan 2008 report, thought will make a note for those of you looking for real-world tests of algae biofuel.
"The world’s first pair of cars to run on algae biodiesel were announced at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The cars were prominently displayed outside the world premier of Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell’s stunning new documentary on biodiesel and the state of a world dependent on petroleum"
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This is a Jan 2008 report, thought will make a note for those of you looking for real-world tests of algae biofuel.
"The world’s first pair of cars to run on algae biodiesel were announced at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The cars were prominently displayed outside the world premier of Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell’s stunning new documentary on biodiesel and the state of a world dependent on petroleum"
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Algae Biodiesel vs. Cellulosic Ethanol - an interesting comparison
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Here are some comparisons:
(1) Algae can be converted into ethanol or diesel, depending on the process.
(2) Cellulose feedstock, generally speaking, has a much larger geographic footprint than proposed algae designs.
(3) Both algae and ethanol can be grown utilizing waste streams.
(4) Cellulosic feedstock for ethanol is available now. Algae feedstock is not clearly ready.
(5) For both of these very promising feedstocks, algae and cellulose, we are going to wait a few more years before we’ll hopefully get a clear indication as to whether or not they truly emerge as major sources of transportation fuel.
This report does not consider converting algae to ethanol, from what I understand but rather does a direct comparison between different feedstocks for ethanol and for biodiesel (algae). However, it is an interesting article.
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Here are some comparisons:
(1) Algae can be converted into ethanol or diesel, depending on the process.
(2) Cellulose feedstock, generally speaking, has a much larger geographic footprint than proposed algae designs.
(3) Both algae and ethanol can be grown utilizing waste streams.
(4) Cellulosic feedstock for ethanol is available now. Algae feedstock is not clearly ready.
(5) For both of these very promising feedstocks, algae and cellulose, we are going to wait a few more years before we’ll hopefully get a clear indication as to whether or not they truly emerge as major sources of transportation fuel.
This report does not consider converting algae to ethanol, from what I understand but rather does a direct comparison between different feedstocks for ethanol and for biodiesel (algae). However, it is an interesting article.
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Sheel White Paper - Harvesting Energy from Algae
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Algae hold great promise as a possible source of biodiesel because they grow rapidly, are rich in vegetable oil and can be cultivated in ponds of seawater, reducing the need for fertile land and fresh water. Many companies are seeking ways to produce algal oil on a commercial scale, but they face significant hurdles, says this Feb 2008 white paper from Royal Dutch / Shell.
Useful details in this brief paper.
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Algae hold great promise as a possible source of biodiesel because they grow rapidly, are rich in vegetable oil and can be cultivated in ponds of seawater, reducing the need for fertile land and fresh water. Many companies are seeking ways to produce algal oil on a commercial scale, but they face significant hurdles, says this Feb 2008 white paper from Royal Dutch / Shell.
Useful details in this brief paper.
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Biohydrogen Production - Trends, Challenges in Bio Hydrogen Generation
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This is an excellent paper on Biohydrogen production. Some of the topics discussed are:
1. Nitrogenase-Mediated Hydrogen Production.
2. Fermentative Hydrogen Production.
3. Biophotolysis of Water
4. Biophotolytic Hydrogen: Goals and Impacts
5. Engineering Oxygen-Tolerant, Efficient Hydrogenases.
6. Designing Microorganisms Optimized for Hydrogen Production.
7. Gaps in Scientific Understanding
8. Understanding biophotolysis well enough to model hydrogenase structure and function, regulatory and metabolic networks.
9. Extent of natural diversity among hydrogenases and hydrogen-producing organisms
10. How do we overcome the oxygen-sensitivity problem of hydrogenases?
11. Key capabilities needed to address many of the gaps in current understanding of biophotolytic hydrogen production include developing microbial hosts to produce hydrogenase enzymes, screening large numbers of enzymes for desired functionalities, large-scale molecular profiling to provide a global view of hydrogen production, in vivo visualization of hydrogenase structure and activity, modeling of regulatory and metabolic networks, and metabolic engineering (see Table: Roadmap for Development of Biophotolyic Hydrogen Technologies, and Table: Biophotolytic Hydrogen Production Challenges, Scale, and Complexity).
And more...a very important white paper!
Full report here
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This is an excellent paper on Biohydrogen production. Some of the topics discussed are:
1. Nitrogenase-Mediated Hydrogen Production.
2. Fermentative Hydrogen Production.
3. Biophotolysis of Water
4. Biophotolytic Hydrogen: Goals and Impacts
5. Engineering Oxygen-Tolerant, Efficient Hydrogenases.
6. Designing Microorganisms Optimized for Hydrogen Production.
7. Gaps in Scientific Understanding
8. Understanding biophotolysis well enough to model hydrogenase structure and function, regulatory and metabolic networks.
9. Extent of natural diversity among hydrogenases and hydrogen-producing organisms
10. How do we overcome the oxygen-sensitivity problem of hydrogenases?
11. Key capabilities needed to address many of the gaps in current understanding of biophotolytic hydrogen production include developing microbial hosts to produce hydrogenase enzymes, screening large numbers of enzymes for desired functionalities, large-scale molecular profiling to provide a global view of hydrogen production, in vivo visualization of hydrogenase structure and activity, modeling of regulatory and metabolic networks, and metabolic engineering (see Table: Roadmap for Development of Biophotolyic Hydrogen Technologies, and Table: Biophotolytic Hydrogen Production Challenges, Scale, and Complexity).
And more...a very important white paper!
Full report here
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
XL Renewables Says Algae Shows Promise for Fuel, Other Uses
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Not surprisingly with an emerging technology, the playing field is shifting for algae biomass pioneer XL Renewables Inc.
The firm's Algae Development Center has refined its patented XL Super Trough System for algae biomass production at the company's facility at Withrow Dairy in Casa Grande. But a field day to kick off marketing efforts for the system has been pushed back as financing complications are worked out.
"The market demand for vegetable oil from algae biomass is a primary driver for the development of this new crop," said Ben Cloud, president and CEO of XL Renewables Inc. "XL Renewables Inc. continues work toward the development of algae biomass as a crop grown in Arizona, and we expect Arizona to be a leading supplier of algae biomass products for food and energy."
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Not surprisingly with an emerging technology, the playing field is shifting for algae biomass pioneer XL Renewables Inc.
The firm's Algae Development Center has refined its patented XL Super Trough System for algae biomass production at the company's facility at Withrow Dairy in Casa Grande. But a field day to kick off marketing efforts for the system has been pushed back as financing complications are worked out.
"The market demand for vegetable oil from algae biomass is a primary driver for the development of this new crop," said Ben Cloud, president and CEO of XL Renewables Inc. "XL Renewables Inc. continues work toward the development of algae biomass as a crop grown in Arizona, and we expect Arizona to be a leading supplier of algae biomass products for food and energy."
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Algae-based oil would save 160m tonnes CO2 - Carbon Trust, UK
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Algae-based transportation fuel could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by over 160 million tonnes, according to the Carbon Trust.
The organisation has set up a funding initiative to boost research and development into algae biofuels with the aim of creating an alternative to fossil fuels by 2020.
It has set up the Algae Biofuels Challenge, which it will fund with up to £6 million and will also have the backing and funding of the Department of Transport.
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Algae-based transportation fuel could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by over 160 million tonnes, according to the Carbon Trust.
The organisation has set up a funding initiative to boost research and development into algae biofuels with the aim of creating an alternative to fossil fuels by 2020.
It has set up the Algae Biofuels Challenge, which it will fund with up to £6 million and will also have the backing and funding of the Department of Transport.
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This may be the best time for algae fuel companies - panel
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Algae producers should still be able to find funding from eager investors, according to a panel of experts who discussed venture capital and equity financing at the Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle early this month.
Excerpts from this news report:
1. The investment situation for algae is actually better than it was a year ago
2. The panelists agreed that this was a good time for companies to continue their research and development efforts.
3. Those companies that are ready to move towards pilot and demonstration projects in the next two years will be well positioned to attract investment.
4. Algae companies will not be served well by thinking small. Most venture capitalists won’t be interested in projects that don’t have the potential for creating at least a billion dollars of value.
5. Another key area for investors will be the industries that will support the algae industry.
Source: Biodiesel Magazine
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Algae producers should still be able to find funding from eager investors, according to a panel of experts who discussed venture capital and equity financing at the Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle early this month.
Excerpts from this news report:
1. The investment situation for algae is actually better than it was a year ago
2. The panelists agreed that this was a good time for companies to continue their research and development efforts.
3. Those companies that are ready to move towards pilot and demonstration projects in the next two years will be well positioned to attract investment.
4. Algae companies will not be served well by thinking small. Most venture capitalists won’t be interested in projects that don’t have the potential for creating at least a billion dollars of value.
5. Another key area for investors will be the industries that will support the algae industry.
Source: Biodiesel Magazine
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Algenol Biofuels Announces Opening of U.S. Headquarters
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Algenol Biofuels, developers of DIRECT TO ETHANOL(TM), the most advanced third generation biofuels technology, today announced the official opening of the Company's U.S. headquarters in Naples, Florida. The new headquarters joins established locations in Baltimore, Maryland and Palm Beach county Florida. The office will house the Company's business development and executive teams.
"The opening of our Florida offices is a significant milestone in our company's continued growth," said Paul Woods, co-founder and CEO of Algenol Biofuels. "The establishment of our North American headquarters underscores our commitment to bringing affordable biofuel options to the U.S. as we look to lessen our dependence on foreign fuel sources and reducing CO2 levels."
Algenol's Direct to Ethanol(TM) process links photosynthesis with the natural enzymes to produce ethanol inside each tiny algae cell and does not use food, farmland, or fresh water. The Company currently has the capability of producing ethanol at a rate of over 6,000 gallons per acre per year and will be producing ethanol for commercial sales in 2009.
About Algenol Biofuels
Algenol Biofuels, Inc., a privately owned company, was founded in early 2006 and is engaged in broad research and development efforts to develop industrial-scale production systems to make ethanol from algae. The company's DIRECT TO ETHANOL(TM) process is the most advanced third generation biofuels technology that produces industrial-scale, low cost ethanol using algae, sunlight, CO2 and seawater. It is the only end-to-end commercial process that stabilizes and reduces CO2 levels. Algenol is slated for commercial sales of ethanol in 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.algenolbiofuels.com.
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Algenol Biofuels, developers of DIRECT TO ETHANOL(TM), the most advanced third generation biofuels technology, today announced the official opening of the Company's U.S. headquarters in Naples, Florida. The new headquarters joins established locations in Baltimore, Maryland and Palm Beach county Florida. The office will house the Company's business development and executive teams.
"The opening of our Florida offices is a significant milestone in our company's continued growth," said Paul Woods, co-founder and CEO of Algenol Biofuels. "The establishment of our North American headquarters underscores our commitment to bringing affordable biofuel options to the U.S. as we look to lessen our dependence on foreign fuel sources and reducing CO2 levels."
Algenol's Direct to Ethanol(TM) process links photosynthesis with the natural enzymes to produce ethanol inside each tiny algae cell and does not use food, farmland, or fresh water. The Company currently has the capability of producing ethanol at a rate of over 6,000 gallons per acre per year and will be producing ethanol for commercial sales in 2009.
About Algenol Biofuels
Algenol Biofuels, Inc., a privately owned company, was founded in early 2006 and is engaged in broad research and development efforts to develop industrial-scale production systems to make ethanol from algae. The company's DIRECT TO ETHANOL(TM) process is the most advanced third generation biofuels technology that produces industrial-scale, low cost ethanol using algae, sunlight, CO2 and seawater. It is the only end-to-end commercial process that stabilizes and reduces CO2 levels. Algenol is slated for commercial sales of ethanol in 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.algenolbiofuels.com.
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Renewable Jet Fuel About to Takeoff, Also Considering Algae as Feedstock
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Several members of the renewable fuels industry recently made announcements promoting their latest accomplishments in renewable jet fuel production.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center have produced samples of a 100 percent renewable jet fuel that meets the stringent requirements for the U.S. military’s JP-8 jet fuel. JP-8 is similar to Jet A, which is used in commercial aviation equipment. “If you can make JP-8, you can make Jet A,” said Tom Erickson, associate director for research at the EERC. Research is also being conducted on algal-oil-to-fuel projects
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Several members of the renewable fuels industry recently made announcements promoting their latest accomplishments in renewable jet fuel production.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center have produced samples of a 100 percent renewable jet fuel that meets the stringent requirements for the U.S. military’s JP-8 jet fuel. JP-8 is similar to Jet A, which is used in commercial aviation equipment. “If you can make JP-8, you can make Jet A,” said Tom Erickson, associate director for research at the EERC. Research is also being conducted on algal-oil-to-fuel projects
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Renewable Jet Fuel About to Takeoff, Also Considering Algae as Feedstock
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Several members of the renewable fuels industry recently made announcements promoting their latest accomplishments in renewable jet fuel production.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center have produced samples of a 100 percent renewable jet fuel that meets the stringent requirements for the U.S. military’s JP-8 jet fuel. JP-8 is similar to Jet A, which is used in commercial aviation equipment. “If you can make JP-8, you can make Jet A,” said Tom Erickson, associate director for research at the EERC. Research is also being conducted on algal-oil-to-fuel projects
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Several members of the renewable fuels industry recently made announcements promoting their latest accomplishments in renewable jet fuel production.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center have produced samples of a 100 percent renewable jet fuel that meets the stringent requirements for the U.S. military’s JP-8 jet fuel. JP-8 is similar to Jet A, which is used in commercial aviation equipment. “If you can make JP-8, you can make Jet A,” said Tom Erickson, associate director for research at the EERC. Research is also being conducted on algal-oil-to-fuel projects
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Sapphire Energy's Method - GM + Open Ponds?
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Genetic engineering also influences how Sapphire will grow its algae. It wants to grow the algae in open, saline ponds, rather than sealed bioreactors, like Greenfuel. The company also says that it has minimized the danger of rogue algal blooms from its genetically enhanced algae ponds as well as the risk that natural strains will out-compete its algae or eliminate its special qualities through hybridization.
Algae execs at competitors tend to scoff at this notion. The challenges keeping wild species at bay, getting consistent results generation to generation represent massive problems. And one can only imagine the land-use hearings when Sapphire says it wants to build a pond to raise GMO algae. Again, it is their job to scoff, but they have a point.
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Genetic engineering also influences how Sapphire will grow its algae. It wants to grow the algae in open, saline ponds, rather than sealed bioreactors, like Greenfuel. The company also says that it has minimized the danger of rogue algal blooms from its genetically enhanced algae ponds as well as the risk that natural strains will out-compete its algae or eliminate its special qualities through hybridization.
Algae execs at competitors tend to scoff at this notion. The challenges keeping wild species at bay, getting consistent results generation to generation represent massive problems. And one can only imagine the land-use hearings when Sapphire says it wants to build a pond to raise GMO algae. Again, it is their job to scoff, but they have a point.
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2nd Edition of Algae Biomass Summit Nearly Doubles Number of Attendees
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Press release
Seattle, Oct. 22 -- When the 2008 Algae Biomass Summit kicks off tomorrow in Seattle it will be in front of nearly twice as many attendees as the inaugural summit last year. The Algae Biomass Summit, sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (http://www.wsgr.com) and The Byrne Company (http://www.byrneltd.com), is the official conference of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) (http://www.algalbiomass.org/events). The event, featuring nearly 50 speakers and 29 poster presentations, is designed to highlight scientific advances and encourage knowledge sharing to accelerate the commercialization of algae as a renewable energy source.
"That more than 600 people from around the world have registered, reflects the intense global interest in algae as one of the most promising renewable energy sources," said Tom Byrne, president of The Byrne Company and secretary of the ABO Steering Committee. "But it's also clear that people are coming to learn from the best and the brightest scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, government leaders and venture capitalists who are speaking and presenting posters at the event."
Keynoting the conference is Vinod Khosla, a nationally recognized clean technology investor and Managing Partner of Khosla Ventures (http://www.khoslaventures.com). Khosla Ventures has invested millions in clean technology start-ups in sectors including next generation, fuel-efficiency technologies, solar technology, carbon sequestration and in other sectors.
During the course of the event, these leaders and the hundreds of attendees will discuss issues of critical importance to the emerging algae industry, including the commercial viability of algae production, current government and private initiatives, evolving technologies, processing concepts, and venture and project finance. Ongoing updates from the conference will be available through PR Newswire's Virtual Conference Newsroom (http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/tradeshows/events.jsp?show=639154&option=tradeshow&view=LATEST).
About the ABO
The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and advocate for the development of commercially-viable transportation and power generation fuels as well as other non-energy applications for algae biomass. 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.
SOURCE Algal Biomass Organization
John Williams, +1-206-625-0075, jwilliams@scovillepr.com, for Algal Biomass Organization,
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Press release
Seattle, Oct. 22 -- When the 2008 Algae Biomass Summit kicks off tomorrow in Seattle it will be in front of nearly twice as many attendees as the inaugural summit last year. The Algae Biomass Summit, sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (http://www.wsgr.com) and The Byrne Company (http://www.byrneltd.com), is the official conference of the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) (http://www.algalbiomass.org/events). The event, featuring nearly 50 speakers and 29 poster presentations, is designed to highlight scientific advances and encourage knowledge sharing to accelerate the commercialization of algae as a renewable energy source.
"That more than 600 people from around the world have registered, reflects the intense global interest in algae as one of the most promising renewable energy sources," said Tom Byrne, president of The Byrne Company and secretary of the ABO Steering Committee. "But it's also clear that people are coming to learn from the best and the brightest scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, government leaders and venture capitalists who are speaking and presenting posters at the event."
Keynoting the conference is Vinod Khosla, a nationally recognized clean technology investor and Managing Partner of Khosla Ventures (http://www.khoslaventures.com). Khosla Ventures has invested millions in clean technology start-ups in sectors including next generation, fuel-efficiency technologies, solar technology, carbon sequestration and in other sectors.
During the course of the event, these leaders and the hundreds of attendees will discuss issues of critical importance to the emerging algae industry, including the commercial viability of algae production, current government and private initiatives, evolving technologies, processing concepts, and venture and project finance. Ongoing updates from the conference will be available through PR Newswire's Virtual Conference Newsroom (http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/tradeshows/events.jsp?show=639154&option=tradeshow&view=LATEST).
About the ABO
The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and advocate for the development of commercially-viable transportation and power generation fuels as well as other non-energy applications for algae biomass. 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.
SOURCE Algal Biomass Organization
John Williams, +1-206-625-0075, jwilliams@scovillepr.com, for Algal Biomass Organization,
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Seaweed Could be Used as Green Fuel Alternative in Scotland
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Seaweed could be used as a green fuel alternative, research by Scottish scientists revealed yesterday. The research details how marine algae could be farmed to produce biomass fuel for homes and transport.
The Scottish Association of Marine Science was commissioned by the Crown Estate to conduct the new research.
Professor Mike Cowling, science and research manager at the Crown Estate, said: "Given Scotland's rugged western coastline and relatively clean seas, it is sensible to examine the farming of seaweeds and sustainable harvesting of natural supplies as a source of energy."
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Seaweed could be used as a green fuel alternative, research by Scottish scientists revealed yesterday. The research details how marine algae could be farmed to produce biomass fuel for homes and transport.
The Scottish Association of Marine Science was commissioned by the Crown Estate to conduct the new research.
Professor Mike Cowling, science and research manager at the Crown Estate, said: "Given Scotland's rugged western coastline and relatively clean seas, it is sensible to examine the farming of seaweeds and sustainable harvesting of natural supplies as a source of energy."
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Aquaflow Bionomic to Work with Multi-national
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Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation, which announced last month it had produced biofuel from algae growing on sewage, is to work with a multi-national company to commercially exploit its technology.
Aquaflow said today it had signed a memorandum of understanding with United States-based UOP LLC, wholly owned by Honeywell International Inc, to work together to convert wild algae into fuel products and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) for Aquaflow's algal oil production.
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Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation, which announced last month it had produced biofuel from algae growing on sewage, is to work with a multi-national company to commercially exploit its technology.
Aquaflow said today it had signed a memorandum of understanding with United States-based UOP LLC, wholly owned by Honeywell International Inc, to work together to convert wild algae into fuel products and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) for Aquaflow's algal oil production.
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Jet Fuel from Algae - No Longer Flight of Fancy
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Currently aircraft mostly run on kerosene, and while a variety of other biofuels are being discussed for aircraft, the idea would be to use plant sources to manufacture synthetic kerosene — or, to use the technical term, synthetic paraffinic kerosene.
According to Darrin Morgan, who is in charge of environmental strategy for Boeing commercial planes, synthetic jet fuel already exists. South Africa, for example, uses a process developed during World War II, when the country was subject to an oil embargo. But that fuel is made from coal, not from halophytes (plants growing in salty areas) or jatropha (succulent land-based plants already used to make biodiesel).
Mr. Morgan predicts that in the next three to five years, first users will have access to “significant gallons” from the land-based plants. Other feedstocks like algae and waste cellulose will require technical breakthroughs, he said.
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Currently aircraft mostly run on kerosene, and while a variety of other biofuels are being discussed for aircraft, the idea would be to use plant sources to manufacture synthetic kerosene — or, to use the technical term, synthetic paraffinic kerosene.
According to Darrin Morgan, who is in charge of environmental strategy for Boeing commercial planes, synthetic jet fuel already exists. South Africa, for example, uses a process developed during World War II, when the country was subject to an oil embargo. But that fuel is made from coal, not from halophytes (plants growing in salty areas) or jatropha (succulent land-based plants already used to make biodiesel).
Mr. Morgan predicts that in the next three to five years, first users will have access to “significant gallons” from the land-based plants. Other feedstocks like algae and waste cellulose will require technical breakthroughs, he said.
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Correlation between microRNAs and Oil Content - Rosetta Genomics Leverages its MicroRNA Platform for Plant Biotech Initiative
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Initiates Rosetta Green, a Project Which Will Leverage Rosetta Genomics' Proprietary microRNA Technologies and Strong IP Position to Develop a Wide Range of Plant-Based Applications
- The Company has Recently Secured Up to $1.5M From Private Investors, Which Will be Invested in the Project in Trenches as Certain Milestones are Reached
- Rosetta has Already Identified microRNAs Correlated With Algal Oil Content and Starch & Oil Content in Corn
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Initiates Rosetta Green, a Project Which Will Leverage Rosetta Genomics' Proprietary microRNA Technologies and Strong IP Position to Develop a Wide Range of Plant-Based Applications
- The Company has Recently Secured Up to $1.5M From Private Investors, Which Will be Invested in the Project in Trenches as Certain Milestones are Reached
- Rosetta has Already Identified microRNAs Correlated With Algal Oil Content and Starch & Oil Content in Corn
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Skip Kemp, instructor of CCC’s aquaculture program use Bogue Sound for algae cultivation
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Mr. Kemp and his students start the process of creating “oilgae” by collecting phytoplankton (microscopic algae) from Bogue Sound, then growing it in special ponds. As the water is pumped from the sound into the ponds, a filter separates the phytoplankton from other microscopic animals that would eat it.
The phytoplankton is fertilized to speed up the growth process. It only takes a few days to grow a harvestable crop, which is one reason it’s attractive as a potential fuel source.
The algae-rich water is pumped from the pond into a centrifuge, where the algae are separated from the pond water through a spinning process. The algae create a thick, dark paste, which is scraped from the sides of the centrifuge.
The oil-rich paste is spread into a thin layer on a flat surface and placed in a dehydrator to be dried out. The end result is a series of thin pieces of a dark substance that almost looks like beef jerky. Those pieces are highly flammable from the high concentration of oil.
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Mr. Kemp and his students start the process of creating “oilgae” by collecting phytoplankton (microscopic algae) from Bogue Sound, then growing it in special ponds. As the water is pumped from the sound into the ponds, a filter separates the phytoplankton from other microscopic animals that would eat it.
The phytoplankton is fertilized to speed up the growth process. It only takes a few days to grow a harvestable crop, which is one reason it’s attractive as a potential fuel source.
The algae-rich water is pumped from the pond into a centrifuge, where the algae are separated from the pond water through a spinning process. The algae create a thick, dark paste, which is scraped from the sides of the centrifuge.
The oil-rich paste is spread into a thin layer on a flat surface and placed in a dehydrator to be dried out. The end result is a series of thin pieces of a dark substance that almost looks like beef jerky. Those pieces are highly flammable from the high concentration of oil.
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UK Carbon Trust Announces the Algae Biofuels Challenge.
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The mission is under way to turn algae into an alternative to fossil-based oil by 2020 as the UK Carbon Trust launched the Algae Biofuels Challenge.As part of Advanced Bioenergy Accelerator, the Carbon Trust intends to make a multi-million pound investment to support the development and commercialisation of microalgae biofuel technologies that have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The Carbon Trust intends to fund R&D into microalgae derived transport fuels through the Algae Biofuels Challenge, ABC.
The ABC is a two phase programme with the first phase addressing fundamental R&D challenges and the second phase moving to large scale production of algal oil. The total programme cost is expected to be in the region of £20m-30m, with up to £10m-16m of Carbon Trust funding.
The call for proposals for Phase 1 of the ABC opened on the 23rd October 2008 and closes on 15th December 2008. The launch event of the ABC, will be held on 30th October in London.
The launch event will be used to explain the strategy for the Algae Biofuels Challenge. This networking opportunities will provide a forum for attendees to generate inter-disciplinary and inter-organisational collaborations to deliver the requirements of the Algae Biofuels Challenge.
See more
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The mission is under way to turn algae into an alternative to fossil-based oil by 2020 as the UK Carbon Trust launched the Algae Biofuels Challenge.As part of Advanced Bioenergy Accelerator, the Carbon Trust intends to make a multi-million pound investment to support the development and commercialisation of microalgae biofuel technologies that have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The Carbon Trust intends to fund R&D into microalgae derived transport fuels through the Algae Biofuels Challenge, ABC.
The ABC is a two phase programme with the first phase addressing fundamental R&D challenges and the second phase moving to large scale production of algal oil. The total programme cost is expected to be in the region of £20m-30m, with up to £10m-16m of Carbon Trust funding.
The call for proposals for Phase 1 of the ABC opened on the 23rd October 2008 and closes on 15th December 2008. The launch event of the ABC, will be held on 30th October in London.
The launch event will be used to explain the strategy for the Algae Biofuels Challenge. This networking opportunities will provide a forum for attendees to generate inter-disciplinary and inter-organisational collaborations to deliver the requirements of the Algae Biofuels Challenge.
See more
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Greenfuel Algae CO2 Recycling Project With Aurantia Enters II Phase
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GreenFuel Technologies Corporation and Aurantia, SA announced the second phase of their joint project to develop and scale algae farming technologies in the Iberian Peninsula on october 21. The Holcim cement plant was initiated in December 2007 near Jerez, Spain, the project’s goal is to demonstrate that industrial CO2 emissions can be economically recycled to grow algae for use in high-value feeds, foods and fuels.The second phase of the project commenced with the successful inoculation and subsequent harvests of a 100m2 prototype vertical thin-film algae-solar bioreactor.
The next phase of the Aurantia-GreenFuel project at Holcim will be the construction of a 1,000m2 algae greenhouse and harvesting facilities adjacent to the cement plant. In the meantime, GreenFuel and Aurantia will continue to test algae growth rates with the cement plant’s flue gasses.
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GreenFuel Technologies Corporation and Aurantia, SA announced the second phase of their joint project to develop and scale algae farming technologies in the Iberian Peninsula on october 21. The Holcim cement plant was initiated in December 2007 near Jerez, Spain, the project’s goal is to demonstrate that industrial CO2 emissions can be economically recycled to grow algae for use in high-value feeds, foods and fuels.The second phase of the project commenced with the successful inoculation and subsequent harvests of a 100m2 prototype vertical thin-film algae-solar bioreactor.
The next phase of the Aurantia-GreenFuel project at Holcim will be the construction of a 1,000m2 algae greenhouse and harvesting facilities adjacent to the cement plant. In the meantime, GreenFuel and Aurantia will continue to test algae growth rates with the cement plant’s flue gasses.
see more
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Coal Plants and Algae Fuel Symbiosis - Seambiotic, Israel
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Seattle-based Inventure Chemical and Tel Aviv-based Seambiotic announced this week a joint venture to create biofuels from algae fed by a coal-fired power plant. Apparently, this is an idea growing in popularity. Seambiotic has developed a way to convert algae to biodiesel, ethanol, or specialty chemicals, and they’re testing their open-pond algae farm in Israel. The coal power plant and algae farm are working hand in hand to power one another – the flue gas emissions from the power plant will be used to grow the algae, which is in turn converted to fuel to either operate the plant, or be sold.
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Seattle-based Inventure Chemical and Tel Aviv-based Seambiotic announced this week a joint venture to create biofuels from algae fed by a coal-fired power plant. Apparently, this is an idea growing in popularity. Seambiotic has developed a way to convert algae to biodiesel, ethanol, or specialty chemicals, and they’re testing their open-pond algae farm in Israel. The coal power plant and algae farm are working hand in hand to power one another – the flue gas emissions from the power plant will be used to grow the algae, which is in turn converted to fuel to either operate the plant, or be sold.
More from here
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Swift Enterprises Joins Race for Alternative Jet Fuel
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Add another contender to the alternative aviation fuel race: Swift Enterprises. The company, which is based in Indiana, has developed a renewable jet fuel made from landfill waste, sorghum, algae, woodchips, and other feedstocks.
Swift’s biofuel currently costs $60 per gallon to produce, but the company believes that the cost will drop to $1.80 once they begin full-scale production.
And while other companies are also working on alternative fuels for planes, Swift believes that it has the most promising solution.
According to a spokesman for the company, Swift’s fuel has been the only successful challenger to outperform petroleum as a high-octane aviation fuel.
Full story here
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Add another contender to the alternative aviation fuel race: Swift Enterprises. The company, which is based in Indiana, has developed a renewable jet fuel made from landfill waste, sorghum, algae, woodchips, and other feedstocks.
Swift’s biofuel currently costs $60 per gallon to produce, but the company believes that the cost will drop to $1.80 once they begin full-scale production.
And while other companies are also working on alternative fuels for planes, Swift believes that it has the most promising solution.
According to a spokesman for the company, Swift’s fuel has been the only successful challenger to outperform petroleum as a high-octane aviation fuel.
Full story here
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Swift Enterprises Joins Race for Alternative Jet Fuel
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Add another contender to the alternative aviation fuel race: Swift Enterprises. The company, which is based in Indiana, has developed a renewable jet fuel made from landfill waste, sorghum, algae, woodchips, and other feedstocks.
Swift’s biofuel currently costs $60 per gallon to produce, but the company believes that the cost will drop to $1.80 once they begin full-scale production.
And while other companies are also working on alternative fuels for planes, Swift believes that it has the most promising solution.
According to a spokesman for the company, Swift’s fuel has been the only successful challenger to outperform petroleum as a high-octane aviation fuel.
Full story here
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Add another contender to the alternative aviation fuel race: Swift Enterprises. The company, which is based in Indiana, has developed a renewable jet fuel made from landfill waste, sorghum, algae, woodchips, and other feedstocks.
Swift’s biofuel currently costs $60 per gallon to produce, but the company believes that the cost will drop to $1.80 once they begin full-scale production.
And while other companies are also working on alternative fuels for planes, Swift believes that it has the most promising solution.
According to a spokesman for the company, Swift’s fuel has been the only successful challenger to outperform petroleum as a high-octane aviation fuel.
Full story here
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Algal Sciences - Growing, Harvesting, Processing Algae for Food, Fuel, Research
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Thought I'd profile this company.
Products
They grow agal species specifically tailored to your requirements. Quantities and dry processing and packaging is available for all species harvested at their facility.
Bioreactor
Bioreactor Forest(tm) 20 System - 2000L photobioreactor system is skid mounted and can process up to 1000L of wet algae per day. This system includes all necessary tanks, pumps and plumbing. Harvesting can be done in batch or continuous basis depending on the operational requirements and processing system in place.
More on Algal Sciences from their web site
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Thought I'd profile this company.
Products
They grow agal species specifically tailored to your requirements. Quantities and dry processing and packaging is available for all species harvested at their facility.
Bioreactor
Bioreactor Forest(tm) 20 System - 2000L photobioreactor system is skid mounted and can process up to 1000L of wet algae per day. This system includes all necessary tanks, pumps and plumbing. Harvesting can be done in batch or continuous basis depending on the operational requirements and processing system in place.
More on Algal Sciences from their web site
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Chevron, NREL to Collaborate on Algae Fuel Research
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A rather old news item (Nov 2007 ), but I seemed to have missed this in my earlier posts, so there it is!
US-headquartered energy company Chevron and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have entered into a collaborative R&D agreement to study and advance technology to produce liquid transportation fuels using algae.
Chevron and NREL scientists will identify and develop algae strains that can be economically harvested and processed into finished transportation fuels such as jet fuel. Chevron Technology Ventures, a division of Chevron USA, will fund the initiative.
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A rather old news item (Nov 2007 ), but I seemed to have missed this in my earlier posts, so there it is!
US-headquartered energy company Chevron and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have entered into a collaborative R&D agreement to study and advance technology to produce liquid transportation fuels using algae.
Chevron and NREL scientists will identify and develop algae strains that can be economically harvested and processed into finished transportation fuels such as jet fuel. Chevron Technology Ventures, a division of Chevron USA, will fund the initiative.
More from here
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Arizona State University, Univ of Virginia Team Up for Algae Fuel, Get $3M
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Arizona State University officials said today researchers have received a $3 million for a new algae spinoff company that's developed a kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from algae.
The scientists leading the effort are professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld of ASU’s Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology. The team said the new approach has cost reduction benefits much greater than traditional methods of producing kerosene from petroleum.
The new biofuel initiative is a collaborative project between Heliae Development, LLC and Science Foundation Arizona. This project will focus on the commercial production of kerosene from algae using technology patented by the two scientists.
Professors Hu and Sommerfeld have identified and characterized algal strains capable of converting portions of their cellular mass into oil that contains high concentration of medium chain fatty acids. When the oil is deoxygenated, the resulting hydrocarbon chains are similar to those found in kerosene. When mixed with small amounts of fuel additives, called JP8 or Jet A, the fuel is suitable for jet planes.
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Arizona State University officials said today researchers have received a $3 million for a new algae spinoff company that's developed a kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from algae.
The scientists leading the effort are professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld of ASU’s Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology. The team said the new approach has cost reduction benefits much greater than traditional methods of producing kerosene from petroleum.
The new biofuel initiative is a collaborative project between Heliae Development, LLC and Science Foundation Arizona. This project will focus on the commercial production of kerosene from algae using technology patented by the two scientists.
Professors Hu and Sommerfeld have identified and characterized algal strains capable of converting portions of their cellular mass into oil that contains high concentration of medium chain fatty acids. When the oil is deoxygenated, the resulting hydrocarbon chains are similar to those found in kerosene. When mixed with small amounts of fuel additives, called JP8 or Jet A, the fuel is suitable for jet planes.
More from here
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Algae Biomass Association - Airlines get behind Algae Fuel
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To combat the rising cost of a barrel of oil the airline industry has implemented a suite of “creative” price hikes: Jetblue recently increased the cost of its roomier seats, American Airlines announced it will begin charging a luggage fee, and US Airways plans to price all its non-alcoholic drinks at $2.
But among these inventive moves, one idea that we rather like has been overlooked. Recently, air carriers Air New Zealand, Continental, and Virgin Atlantic Airways joined forces with the young but mighty Algae Biomass Organization (ABO). Boeing already co-chairs the 400-member non-profit that aims to fast track algae-as-commercial-fuel research.
Business Wire reported on Virgin Atlantic President Sir Richard Branson’s reasons for joining ABO:
"Algae really could be a solution to help airlines produce lower carbon emissions. Crucially, it is a source of fuel which doesn't lead to deforestation or the taking away of land or water from the cultivation of essential food crops."
More from here
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To combat the rising cost of a barrel of oil the airline industry has implemented a suite of “creative” price hikes: Jetblue recently increased the cost of its roomier seats, American Airlines announced it will begin charging a luggage fee, and US Airways plans to price all its non-alcoholic drinks at $2.
But among these inventive moves, one idea that we rather like has been overlooked. Recently, air carriers Air New Zealand, Continental, and Virgin Atlantic Airways joined forces with the young but mighty Algae Biomass Organization (ABO). Boeing already co-chairs the 400-member non-profit that aims to fast track algae-as-commercial-fuel research.
Business Wire reported on Virgin Atlantic President Sir Richard Branson’s reasons for joining ABO:
"Algae really could be a solution to help airlines produce lower carbon emissions. Crucially, it is a source of fuel which doesn't lead to deforestation or the taking away of land or water from the cultivation of essential food crops."
More from here
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Investments Skyrocketing for Algae Oil Companies and Research
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There are many companies that are joining the race to find a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to turn algae into the fuel needed to power cars, trucks, airplanes and boats.
The amount of money being invested in algae-to-fuel research by venture capitalists is skyrocketing. New businesses are snapping up graduate students knowledgeable about the aquatic plants before they've even finished their degrees, and they're hustling to form alliances with algae academics who for years toiled without much notice.
"Industry is coming to us," said Shulin Chen, a Washington State University biological engineering professor working on algae power.
"This is an exciting time," said Rose Ann Cattolico, a University of Washington algae expert.
"A lot of the innovation is happening on the West Coast (of the US)," said Darrin Morgan, The Boeing Co.'s director of business analysis/environmental strategy.
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There are many companies that are joining the race to find a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to turn algae into the fuel needed to power cars, trucks, airplanes and boats.
The amount of money being invested in algae-to-fuel research by venture capitalists is skyrocketing. New businesses are snapping up graduate students knowledgeable about the aquatic plants before they've even finished their degrees, and they're hustling to form alliances with algae academics who for years toiled without much notice.
"Industry is coming to us," said Shulin Chen, a Washington State University biological engineering professor working on algae power.
"This is an exciting time," said Rose Ann Cattolico, a University of Washington algae expert.
"A lot of the innovation is happening on the West Coast (of the US)," said Darrin Morgan, The Boeing Co.'s director of business analysis/environmental strategy.
More from this news item
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Algae Oils - a new site on oil from algae
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Came across this new site Algae Oil - not sure how long it has been around. Right now, it is a rather small site, am sure it will grow fast and become more useful with time
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Came across this new site Algae Oil - not sure how long it has been around. Right now, it is a rather small site, am sure it will grow fast and become more useful with time
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Algae Fuel Webinar - Can Algae Biofuels Satisfy Growing Biofuel Needs?
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Two leading Algae experts will share their views on the commercialization prospects of Algae Biofuels at the upcoming "Algae Biofuels: The REAL Story" webinar. This webinar separates facts from fiction and will provide a critical examination of several key issues central to long-term commercial success.
Algae Biofuels may not be quite ready for commercial production. In fact, according to one industry expert, future development faces three significant obstacles:
1) The relatively high costs of production;
2) The current market focus on Algae production for the health food market and
3) The lack of biological know-how for commercial scale Algae biofuel production.
So what is the correct and commercially viable path for Algae Biofuels to ultimately take? Today's current realities will be explored at the upcoming "Algae Biofuels: The REAL Story" webinar. This free webinar will air Wednesday, 29 October at 9 a.m. US Eastern Time, 1 p.m. GMT, 6.30 p.m. India, 9 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong. The webinar is part of the upcoming Algae World 2008 meeting in Singapore on November 17 and 18.
For more info on the webinar, see here
By the way, have you subscribed to the Oilgae Blog?; How about joining the Oilgae mailing list?; and our forum to discuss on with others?
Two leading Algae experts will share their views on the commercialization prospects of Algae Biofuels at the upcoming "Algae Biofuels: The REAL Story" webinar. This webinar separates facts from fiction and will provide a critical examination of several key issues central to long-term commercial success.
Algae Biofuels may not be quite ready for commercial production. In fact, according to one industry expert, future development faces three significant obstacles:
1) The relatively high costs of production;
2) The current market focus on Algae production for the health food market and
3) The lack of biological know-how for commercial scale Algae biofuel production.
So what is the correct and commercially viable path for Algae Biofuels to ultimately take? Today's current realities will be explored at the upcoming "Algae Biofuels: The REAL Story" webinar. This free webinar will air Wednesday, 29 October at 9 a.m. US Eastern Time, 1 p.m. GMT, 6.30 p.m. India, 9 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong. The webinar is part of the upcoming Algae World 2008 meeting in Singapore on November 17 and 18.
For more info on the webinar, see here
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Algal Biodiesel Powers Dune Buggy @ Old Dominion University
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What looks just like a dune buggy -- for researchers at Old Dominion University -- is much, much more. Powered by what grows in ponds and aquariums, what's bubbling inside these large vats is being called the fuel of the future.
Dr. Patrick Hatcher is a leader of the Algae-to-Biodiesel Pilot Project at ODU. He says the project has hit some snags -- mostly because of the need for more microscopic plants. But they are going to continue the good efforts
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What looks just like a dune buggy -- for researchers at Old Dominion University -- is much, much more. Powered by what grows in ponds and aquariums, what's bubbling inside these large vats is being called the fuel of the future.
Dr. Patrick Hatcher is a leader of the Algae-to-Biodiesel Pilot Project at ODU. He says the project has hit some snags -- mostly because of the need for more microscopic plants. But they are going to continue the good efforts
More from here
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Will Feeding Organic Waste to Algae Increase Oil Yield? asks University of Virginia Prof Lisa Colosi
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One key difficulty with algae is yields – typically, many algae growing in a natural state only produces about one percent by weight of the hydrocarbons desired. Now new a new research program from the University of Virginia aims to change that.
The new program, funded by a UVA Collaborative Sustainable Energy Seed Grant worth about $30,000, seeks to apply analytical engineering practices to optimizing the algae's fuel output.
According to Professor Lisa Colosi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who is part of the project team, feeding carbon dioxide and organic waste to the algae can increase their oil yield to as high as 40 percent by weight. If the team can prove that either of the factors can indeed boost production, it would provide additional benefits. If the organic sludge works, the algae could be used to treat wastewater. If the concentrated carbon dioxide works, the algae could have coal power-plant flue gas bubbled through it, which contains 10 to 30 times atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. This could help cut the emissions from coal plants. Algae could else help remove nitrogen gas from industrial sources.
Full report from here
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One key difficulty with algae is yields – typically, many algae growing in a natural state only produces about one percent by weight of the hydrocarbons desired. Now new a new research program from the University of Virginia aims to change that.
The new program, funded by a UVA Collaborative Sustainable Energy Seed Grant worth about $30,000, seeks to apply analytical engineering practices to optimizing the algae's fuel output.
According to Professor Lisa Colosi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who is part of the project team, feeding carbon dioxide and organic waste to the algae can increase their oil yield to as high as 40 percent by weight. If the team can prove that either of the factors can indeed boost production, it would provide additional benefits. If the organic sludge works, the algae could be used to treat wastewater. If the concentrated carbon dioxide works, the algae could have coal power-plant flue gas bubbled through it, which contains 10 to 30 times atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. This could help cut the emissions from coal plants. Algae could else help remove nitrogen gas from industrial sources.
Full report from here
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
Talk on Biofuels Winners, Billion Dollar Companies at Algae Biomass Summit
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Algae-based biofuels are the topic du jour. And why not—the prospect of using pond scum to power 21st-century transportation and replace crude oil is pretty appealing. So one of the highlights from the Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle yesterday, besides the keynote by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, was a panel of prominent VCs discussing the ins and outs of the fledgling biofuels business. Bob Nelsen, a co-founder and managing director at Seattle-based Arch Venture Partners, was joined by Jim Long, a venture partner at Redwood Shores, CA-based Gabriel Venture Partners, and moderator Josh Green, a general partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures in Menlo Park, CA.
Interesting analysis on the summit here
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Algae-based biofuels are the topic du jour. And why not—the prospect of using pond scum to power 21st-century transportation and replace crude oil is pretty appealing. So one of the highlights from the Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle yesterday, besides the keynote by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, was a panel of prominent VCs discussing the ins and outs of the fledgling biofuels business. Bob Nelsen, a co-founder and managing director at Seattle-based Arch Venture Partners, was joined by Jim Long, a venture partner at Redwood Shores, CA-based Gabriel Venture Partners, and moderator Josh Green, a general partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures in Menlo Park, CA.
Interesting analysis on the summit here
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Carbon Trust’s Algae Biofuels Challenge
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The Carbon Trust’s multi-million pound initiative into algae to transport fuels*
As part of our Advanced Bioenergy Accelerator, the Carbon Trust intends to make a multi-million pound investment to support the development and commercialisation of microalgae biofuel technologies that have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Microalgae can be cultivated and manipulated to produce high yields of oil that can be used as a feedstock for further refining into transport oil. The potential biomass yield of microalgae is vast compared to conventional agricultural biofuel feedstocks and it has few of their negative impacts (it does not require arable land or freshwater and does not compete with commodity food crops). Therefore, the production of microalgae biofuels at scale would represent a disruptive technological breakthrough. However, many challenges remain to make low cost algae biofuels a commercial reality.
Following an extensive programme of work over the last year, analysing the algae biofuel opportunity and developing an appropriate R&D investment strategy to overcome these challenges, the Carbon Trust intends to fund R&D into microalgae derived transport fuels through the Algae Biofuels Challenge, ABC.
The ABC is a two phase programme with the first phase addressing fundamental R&D challenges and the second phase moving to large scale production of algal oil. The total programme cost is expected to be in the region of £20m-30m, with up to £10m-16m of Carbon Trust funding. Further details about the two phases of the ABC can be downloaded using the links on the right hand side of this page.
The call for proposals for Phase 1 of the ABC opened on the 23rd October 2008 and closes on 15th December 2008. To accompany the launch of the ABC, we will be holding a launch event on the afternoon and evening of Thursday 30th October in London.
The launch event will be used to explain our strategy for the Algae Biofuels Challenge and will provide facilitated opportunities for networking and an evening drinks reception. The networking opportunities will be designed to provide a forum for attendees to generate inter-disciplinary and inter-organisational collaborations to deliver the requirements of the Algae Biofuels Challenge. The event will also provide you with the opportunity to discuss the call for EoIs with members of the Carbon Trust research and development management team who will be on hand to address any questions you may have related to your own plans.
In order to register for the event, please complete our registration form and return it by email to events_team@carbontrust.co.uk. If you have questions about the event, please email the same address, or call us on 0845 136 0103. Otherwise, for more general information about our bioenergy activities, or to be added to our interest list to receive regular updates and announcements about the Algae Biofuels Challenge, please email us at pipeline@carbontrust.co.uk.
Source page @ Carbon Trust, UK
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The Carbon Trust’s multi-million pound initiative into algae to transport fuels*
As part of our Advanced Bioenergy Accelerator, the Carbon Trust intends to make a multi-million pound investment to support the development and commercialisation of microalgae biofuel technologies that have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Microalgae can be cultivated and manipulated to produce high yields of oil that can be used as a feedstock for further refining into transport oil. The potential biomass yield of microalgae is vast compared to conventional agricultural biofuel feedstocks and it has few of their negative impacts (it does not require arable land or freshwater and does not compete with commodity food crops). Therefore, the production of microalgae biofuels at scale would represent a disruptive technological breakthrough. However, many challenges remain to make low cost algae biofuels a commercial reality.
Following an extensive programme of work over the last year, analysing the algae biofuel opportunity and developing an appropriate R&D investment strategy to overcome these challenges, the Carbon Trust intends to fund R&D into microalgae derived transport fuels through the Algae Biofuels Challenge, ABC.
The ABC is a two phase programme with the first phase addressing fundamental R&D challenges and the second phase moving to large scale production of algal oil. The total programme cost is expected to be in the region of £20m-30m, with up to £10m-16m of Carbon Trust funding. Further details about the two phases of the ABC can be downloaded using the links on the right hand side of this page.
The call for proposals for Phase 1 of the ABC opened on the 23rd October 2008 and closes on 15th December 2008. To accompany the launch of the ABC, we will be holding a launch event on the afternoon and evening of Thursday 30th October in London.
The launch event will be used to explain our strategy for the Algae Biofuels Challenge and will provide facilitated opportunities for networking and an evening drinks reception. The networking opportunities will be designed to provide a forum for attendees to generate inter-disciplinary and inter-organisational collaborations to deliver the requirements of the Algae Biofuels Challenge. The event will also provide you with the opportunity to discuss the call for EoIs with members of the Carbon Trust research and development management team who will be on hand to address any questions you may have related to your own plans.
In order to register for the event, please complete our registration form and return it by email to events_team@carbontrust.co.uk. If you have questions about the event, please email the same address, or call us on 0845 136 0103. Otherwise, for more general information about our bioenergy activities, or to be added to our interest list to receive regular updates and announcements about the Algae Biofuels Challenge, please email us at pipeline@carbontrust.co.uk.
Source page @ Carbon Trust, UK
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University of Texas Researchers on Forefront of Studying Algae Biofuel
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University of Texas researchers have turned their attention to a promising alternative fuel source: pond scum.
Researchers at UT, home to the largest collection of algae in the world, are vying for a piece of a Defense Department research project that nudges scientists to find fuel alternatives for its jet airplanes from nothing more glamorous than algae. The department said it has not chosen who will get the research grants, but UT researchers say the federal government plans to spend at least $50 million on the project.
Full report here
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University of Texas researchers have turned their attention to a promising alternative fuel source: pond scum.
Researchers at UT, home to the largest collection of algae in the world, are vying for a piece of a Defense Department research project that nudges scientists to find fuel alternatives for its jet airplanes from nothing more glamorous than algae. The department said it has not chosen who will get the research grants, but UT researchers say the federal government plans to spend at least $50 million on the project.
Full report here
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Vinod Khosla Says Algae Can Be the Solution @ 2008 Algae Biomass Summit
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The 2008 Algae Biomass Summit opened on 23rd Oct to a capacity audience of more than 600 algae producers, scientists, investors and policy-makers from more than a dozen countries. These experts gathered to accelerate the development of algae-based solutions to global energy, environmental, and economic issues. Keynote speaker and pre-eminent clean technology investor Vinod Khosla set the tone for the conference by stating his belief that given the continued developments in technology, algae can play a significant role in the replacement of petroleum oil.
I am here today because I believe algae can be a solution, stated Khosla. "I'm convinced someone here (at the Summit) will break the code. The exciting part is to see over 600 people in this room solving the problem. In fact, someone out there may have already solved it and I just dont know yet."
Full report from here
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The 2008 Algae Biomass Summit opened on 23rd Oct to a capacity audience of more than 600 algae producers, scientists, investors and policy-makers from more than a dozen countries. These experts gathered to accelerate the development of algae-based solutions to global energy, environmental, and economic issues. Keynote speaker and pre-eminent clean technology investor Vinod Khosla set the tone for the conference by stating his belief that given the continued developments in technology, algae can play a significant role in the replacement of petroleum oil.
I am here today because I believe algae can be a solution, stated Khosla. "I'm convinced someone here (at the Summit) will break the code. The exciting part is to see over 600 people in this room solving the problem. In fact, someone out there may have already solved it and I just dont know yet."
Full report from here
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2008 Algae Biomass Summit Speakers - Seattle, Washington
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2008 ALGAE BIOMASS SUMMIT SPEAKERS
This is the entire list of summit speakers at the recently held Algae Biomass Summit in Washington. The list might be useful to many of you who are making efforts in the algae to fuel domain.
MARK P. ALLEN, P.E.
CEO & Co-Founder
A2BE CARBON CAPTURE, LLC
Mr. Mark Allen is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of A2BE Carbon Capture LLC. He is a licensed professional engineer with over 25 years experience in the design, construction, and operation of large-scale engineering, infrastructure, and environmental projects including biological process systems with a capacity of over 500 million gallons per day. He holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a successful entrepreneur having founded a venture capital backed corporate knowledge management company in 1999 where he was the
Chairman and CEO. Previously he managed large engineering organizations for Rust Environment and Infrastructure, Metcalf & Eddy, SAIC, and others. For these organizations Mr. Allen had full profit and loss responsibility for multiple lines
of business including: water and wastewater engineering, environmental engineering, hazardous and solid waste engineering, transportation engineering, general civil engineering, information technology, and other professional service offerings. Mr. Allen is also a former Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
DR. AMI BEN-AMOTZ
SENIOR SCIENTIST
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY (ISRAEL) AND SEAMBIOTIC LTD
Dr. Ami Ben-Amotz is presently Professor of Marine Phycology at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Haifa, Israel. Dr. Ben-Amotz focused his studies on the alga Dunaliella while obtaining both his MSc degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his PhD from Weitzman Institute of Science (WIS), Israel. After post doctorate studies on marine microalgae at Brandeis University, USA, he returned to Israel and began research at the NIO and the WIS to study the biology, physiology, biochemistry and biotechnology of Dunaliella in a long collaboration with the late Prof. M. Avron of the WIS. The fruitful cooperation led the way to establishment of the commercial Dunaliella production plant in
Eilat, known today as Nature Beta Technologies Ltd., (NBT) Israel, a subsidiary of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan. Along his long career with Dunaliella, Dr. Ben-Amotz served as Head of the Department of Marine Biology at NIO and Head of the Dunaliella Section at the WIS, Chief Scientist of NBT and recently as Chief Scientist of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan. In March 2007, Dr. Ben-Amotz was nominated as President of the 8th International Marine Biotechnology Conference in Eilat. Dr. Ben-Amotz has more than 130 publications and supervised dozens of students mostly on aspects related to
Dunaliella, marine microalgae and natural carotenoids.
DR. JOHN BENEMANN
FOUNDER
BENEMANN ASSOCIATES
Dr. John Benemann received his degrees at the University of California Berkeley in Chemistry (B.S.) and Biochemistry (Ph.D.). He completed his post-doctoral studies in San Diego, and in 1974 rejoined UC Berkeley as an independent investigator at the Sanitary Engineering Research Laboratory to study microalgae for wastewater treatment, biofuels and fertilizer production. While at Berkeley, he supervised the thesis work of five Ph.D. students in Civil Engineering, Biophysics and Plant Physiology. In 1980 he started a small biotechnology company and four years later became an Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been a full time consultant for nearly 20 years and during much of this time has also been a part-time researcher at UC Berkeley. His research and consulting work span across disciplines and institutions, from the fundamental problems of photosynthesis and biological hydrogen production to the engineering of wastewater treatment ponds and landfills to abate greenhouse gas emissions.
DR. VARUM BORIAH
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Varun Boriah received his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology - Karnataka, India with an emphasis in fluid mechanics. He is pursuing a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley emphasizing applications of digital particle image velocimetry in micro-scale fluid devices. He is currently a summer intern in the Thermal/Fluid Science & Engineering Department at Sandia Labs in Livermore, California.
PROFESSOR SAMMY BOUSSIBA
PRESIDENT
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY AND HEAD OF LANDAU FAMILY MICROALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
LAB, BLAUSTEIN INSTITUTES FOR DESERT RESEARCH, BEN GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV
Prof. Boussiba received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biochemistry of Cyanobacteria in 1981 from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. After 2 years of postdoctoral studies at Cornell University at Ithaca N.Y., he rejoined the Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory (MBL) at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Prof. Boussiba is the Head of the MBL since 1995 to date. His current research interest concerns developing the biotechnology of the production of high value products, with special emphasis on astaxanthin from Haematococcus, use of microalgae to encounter environmental problems, and developing integrated aquaculture biosystems for efficient water utilization. As an outcome of this work, commercial enterprises have been set up, one
located in the Arava at Kibutz Ketura, a plant for the production of the valuable carotenoid astaxanthin produced from the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. This set up includes one the world largest and most advanced tubular photobioreactors. The second one concerns the establishment of a start-up company “BioSan” involved in the commercialization of engineered cyanobacteria for mosquito biocontrol of pest diseases. Prof. Boussiba is the author of few dozens of publications, and has been the supervisor so far of some 40 research students (M.Sc., Ph.D. and postdocs).
In 2003 Prof. Boussiba was awarded "Doctor Honoris Causa" by the University of West Hungary. Also, as a reward for his achievements in Microalgal Biotechnology, Prof. Boussiba was awarded at 2004 a Chair in Economic Botany, by the Senate of the Ben-Gurion University. All the above has positioned Prof. Boussiba among the world leading scientists in the field of Microalgal Biotechnology. He currently serves as the president of the International Society of Applied Phycology (ISAP).
ANDREW T. BRAFF
ASSOCIATE
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
Andrew Braff is an associate in the Seattle office at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a member of the steering committee for the Algae Biomass Summit, and counsel to the Algal Biomass Organization. His practice focuses on renewable energy project development, including drafting and reviewing engineering, procurement, and construction agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, energy supply and offtake agreements, and equipment supply agreements for the wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and biofuels industries. Mr. Braff also has advised on federal and state legislative and regulatory process, including the Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard mandated by the Energy Policy Act and various state renewable portfolio standards. Mr. Braff previously served
as an extern for Justice Mary E. Fairhurst of the Washington State Supreme Court and as director for policy and public affairs for California State Assemblyman (now State Senator) Mark Wyland. In addition, he served as a legislative assistant
to Congressman George R. Nethercutt, Jr. Mr. Braff received his B.A. from Whitman College and his J.D. degree from the University of Washington School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Washington.
DR. DAVID BRUNE
PROFESSOR
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Dr. David Brune is a Professor and Newman Endowed Chair of Natural Resources Engineering at Clemson University. He holds the following degrees: Ph.D., Sanitary Engineering , University of Missouri (1978 ); M.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Missouri (1975 ); AND B.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Missouri (1974). Dr. Brune has been working with aquaculture for 20 years, of which the first decade was spent in raising catfish. During that time, Clemson researchers found ways to increase algal growth; the algae produced additional oxygen and treated waste in the water.
BILL BUCHAN
CEO
MARKET POTENTIAL, INC- NASA INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
Bill Buchan has 21 years of experience in the energy and environmental sectors as a consultant with such firms as Arthur D. Little, evaluating and commercializing new technologies in these sectors. His experiences with new technologies, including fuel cells, distributed generation, alternative fuels, renewable energy, and several air emission and water control technologies, has given him great insight into the direction of the energy and environmental markets and the adoption issues new technologies face. During the last 18 years, Mr. Buchan’s focus has been in sales, marketing, and business development, while managing the business activities of his consulting operation. Throughout his career, Mr. Buchan has developed business strategies for clients in multiple industries, including energy, environment, biotech, transportation, internet, and retail sectors. He has helped raise both public and private money for the commercialization of energy and environmental technologies. Mr. Buchan was also the VP of Marketing and acting-CEO of a bio-oil venture, Sustainable Biomass Energy, and continues to be involved in other start-ups today. He is a member of the Gerson Lehrman Group Council, providing investors with market insights regarding new energy and environmental technologies. A licensed
engineer, Mr. Buchan has authored over 20 publications and presentations during his career and he holds a Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, a Master's degree in civil/environmental engineering, and an MBA with an emphasis in entrepreneurship from the University of California at Berkeley.
THOMAS BYRNE
PRESIDENT & CEO
BYRNE & COMPANY, LTD
Thomas Byrne, owner of Byrne & Company Limited, is one of the ethanol industry’s most experienced consultants. He received his B.S. degree in Accounting from St. Cloud State University. His experience dates back to 1979 where he began his career as an accountant and later becoming a consultant to the biofuels industry. Since forming Byrne & Company Ltd, Tom has worked on many successful projects for clients, offering a broad array of services. These services include feasibility studies; business plan preparation; organization of equity meetings; structuring and negotiating debt with public and private financing organizations, from raising capital to the completion of the project; and applications for federal and state grant incentives. Tom also has spoken at conferences in New York, Costa Rica, Poland, and Panama on the securing of financing within the biofuels industry and the future of biofuels. As the president and CEO, he has the responsibility to manage the planning and delivery of services provided to clients, as well as preparing complex financial models and overseeing project development services. His experience has allowed him to introduce development projects to equity and financial organizations, Departments of Trade and Economic Development, and federal, state, and local organizations to provide financial and other assistance. Mr. Byrne is a member of the Renewable Fuels Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Economic Development Association of Minnesota, American Coalition for Ethanol, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
DR. FENG CHEN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
CENTER OF MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BIOTECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
Dr. Feng Chen is Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institue’s Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB). Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Marine Microbial Ecology in 1995 from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published more than 40 scientific papers and book chapters, covering both basic and applied aspects of marine microbiology and biotechnology. His research focuses on ecology, physiology, genomics and proteomics of microbes which include viruses, bacteria and microalgae in the marine environment. Dr. Chen has extensive experience
with isolation and characterization of microalgae from aquatic environments, and is a member of algal research team at COMB. Dr. Chen has been invited to deliver multiple speeches at international conferences. He has served in several
review panels for federal funding agencies and has received research funds from NSF, DOE, NOAA, Sea Grants, and other private interests. Currently, he is developing several research programs related to algal biofuels.
BEN CLOUD
PRESIDENT & COO
XL RENEWABLES
For over 25 years, Ben Cloud was a farmer, farmland developer and consultant with operations in Arizona and Southern California. His early adoption of drip irrigation has provided a clear vision for the application of proven irrigation components in the development and operation of large-scale algae biomass production systems. In 2006 he co-founded XL Renewables, Inc. to produce renewable motor fuels. The Company's initial project is a $260 million integrated biorefinery in Vicksberg, Arizona. Mr. Cloud attended the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and currently serves as President of the Project CENTRL (Center for Rural Leadership) Alumni Council. He was a co-founder of Gold Canyon Bank in Gold Canyon, Arizona in 2005. Mr. Cloud is a resident of Chandler, Arizona.
DR. KEITH COOKSEY
PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Keith Cooksey is one of many U.S. scientists who studied the feasibility of turning algal oil into biodiesel in the 1980’s. From 1978 to 1995, the U.S. Department of Energy funded, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory administered, a study to investigate algae as a source of fuel and its ability to consume the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
RUPERT CRAGGS
GROUP MANAGER
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WATER AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH (NEW ZEALAND)
EZIO NICOLA D’ADDARIO
R & D DEPARTMENT MANAGER
ENI DIVISION R&M
Ezio D’Addario currently manages the Ecomanagement and Environmental Protection group at the Environmental Research Centre of Eni Division Refining & Marketing in Monterotondo, Italy. Mr. D’Addario is responsible for researching environmental monitoring of marine basins, biomarkers and bioindicators, Life Cycle Assessment of new systems for energy and biofuel production and CO2 biofixation with microalgae. A chemical engineer, Mr. D’Addario has worked for many companies in the Eni group beginning with Snamprogetti as a petroleum process engineer. Since studying biotechnology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, he has worked in the R&D units of Eni corporate for many years, developing biotechnological processes for pharmaceutical intermediates and sweeteners production.
Throughout his career, Mr. D’Addario has managed multiple international R&D projects by utilizing his biotechnological experiesnces to develop technologies related to waste and wastewater treatment, soil bioremediation and biofuel production. Mr. D’Addario spent three years in London at the Agip Kazakhstan Oil Consortium where he was in charge of the Environmental Impact Assessment of offshore facilities at the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea.
BILLY M. GLOVER
MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRLINES
Billy Glover leads an enterprise-wide team responsible for developing and implementing a global environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Under his leadership the team is addressing key issues facing the aviation industry including reducing aircraft noise and greenhouse gas emissions, alternative fuels research, and influencing public policy and opinion. His cross-functional team is also providing input on key product design elements for maximizing the environmental performance of Boeing aircraft. Mr. Glover, who previously led derivative product development for Commercial Airplanes, has held various engineering assignments with the company involving 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 airplanes, as well as product development, research programs, and government and commercial contracts. He also has extensive experience leading government and industry relations nitiatives. Mr. Glover is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. He is also a member of the Industrial Advisory
Committee for Herrick Labs, Purdue University and is a board member of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). He is co-chair of the Algal Biomass Organization. Mr. Glover joined Boeing in 1978, after graduating from Purdue University with a Masters of Science in Engineering, with an emphasis in engineering acoustics. He received his Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering in 1976 from Purdue University. In addition, Glover has completed executive education studies at the Harvard Business School.
DR. STEVEN J GLUCK
SCIENTIST
DOW CHEMICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Dr. Steven Gluck is a scientist for the BioSciences platform within The Dow Chemical Company. Dow Chemical BioSciences defines renewable resource opportunities for existing Dow products. He is responsible for assessing and identifying routes for technology breakthroughs in the commodity scale production of algae oils. In addition to fuel applications, these oils are also being developed by his team as feedstocks for other chemical processes. Dr. Gluck’s leadership of technical due-diligence teams creates additional algal opportunities by evaluating external technologies and partnering with other companies and universities when applicable. Dr. Gluck has worked for Dow Chemical since 1979. Prior to his work at BioSciences, he was responsible for developing new environmental treatment technologies
particularly with respect to water, wastewater, and greenhouse gases. Dr. Gluck also optimized operations support as well as being the organization’s Intellectual Capital Manager. He is the president of the Instrumentation Testing Association and is very active in the Water Environment Federation. Dr. Gluck received a BS from Whitworth College, an MS from the University of Idaho and a PhD from the University of Leipzig.
QUINN GORETZKY
PROJECT MANAGER
INNOVATIONS CANADA
DR. BEN GRAZIANO
R&D MANAGER, INNOVATIONS
THE CARBON TRUST (UK)
Dr. Ben Graziano joined the Carbon Trust’s Innovations Team in March 2008. The Innovations Team helps to develop commercially promising low carbon technologies through funding, partnerships, expert advice and large-scale demonstrations. Within Innovations, he is responsible for the Carbon Trust’s Algae Biofuels Challenge, which is part of the Bioenergy Directed Research Programme. Dr. Graziano’s other responsibilities include managing a portfolio of Applied Research projects and informing the Carbon Trust of new low carbon technology commercialization opportunities. The Carbon Trust is a private company, backed by the UK government. Its mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organizations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon
technologies.
JOSH L. GREEN
PARTNER
MOHR DAVIDOW VENTURES
Josh Green joined MDV's investing team with a focus on Cleantech companies. Cleantech spans multiple, independent value chains ranging from solar to biofuels to clean coal. He applies his experience in a broad range of industries including semiconductors, biotechnology and networking to help Cleantech entrepreneurs define their markets and products. Mr. Green has more than 25 years of experience working with companies from startup phase to large public company, and has helped many management teams focus their energy on building value for the enterprise and its
stakeholders. Throughout his career he has guided entrepreneurs and helped to build some of the most successful emerging growth companies in Silicon Valley including the Internet (Yahoo!), biotechnology (Geron), medical devices (Target Therapeutics), telecommunication/networking (Cerent) and semiconductors (Xilinx). Mr. Green has a track record of growing and developing teams and organizations. He was instrumental in expanding Venture Law Group to over 110 lawyers and assisting in the successful merger with Heller Ehrman in 2003. Previously, he practiced law at Brobeck,
Phleger & Harrison LLP, and developed the Palo Alto office from six to well over 100 lawyers. Mr. Green has completed initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions that rank among the largest and most successful in Silicon Valley history. Together, these transactions total more than $10 billion dollars. His work was recognized when he was named to the Forbes Midas List. He graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 1977 and the UCLA School of Law in 1980 where he was on the Law Review.
NATHANAEL GREENE
SENIOR POLICY ANALYST
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
Nathanael Greene received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Brown University and a Master of Science Degree in Energy and Resources from University of California Berkeley. He joined NRDC in 1992 and worked two years before continuing his studies. Upon obtaining his master’s degree In 1996, he returned to NRDC and worked there since. Mr. Greene is a senior policy analyst and is responsible for working on energy policy and related issues including utility restructuring, energy taxes, energy efficiency, renewables, and low-income services. His particular expertise is clean energy technologies including wind, solar and biomass energy, fuel cells, combined heat and power, and energy efficiency as well as the regulations and policies necessary to promote these technologies. For the last few years Mr. Greene has been focusing on assessing the sustainable potential for biofuels and developing policies to advance them.
DENIS HAYES
PRESIDENT
BULLITT FOUNDATION
Denis Hayes directs The Bullitt Foundation from the perspective of a practical visionary who has devoted his life to conservation. With mixed feelings, he acknowledges that he is probably still best known for having been National Coordinator of the first Earth Day when he was 25. But he also is the seasoned veteran of many environmental, legislative, and litigation victories over the years. Internationally, he is recognized for expanding Earth Day to more than 180 nations.
It is now the world’s most widely observed secular holiday. During the Carter Administration, Mr. Hayes directed the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He has been a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University, and a Silicon Valley lawyer. Mr. Hayes has received the national Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as the highest awards bestowed by the Sierra Club, The Humane Society of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Council of America, the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank, the interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the American Solar Energy Society, and the Commonwealth Club. Mr. Hayes has served on dozens of governing boards, including those of Stanford University, the World Resources Institute, the Federation of American Scientists, The Energy Foundation, Children Now, the National Programming Council for Public Television, the American Solar Energy Society,
Greenpeace, CERES, and the Environmental Grantmakers Association. He continues to chair the board of the international Earth Day Network. Mobilizing the resources of The Bullitt Foundation, Mr. Hayes intends to make the Pacific Northwest – the best-educated, most environmentally aware, most progressive corner of America – a global model for sustainable development.
DR. DAVID HAZLEBECK
PROGRAM MANAGER
GENERAL ATOMICS
DR. CARL N. HODGES
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE SEAWATER FOUNDATION
Dr. Carl Hodges is the founder and chairman of The Seawater Foundation and an internationally known scientist and innovator. An atmospheric physicist and mathematician, Dr. Hodges’ work can be seen in Seawater Farms Eritrea (SFE), an integrated agricultural and aquacultural farm in Africa. Critical to the success of the Eritrea project has been Dr. Hodges’ experiences with controlled environmental agriculture in the Middle East and the Americas, the Land Pavilion at EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World in Florida, scientific consulting on Biosphere 2 and many corporate associations including Coca-Cola, Disney, Kraft Foods, W.R. Grace, Lufthansa, and Resorts International. Replicating SFE and advancing the integrated seawater farm systems now being built in Sonora will provide the planet with its first new agriculture in 10,000 years.
DR. QIANG HU
DIRECTOR
LABORATORY FOR ALGAE RESEARCH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Qiang Hu, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at Arizona State University (ASU) with 20 years of knowledge and experience in applied phycology, photobioreactor system design, and mass culture of microalgae for various commercial applications. Pioneering high-density algal culture methodology, Dr. Hu has contributed to the understanding of biological principles underlying photosynthetic productivity in high-density algal mass cultures. An expert in photobioreactor system design, he has developed various types of culture systems in China, Israel, Japan, and USA. Prior to ASU, Dr. Hu was engaged in the final phase of a 10-year national algae-based carbon sequestration program in Japan. Dr. Hu has published over 30 research papers and is an inventor and holder of 14 patents related to algae-based biofuel production, carbon sequestration, wastewater treatment, and high-value products from algae.
DR. MICHAEL H. HUESEMANN
STAFF RESEARCH ENGINEER
PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY-MARINE SCIENCE LABORATORY
Dr. Michael Huesemann (Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas) has conducted both experimental and theoretical research in environmental and marine biotechnology for more than fifteen years. Dr. Huesemann currently is or has been the principal investigator on numerous major U.S. Department of Energy funded
research projects focusing on diverse areas such as photosynthetic hydrogen production, optimization of microalgal lipid and hydrocarbon production, biofixation of carbon dioxide from flue gases by marine microalgae, the effects of ocean
carbon sequestration on nitrogen cycling, and hydrocarbon bioavailability in aged petroleum contaminated soils undergoing bioremediation treatment. He is also the principal investigator on an Office of Naval Research funded project
on in-situ phytoremediation of PAH and PCB contaminated marine sediments with sea-grasses. In addition, Dr. Huesemann has published journal articles on the metabolic regulation of solvent production in anaerobic fermentations, the modeling of the leaching kinetics of hydrocarbons in aged soils, statistical soil sampling, critical analyses of mitigation responses to global climate change, environmental policy analysis, sustainable development, and professional ethics. He currently also serves as editorial board member of Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, and Progress in Industrial Ecology.
DR. MARK HUNTLEY
CHIEF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
CELLANA
Dr. Mark Huntley (Ph.D., Biological Oceanography, Dalhousie University 1980) is a thought-leader in marine biological sciences. One of the most frequently-cited researchers in his field, an organizer of global research initiatives, and an entrepreneur, Dr. Huntley has been active in biofuels research and development for more than 20 years. He has held research faculty positions at both Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of Hawaii. He held a senior management role for 10 years in the GLOBEC program, a $300 million international scientific research program investigating the impact of global change on marine ecosystems. Dr. Huntley was cofounder of Aquasearch, Inc., an algae biotechnology public company, and co-founder of HR BioPetroleum. He currently serves as Chief Science and Technology Officer for both Cellana and HR BioPetroleum.
CONGRESSMAN JAY INSLEE
MEMBER OF THE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM 1ST DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON STATE
Raised on the shores of Puget Sound, Congressman Jay Inslee comes from a long line of Washingtonians and wants to protect the state’s natural beauty for his three sons and generations to come. Congressman Inslee has worked at the federal level – as representative for the 4th Congressional District from 1992-1994 and the 1st Congressional District since 1999 – to protect the environment of Washington state and address the problem of global warming. Congressman Inslee fought to restore protections for roadless areas in national forests and led a successful campaign in the House to keep limits on oil-tanker traffic in Puget Sound. Since 2005, he has used his seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee to promote his vision for a clean energy future, the New Apollo Energy Act, and to advance other legislation that would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. In March 2007, he was appointed to the 15-member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Beyond advocating sound environmental policies, Congressman Inslee has
used a common-sense approach in Congress to help expand the region’s high-tech economy, promote privacy protections for American consumers and strengthen programs for seniors like Social Security and Medicare. He also has supported increased spending for port security and veterans’ services. Congressman Inslee backed the war in Afghanistan to root out terrorists; but he voted against the war in Iraq and has been an outspoken critic of administration policies there. Even before his election to the U.S. Congress, Congressman Inslee was a public servant. He was a state legislator and prosecutor in Selah, Wash. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Washington and earned his law degree from Willamette University.
DR. SCOTT C. JAMES
PRINCIPAL MEMBER OF THE TECHNICAL STAFF, THERMAL/FLUID SCIENCE & ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Scott James received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego with emphases in fluid mechanics and numerical methods. In 2001, he graduated from UC Irvine with a doctorate in Engineering with emphasis on solving environmental flow and transport problems. Shortly thereafter, he joined Sandia National Laboratories’ Performance/Risk Assessment and Decision Analysis Department in Carlsbad, New Mexico, in charge of certifying the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the only operating transuranic nuclear waste repository in the world. Next, he joined the Geohydrology Department in Albuquerque and contributed significantly to the Yucca Mountain Project and International Programs. Dr. James is currently a Principal Member of the Technical Staff in the Thermal/Fluid Science & Engineering
Department at Sandia Labs in Livermore, California, where he continues to work on a wide variety of environmental flow and transport modeling problems. Recently, he has focused on modeling open-channel flow systems in an attempt to optimize algae growth for biofuel production.
VINOD KHOSLA
FOUNDER
KHOSLA VENTURES
Vinod Khosla grew up dreaming of being an entrepreneur, despite growing up in an Indian Army household with no business or technology connections. Since age 16, when he first heard about Intel starting up, he dreamt of starting his own technology company. Upon graduating with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Mr. Khosla failed, at age 20, to start a soy milk company to service the many people in India who did not have refrigerators. He came to the US and got his Masters in Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University. His startup dreams attracted him to Silicon Valley where he got an MBA at Stanford University in 1980. Upon graduation Mr. Khosla was one of the three founders of Daisy Systems, which was the first significant computer aided design system for electrical engineers. The company went on to significant revenue, profits and an IPO, but he, driven by the frustration of having to design the computer hardware on which the Daisy software needed to be built, started the standards based Sun Microsystems in 1982 to build workstations for software developers. At Sun he pioneered "open systems" and RISC processors. Sun was funded by long time friend and board member John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In 1986 Mr. Khosla switched sides and joined Kleiner Perkins where he was and continues to be a general partner of KPCB funds through KP X. There, through the years, with other partners, he took on Intel's monopoly with Nexgen/AMD (the only microprocessor to have significant success against Intel, sold to AMD for 28% of AMD), incubated the idea and business plan for Juniper to take on Cisco's dominance of the router market, to formulate the very early advertising based search strategy for Excite, and to transform the moribund telecommunications business and its archaic SONET mplementations with Cerent (sold to Cisco for $7B), and many other ventures. Mr. Khosla helped in creating value, having fun, succeeding, failing (remember Dynabook?) and driving impact in partnership with entrepreneur, and the partners at KPCB. In 2004, Mr. Khosla, driven by the need for flexibility to accommodate four teenage children and a desire to be more experimental, to fund sometimes imprudent "science experiments", and to take on both "for profit" and for "social impact" ventures, formed Khosla Ventures, funded entirely with family funds. His goals remain the same - work and learn from fun and knowledgeable entrepreneurs, build impactful companies through the leverage of innovation, and spend time as a
partnership making a difference. He has a passion for nascent technologies that can have a beneficial effect and economic impact on society. Mr. Khosla’s greatest passion is being a mentor to entrepreneurs, assisting entrepreneurs and helping
them build technology based businesses. He assists or serves on the boards of a number of the companies including EASIC (programmable ASIC platform), Infinera (optical communications), Kovio (printed electronics), Skyblue (internet
PC), Spatial Photonics (Micromirror displays), Xsigo (datacenter switch), among others. Mr. Khosla is a charter member of TiE, a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals founded in 1992 that now has more than forty
chapters in nine countries. He is also a Founding Board member of the Indian School of Business. His current passion is Social Entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on Microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool. He is a supporter of many
microfinance organizations in India and Africa. He has been experimenting with global housing. Mr. Khosla is also passionate about alternative energy, petroleum independence, and the environment.
DR. ROBIN KODNER
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
BODEGA ALGAE, LLC
Dr. Robin Kodner is a geobiologist and has been doing interdisciplinary research on algae for over 10 years. She completed her PhD in Biology from Harvard University where her research was collaboration among the Biology and Earth Sciences Departments at Harvard and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Her research has focused on lipids from algae, their preservation potential in the geologic record, and interpreting ancient organic matter sourced by algae, which is often preserved in the form of petroleum. In working with the biofuels industry and with Bodega Algae, Dr. Kodner is able to apply her knowledge of the diversity of algae and their associated lipids and lipid biosynthesis to making biofuels. Currently she is working on strain development and growth optimization for Bodega's modular bioreactor. Dr. Kodner is also continuing her academic research as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Washington, applying the same analytical tools to investigate algal biomass contributions to the global
carbon cycle, as well as investigating the evolution of algal lipids and lipid biosynthesis.
DR. JOSEPH A. KOCAL
DIRECTOR OF RENEWABLES RESEARCH
RENEWABLE ENERGY & CHEMICALS GROUP, UOP, A HONEYWELL COMPANY
Joe Kocal has been with UOP for 27 years in the Research and Development department. He has worked in the areas of catalyst and process development focussing primarily on new technology for UOP and the industry. Dr. Kocal has 45 patents that protect the new technologies that have been commercialized. He was previously manager of the Exploratory Platforms research group. Currently Dr. Kocal is a Sr. Fellow and Director of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals Research group. He has a Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
TYLER J. KRUTZFELDT
PRINCIPAL
MONT VISTA CAPITAL
Tyler Krutzfeldt, a Board Member of the Algal Biomass Organization, is Founder and Managing Director of Mont Vista Capital, a merchant banking firm focused exclusively on alternative energy sector. Mont Vista Capital clients represent the full spectrum of alternative energy industries including geothermal, algae, ethanol, wind energy, and waste to energy. He is a featured nationwide speaker at major industry conferences such as the national USGBC GreenBuild conference, Bloomberg analytics, and on public television. Mr. Krutzfeldt is the author of an article titled "Carbon Intensity - Opportunity vs. Threat" published in an international biofuels publication in June 2008. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Board Member of Miami CFA. He received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Applied Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Alternative Energy Resources Committee. Mr. Krutzfeldt and his family are also 3rd generation Montana ranchers involved in agribusiness.
DR. ADELHEID KUEHNLE
PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
KUEHNLE ARGOSYSTEMS, INC.
Dr. Kuehnle has over 20 years of experience in plant breeding and biotechnology. More than two dozen tropical flower varieties developed by Dr. Kuehnle are now cultivated and traded globally. She is on leave as Professor from the
University of Hawaii, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, to devote her entrepreneurial talent to Kuehnle AgroSystems, Inc. Dr. Kuehnle has a B.A. degree from Middlebury College and a PhD from Cornell University. Dr. Kuehnle has authored six books and book chapters, more than 60 scientific papers, and is an inventor of 14 patents. Recently, Dr. Kuehnle was named the 2008 Scientist of the Year at the University of Hawaii, winner of the 2008 Hawaii Technology Industry Award, and a finalist as 2008 Pacific Business News Business Woman of the Year.
ALINA KULIKOWSKI-TAN
VICE PRESIDENT
CARBON-CAPTURE CORPORATION
Alina Kulikowski-Tan initially joined Carbon-Capture Corporation (CCC) as a consultant and actively engaged privatepublic partnership opportunities on behalf of the company. Prior to joining CCC, Mrs. Kulikowski-Tan was senior vicepresident with the ADEPT Group, a consulting firm specializing in research, development, and commercialization of new technologies in transportation and energy applications. Her expertise includes project management, strategic planning, capitalization and market research.
DR. DAVID LEWIS
SENIOR LECTURER
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE LEADER, MICROALGAL ENGINEERING
RESEARCH GROUP
Dr. David Lewis is a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. He enrolled at the University in 1993, completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) Honours Degree in 1998. In 1999 David began his Ph.D. in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His Ph.D. project was funded by the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment and focused on the control of cyanobacteria in water supply reservoirs. Dr. Lewis became a lecturer in 2002 and setup the Microalgal Engineering Research Group (MERG) with a research focus on water and wastewater quality & treatment, commercial and environmental applications for microalgae. A key research project within MERG is the optimization of microalgal removal from secondary treated wastewater for agricultural applications. This project directly addresses the challenge of harvesting microalgae from open ponds and the techniques perfected in this area are critical for our biodiesel project. As a Chemical Engineer with a trade background (Electrical Fitter/Mechanic), Dr. Lewis is well equipped to undertake commercial and industrial scale research and development. His engineering background provides the necessary skills to be able to conceptualise and scale-up processes that are economically and environmentally sustainable.
JIM LONG
VENTURE PARTNERS
GABRIEL VENTURES
Jim Long is a Venture Partner at Gabriel who handles investments as well as advises other Gabriel portfolio companies. He is on the boards of Aurora BioFuels, Connectbeam, PlantSense, and YLX. Mr. Long brings with him many years of experience and success in building businesses in the high technology industry, as well as in developing new technologies and patents for the Internet and PC environments. Recently, Mr. Long has been an advisor for several start-ups such as Ruckus Wireless (WiFi video), Skipper Wireless (mesh nets & VoIP), Coghead (SaaS for the long tail), and Jibe Networks (acquired by Citrix). Previously, Mr. Long was the CEO of RioPort, a leading music application service provider (ASP) via its digital distribution infrastructure and MP3 player software. RioPort, powered MTV.com, Best-Buy.com, Yahoo, HP, Nike.com, and Microsoft; was the first internet company to license digital songs for resale from all five major record labels and enabled the first music cell-phones via a partnership with Nokia. Before joining RioPort, Mr. Long was the CEO and Founder of Starlight Networks. Starlight pioneered video streaming and video multicasting with award-winning Internet video infrastructure software and coined the term, "streaming video". Mr. Long is known as the "father" of that industry. Starlight provided Internet video communications products for Fortune 2000 businesses including Smith Barney, General Electric, Bloomberg, Viacom, Disney, Harvard, and Peoplesoft. Starlight Networks was the leader in the corporate video
streaming market when it was acquired by PictureTel in November 1998. Later, he helped transition the business to PictureTel by developing a SaaS business strategy. Mr. Long has also worked with various venture capital firms and startups.
He was instrumental in the successful turn-around of Tolerant Systems to Veritas Software, a leader in the storage management software market. Mr. Long began his career in software development and product marketing at Hewlett Packard where he invented the first presentation graphics application. Later, he spent four years as a venture manager for Fred Adler Venture Capital. Mr. Long holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard University and a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
DR. TRYG J. LUNDQUIST
PROFESSOR
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, PROJECT P.I., ENERGY BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE
Tryg J. Lundquist, Ph.D., P.E. is on the Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His research group develops technologies related to water treatment, energy, and resource recovery. Prior to joining Cal Poly, he worked as a researcher and engineer on algae production and wastewater reclamation projects with the late William J. Oswald at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
MICHAEL MASSINGILL
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
KENT SEATECH CORPORATION
Mr. Massingill is the Executive Vice President of Kent SeaTech Corporation (KST). Since its inception in 1980, he has been influentual in the design, development, and operational success of their commercial striped bass aquaculture facility,
the world’s first and largest, with annual seafood sales of 3.5 million lbs of "California Farmed Striped Bass"®, tilapia, carp, and catfish. Mr. Massingill has also been active in Kent SeaTech’s R & D programs and has been instrumental in
establishing its microalgae-based technologies. Working jointly with Clemson University, Kent SeaTech has developed unique methods for producing microalgae for energy, biomass, and water treatment applications. Based on 40 years of
algae culture experience, Kent SeaTech's technology resolves nearly all of the technical and economic obstacles remaining in the development of commercial-scale production of liquid fuels from algae. KST has also obtained exclusive
rights to Clemson patented technologies, including groundbreaking new techniques for harvesting microalgal biomass and converting it to forms of biolipids that are much easier and economical to extract and process. Kent SeaTech’s microalgae
technology is now refined sufficiently so that outside investor participation is being solicited.
PATRICK MAZZA
RESEARCH DIRECTOR
CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Patrick Mazza is Research Director for Climate Solutions, a research and advocacy group missioned to accelerate global warming solutions. He has written extensively on biofuels and related sustainability issues. A recent series, Growing Sustainable Biofuels,” is available at www.harvestcleanenergy.org. Mr. Mazza also wrote the Energy Foundation framing paper on agriculturally produced energy, The New Harvest: Biofuels and Wind Power for Rural Revitalization and National Energy Security. Other major papers in recent years include a MacArthur Foundation funded report, Carrying the Energy Future: Comparing Hydrogen and Electricity for Transmission, Storage and Transportation, and Powering Up the Smart Grid.
DR. MARGARET MCCORMICK
GENERAL MANAGER
TARGETED GROWTH, INC.
Margaret McCormick is the General Manager for Bio-based Materials at Targeted Growth, Inc. (TGI). She is also a partner at Integra Ventures, a life science venture capital firm. Dr. McCormick has been part of the founding management company of several biotechnology companies including Sapphire Therapeutics, Spectral Genomics and Bacterial BarCodes. She was formerly with BCM Technologies (the venture subsidiary of Baylor College of Medicine) and McKinsey & Company. Dr. McCormick is the treasurer and on the executive board of the Washington Biotechnology and iomedical Association and on the Biotechnology Scientific Advisory Board of Sigma-Aldrich. Dr. McCormick earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
DR. B. GREGORY MITCHELL
PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO, SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY
Dr. Brian G. Mitchell is a Research Biologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of California - San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Mitchell received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in aquatic biology from the
University of Texas at Austin and in 1987 he received his PhD in Biological Oceanography from the University of Southern California. From 1990-1992, Dr. Mitchell served NASA as Program Manager for the Ocean Biochemistry Program and
Program Scientist for the SeaWiFS Ocean Color Satellite Mission. His research on phytoplankton photosynthesis, plankton ecology, ocean optics and satellite remote sensing has been sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, NSF, NASA and NOAA. Dr. Mitchell’s laboratory work focuses on growth and photophysiology of phytoplankton. Field projects explore mechanisms that transport shelf-derived iron into the Scotia Sea, application of new optical methods for inferring ecosystem structure and function, and parameterization of models for phytoplankton photosynthesis. He is currently active in coordinating research and commercial demonstration of algae mass culture for biofuel and CO2 abatement. The focus of his research on algae commercial applications is optimization of yields of bioenergy molecules in the light-temperature-nutrient matrix that regulates algae. More details can be found at www.spg.ucsd.edu.
LISSA MORGENTHALER-JONES
FOUNDING CEO
LIVEFUELS, INC.
Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones is the founding CEO of Live Fuels, Inc, an alliance of scientists expecting to make algae ‘biocrude’ a viable biodiesel oil source by 2010. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics. Ms. Morgenthaler-Jones has written for such publications as Barron's and TheStreet.com. She's been quoted in The New York Times and BusinessWeek, has appeared on radio, CNBC and Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser.
JEFF MUHS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY ENERGY LAB
Jeff Muhs organized elab after being hired as a USTAR professor at Utah State University and now serves as its Executive Director. He and his colleagues at USU founded elab to create new energy innovations to help free America from its
energy dilemma within a generation and to spin off successful businesses across Utah and the U.S. that capitalize on these technologies. A lifelong innovator, Mr. Muhs grew up on a farm in Southern Illinois and spent summers with his dad building houses by day and driving tractors at night. After graduating from college, he worked at Amphenol Fiber Optic Products and developed their line of multimode fiber optic splitters used in local area networks. Mr. Muhs next worked for DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Among his inventions there was a vehicle weigh-in-motion system now being deployed at military facilities worldwide to speed U.S. air deployments. He also invented a system that remotely monitors the security of special nuclear materials using optical fibers, a technology now in use at U.S. nuclear storage facilities. Mr. Muhs’ last invention at ORNL was hybrid solar lighting systems. He served as the Vice President of Research with Sunlight Direct, Inc. – an energy technology company that spun the technology out of ORNL in 2004. During his tenure at ORNL, Mr. Muhs was named Engineer/Scientist of the Year in 1997 and Science Communicator of the Year in 2004. In 2005, Mr. Muhs’ perspective on life changed dramatically when he served as an energy and science policy advisor in the
U.S. Senate. He drafted several provisions included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and led initial staff-level efforts for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, who served as a congressional catalyst for launching President Bush’s American Competitiveness and Advanced Energy Initiatives while Mr. Muhs was on his staff. His most important take-away messages from a year on Capitol Hill were that: a) America’s energy problem is not going away anytime soon, b) consensus top-level national energy goals were both lacking and needed to guide future research, and c) politicians were relying on researchers like him to innovate America out of its energy problem rather than enact mandates. He received his B.S. in Electro-Optics from the University of Houston in 1986.
ROBERT T. NELSEN
CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR
ARCH VENTURE PARTNERS
Robert Nelsen is a co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. Mr. Nelsen joined ARCH at its founding and has played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing and development of more than thirty companies including Sapphire Energy, Ikaria, Illumina (ILMN), Adolor (ADLR), Aviron (AVIR, acquired by Medimmune-MEDI), Caliper Life Sciences (CALP), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Array BioPharma (ARRY), NetBot, deCODE Genetics (DCGN), Nanosys, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), XenoPort (XNPT), GenVec (GNVC), R2 Technology (acquired by Hologic-HOLX), IDUN Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer-PFE), Genomica (GNOM, acquired by Exelixis-EXEL), Surface Logix, NeurogesX (NGSX), Classmates.com (acquired by United Online-UNTD), Nura (acquired by Omeros), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Spaltudaq, VLST, Ensemble Discovery, Accelerator, Apoptos, Fate
Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, and Everyday Learning. Mr. Nelsen is a director of Ikaria, Sapphire Energy, Fate Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, NeurogesX, and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals. He previously served on the boards of Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Surface Logix, Adolor, NetBot, Everyday Learning, Spaltudaq, Array BioPharma, Caliper Life Sciences, Illumina, R2 Technology, and Classmates.com, among others. He also serves as a director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.S. in
Economics and Biology from the University of Puget Sound.
DR. AMIR NEORI
ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER
ISRAEL OCEANOGRAPHIC AND LIMNOLOGICAL RESEARCH, NATIONAL CENTRE FOR MARICULTURE
KELLY OGILVIE
CEO
BLUE MARBLE ENERGY
Kelly Ogilvie is a co-founder and President of Blue Marble Energy (BME). Based in Seattle, BME is an algae biomass to energy company that is pioneering algae applications for petroleum displacement and other renewable products. He has a strong political and business background, with a wide range of experience extending from working for the Mayor of Seattle Greg Nickels, former Washington State Governor Gary Locke, other national and local campaigns, Paul Allen's Vulcan, and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ogilvie has a passion for alternative energy and clean technology which led him to pursue the development of BME's algae to energy technology and business model with James Stephens
in May 2005.
DANIEL J. OH
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
For more than 20 years, Daniel Oh has led a diverse range of business and management organizations. Currently, Oh serves as the chief operating officer of Renewable Energy Group®, Inc. Renewable Energy Group, Inc., (REG) is a biodiesel industry sales leader and is a full-service biodiesel company offering plant management, risk
management, raw material procurement, plant construction management, and biodiesel production, sales and marketing services. REG’s network of biodiesel production facilities includes wholly-owned biodiesel plants and management of third party-owned plants. Renewable Energy Group, Inc., markets biodiesel to fuel distributors and customers in many industries including on-highway fleets, original equipment manufacturers, maritime, military, home heating and agriculture industries. Prior to REG, Mr. Oh served as vice president and member of senior management at ABG, Inc., an
agribusiness consulting firm, responsible for the management consulting and market research practice. Prior to ABG, Mr. Oh was a leader in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking area of Corporate Strategy and Business Development Group at Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company, where Mr. Oh focused on structured financing, all aspects of M&A including integration activities and corporate strategy. Mr. Oh has also served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Oh’s post-graduate career began with the U.S. Army where Mr. Oh served as
an infantry officer for 11 years and held the rank of Major; service included combat, overseas and stateside assignments. Mr. Oh holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago with concentrations in finance, accounting and strategic
management as well as a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the United States Military Academy with a concentration in economics. Mr. Oh serves as Chairman of the Iowa Biodiesel Board.
DR. PHILLIP PIENKOS
RESEARCHER
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
Philip T. Pienkos, Ph.D., is a Principal Research Supervisor in the Applied Biology Group at NREL, joining that organization in August, 2007. Dr. Pienkos has 25 years of biotechnology experience, working on projects in the pharmaceutical, chemical and energy sectors. He was one of the founders at Molecular Logix where he acted as research director in this early stage drug discovery/development company. Prior to that Dr. Pienkos served as research director at Energy BioSystems where he led a group involved in fermentation development and biocatalyst improvement and at Enchira Biotechnology where he led a group responsible for protein therapeutic discovery and production. He was a founding scientist at Celgene Corporation, involved in the development of biotechnology-based methods to produce pharmaceutical intermediates, and worked at Lederle Laboratories, where he developed novel mode-of-action screens for new antibiotics. Dr. Pienkos has co-authored numerous technical publications (including papers on chloroplast replication in algae and nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria) and regularly speaks at national and international conferences. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin and post-doctoral training at the University of Texas. He served six years on the editorial board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology and is a founding member of the Algal Biomass Organization, currently serving on the board of directors for that organization.
JOHN F. PIERCE
PARTNER
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
John F. Pierce is a partner in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Seattle office, where he represents clients in connection with the development and finance of projects involving wind, solar (including photovoltic, conentrated, and thermal),
geothermal, and biomass energy, as well as those involving alternative fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and advancedgeneration biofuels. Mr. Pierce’s practice encompasses project sponsors and investors, and is international in scope, with extensive dealings in South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, India, Africa, and the Middle East. His clients include both venture-backed companies in the renewable energy industry and traditional renewable energy project companies. Among many transactions, Mr. Pierce has advised on the development of ethanol production facilities in western states, as well as on their project financing and construction. He has provided counsel on wind energy projects in the U.S. and Canada, advised U.S. energy companies regarding joint ventures in a biomass-fuel-powered project in the Philippines, and provided counsel on the acquisition of Indonesian geothermal power projects and the development of plants in the
Philippines, including the drafting of the principal transactional documents and negotiations with lenders, as well as major overland and sub sea gas pipelines in Asia. Mr. Pierce also has broad international experience in infrastructure development and financing, including projects involving ports (bulk and containers) and industrial zones; joint ventures and other transactions in the aviation field; investments in Internet and software companies; telecommunications-related regulatory, commercial, and licensing matters; and the financing of oil and gas projects. Mr. Pierce received his B.S. degree from San Francisco State University and his J.D. degree from the University of Washington, School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the states of Oregon and Washington.
DR. JASON PYLE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
SAPPHIRE ENERGY
Dr. Jason Pyle was formerly Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Epoc, Inc., a privately held medical engineering company. Dr. Pyle holds an appointment as adjunct professor of bioengineering at Vanderbilt University where he has worked to develop cross-disciplinary programs of biological and engineering research. As the co- founder and Chief Technical Officer of Pria Diagnostics, Dr. Pyle was named Innovator of the Year (2006) by Frost and Sullivan. Dr. Pyle holds numerous pending and issued patents in the engineering and biological sciences and has worked in diverse crossdiscipline areas such as nanofabrication, optical engineering, and structural biology. In addition to his broad technical abilities, Dr. Pyle has established numerous corporate partnerships between small technical companies and some of the world’s largest corporations. He has directly supervised and coordinated both business development and operational activities within large co-development partnerships. Dr. Pyle has worked in finance, technical and manufacturing
transactions in Singapore, Japan, and China. His post-doctoral research focused on the large-scale expression and control of neural proteins. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology and an M.D. from Stanford University. He
received degrees in optical engineering and physics from the University of Arizona.
SEBASTIEN REMY
HEAD OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS RESEARCH PROGRAM
AIRBUS
Sebastien Remy graduated in 1984 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse, France. He started his career at the Aerospatiale Missiles Division in Paris. Then he occupied several positions within the Engine Performance Department at Airbus in Toulouse, being mainly involved in A320, A330 and A340 developments and certification, as well as in national and international research projects. He has been secretary of SAE E-33 Committee on
In-Flight Thrust Determination for 10 years. Mr. Remy was appointed in 2006 Head of the Powerplant Business & Program Support Domain, within Airbus Engineering, and Head of Airbus Alternative Fuels Research Programs in 2007. He represents Airbus in the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative.
MARK TEGEN
CEO
INVENTURE CHEMICAL
Mark Tegen brings over 18 years of petroleum industry manufacturing, marketing and logistics experience to Inventure. Before co-founding Inventure, he was President of Senergy Chemical, which he formed after licensing a novel patent to convert crude biodiesel glycerin into propylene glyco, a technology which won the 2006 Presidential Green Chemistry Award. In the subsequent two years, Mr. Tegen has worked diligently to develop the technology, form partnerships with Fortune 50 companies and build Senergy into a profitable start up with projected revenues in excess of $200 million. Prior to Senergy, Mr. Tegen was Vice President/General Manager of Pacific Fluids LLC, the largest bulk marketer and terminal of Biodiesel in the Pacific Northwest. He continues to serve as a steering committee member of the Seattle Clean Cities Coalition, and is a member of the Washington State Department of Agriculture Biofuels Advisory Committee. Mr. Tegen received his degree in Business Finance from the University of Washington
DR. MARIO TREDICI
PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE, FLORENCE, ITALY
DEAN TSOUPEIS
CEO
CULTURING SOLUTIONS, INC
Dean Tsoupeis is a veteran of the renewable energy sector, having more than 7 years experience. IN 2005 he designed, engineered, and built a pilot plant to refine waste vegetable oil into ASTM D-6751 approved biodiesel. Mr. Tsoupeis recently performed a feasibility study for a 60MMGY biodiesel refinery in the Tampa Bay area. This project is currently in its funding phase and is awaiting approval of air permits. He recently founded Culturing Solutions, Inc which has been licensed by Varicon Aqua Solutions to carry their internationally patented continuous algae production platform, the BioFence. The BioFence allows algae farms to be built regionally at sources of CO2 (power plants and industrial facilities) and can support co-located biodiesel refineries that provide affordable fuel to the Green Corridors Program.
Current proposals include an algae farm that will mitigate CO2 from a power utility and utilize it to create 60MMGY of biodiesel and 40MMGY of ethanol and another algae farm in South Texas that will produce both 10MMGY of biodiesel and highly nutritious algal protein.
DAVID WAIMANN
CEO
CEQUESTA, LTD
DR. JOSEPH C.WEISSMAN
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
AURORA BIOFUELS, INC
Dr. Joseph Weissman received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University in 1972, a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from University California, Berkeley in 1978. He is currently the President of SeaAg, Inc. a private Florida research and development firm as well as the Vice President for Outdoor Operations of Aurora Biofuels, Inc. in Alameda CA. Dr. Weissman is recognized as an expert in engineered systems for waste treatment, alternative fuels and chemicals, and aquaculture. He has over 30 years experience in the analysis, design, and operation of such systems. Dr. Weissman was awarded the contract for the development of the Outdoor Test Facility in Roswell NM by the Aquatic Species Program. He advises and consults internationally on algal mass cultivation. Dr. Weissman is Principal Investigator for US Department of Energy projects that utilize photosynthetic organisms for the production of biofuels and biofertilizers. He is also the owner of one of the largest clam seed hatcheries in Florida and for nearly 20 years has produced algal biomass for shellfish feed.
KRISTINA WEYER
RESEARCH SCIENTIST
SOLIX BIOFUELS
Kristina Weyer received her B.S. in Physics from Williams College in 2003 and received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in the spring of 2008. While pursuing her Master's degree, Ms. Weyer worked at Solix Biofuels through a graduate study program at CSU's Engines and Energy Conversion Lab. Ms. Weyer focused her work on thermal modeling of algae growth systems and titled her thesis: "Heat-Balance Model and Thermal Analysis of an Algae Growth System for Biofuel." Ms. Weyer's broad experience includes work at the Southface Energy Institute promoting energy efficient home building and at the Aprovecho Research Center conducting research on clean burning stoves in Turkey and India. She currently works for Solix Biofuels as an analytical engineer, focusing her work on gas delivery research and data acquisition and analysis.
BRIAN YOUNG
DIRECTOR IF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
IMPERIUM RENEWABLES, INC.
2008 ALGAE BIOMASS SUMMIT POSTER PRESENTERS
BELLINGHAM H.S. STUDENTS
STUDENTS
CALVIN ATKINS, DYLAN ALBRECHT, SAM LEWIS AND SIERRA RIVERS
Calvin Atkins, Dylan Albrecht, Sierra Rivers, and Sam Lewis are part of a research group led by chemistry teacher, Jamie Yoos, at Bellingham High School. They are studying the use of algae to sequester CO2 off of concrete plants and in turn, harvest the algae to produce biodiesel. Calvin, Dylan, and Sam were all part of the winning project in the technology challenge at WSU's Imagine Tomorrow Competition. With the addition of their new team member Sierra, the group has plans to compete at Imagine Tomorrow once again, as well as continue the algae research throughout the year. In the future, Calvin Atkins is planning on studying biochemistry at Stanford University next fall. Sierra Rivers hopes to attend the UW Honors program in 2009. Dylan Albrecht has plans to attend UC Berkeley to study nuclear engineering, and Sam Lewis is applying to University of Rochester for next fall. All four plan careers studying renewable sources of energy.
DR. ALEXANDER S. BELIAEV
SENIOR STAFF SCIENTIST
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE DIVISION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Alex Beliaev is senior staff scientist in the Biological Science Division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington, USA. Since receiving a doctorate in 1999 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he has worked in the area of microbial physiology, ecology and functional genomics of environmentally relevant microorganisms. His current research interests involve developing systems-level understanding of respiration, central metabolism and the regulation of energy metabolism in bacteria. Dr. Beliaev is a Principal Investigator for several US DOE-funded Genomics:GTL Program (GTL) projects that are focused on understanding fundamental metabolic processes leading to production of biological fuels using cutting-edge metabolic engineering technology. He has authored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals (including PNAS and Nature) and made over 100 presentations at national and international professional meetings.
DR. JOANNE BELOVICH
PROFESSOR OF CHEMICAL & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
DR. JAY BURNS
CHIEF ALGAE SCIENTIST
BIONAVITAS
Dr. Jay Burns received a Ph.D. in Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.S. in Marine Science, Biology from Long Island University, Southampton. His previous research focused on nitrogen and carbon cycling in ocean, coastal and estuarine environments, as well as sediment
environments, such as salt marshes and mangroves. This included extensive research on the cyanobacteria, Trichodesmium and Richelia (a diatom symbiont). While working at the University of Southern California, he expanded his research to include nutrient uptake in kelp. Dr. Burns has also participated in research and monitoring of harmful algal blooms (HABs) while employed as the Marine Biologist and Marine Policy Analyst for the Quileute Indian Tribe. He is responsible for day-to-day laboratory activities, such as maintenance of algal cultures and conducting experiments. He is currently working on algal species selection, optimization of algal growth parameters and lipid production.
DR. ROSE ANN CATTOLICO
PROFESSOR OF MARINE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Dr. Rose Ann Cattolico received her doctorate at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, in 1973 and served as a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University until 1975 when she joined the faculty of the University of Washington. Her main research interests have been in the area of chloroplast genome architecture and gene function in non-chlorophy b containing algae as well as functional genetic diversity within stramenopile populations. She currently teaches classes in cell biology and algology. Dr. Cattolico has been significantly invested in training minority students as well as students with disabilities. Recently she has hosted undergraduates from Native American tribes through UW’s Stars and Bridges program and the Temple University Young Physicians Program. Through work-study and undergraduate research programs, she has also consistently supported minority women. Dr. Cattolico also routinely participates in the NASA, Mary Gates and Hughes programs that foster undergraduate research. During her tenure at the University of
Washington she has successfully mentored ten PhD students and six masters degree students in the completion of their degrees, and hosted fifteen postdoctoral fellows. She sponsors three to six undergraduates per year in the lab. Dr. Cattolico enjoys hiking in the North Cascades and Olympic mountains, parenting, raising chickens, and restoring an old, broken down house.
R. CAMERON COATES
GRADUATE STUDENT
SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
JEFF COLLIER
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
ENERGY DERIVED
Jeff Collier is the Product Development Director and co-founder of Energy Derived LLC, headquartered in Queen Creek, Arizona. Energy Derived is working to establish itself as a global leader in the design and manufacture of algae production process systems. For the last two years Mr. Collier has been extensively involved in the design and development of algae production systems. His initial involvement in the industry stems from a project to design and build vertical algae bioreactor systems at the Arizona State University. Since then Mr. Collier has worked diligently to
develop solutions for the processing and mass production of algae feedstock. Prior to the creation of Energy Derived, Mr. Collier was an engineering consultant providing services to the semiconductor industry on implementation and execution of system improvement and quality issues. He has spent the last 15 years developing solutions for companies throughout the semiconductor and electronics industries including IBM, Motorola, Western Digital, and Storage Technologies. Mr. Collier is currently pursuing a graduate degree at Arizona State University in addition to his
degrees in Manufacturing Technology and Robotic Automation.
DR. KEITH E. COOKSEY
RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
DR. JOEL L. CUELLO
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ARGICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Education: The Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Minor in Chemical Engineering, May 1994, M.S. Plant Physiology, May 1999, M.S. Agricultural Engineering, August 1990; The University of the Philippines, B.S. Agricultural Engineering, cum laude, April 1984; Postdoctoral Research
Experience, NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, U.S. National Research Council Research Associateship, December 1993 – December 1994
DR. AL DARZINS
GROUP MANAGER/PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER
NATIONAL BIOENERGY CENTER, NREL
DR. JOE DRAGAVON
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
UNIVERSITY OF HULL (U.K.)
KEVIN DRUMM
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SOLUTION RECOVERY SERVICES
DR. MARK EDWARDS
PROFESSOR
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mark R. Edwards, PhD, graduated from the US Naval Academy in mechanical engineering, oceanography and meteorology. Jacques Cousteau motivated and mentored his interest in the oceans and global stewardship. He holds an MBA and PhD in marketing and consumer behavior and has taught food marketing, leadership, sustainability and
entrepreneurship at Arizona State University for over 30 years. As founder and CEO of the software firm TEAMS International, Dr. Edwards served as lead assessment and leadership development consultant for over 400 firms globally. Over the years, Dr. Edwards has consulted with both public and private institutions and organizations across the economy. He retained by the US Departments of Energy and Defense, as well as the National Laboratories and other agencies. He has served on the board of a Fortune 50 transportation and foods company and has done extensive R&D on new foods and food sources. He has also consulted for Monsanto, Pioneer Seeds, DuPont, GE,
Quaker Oats, General Mills, Borden and many other agribusiness companies. Dr. Edwards has also worked with senior executives at 15 large US oil and gas firms as well as British Petroleum and Saudi Aramco. He has consulted with over a dozen power and water utilities such as Duke Energy, PG&E, and FP&L, in addition to pipeline and energy distribution firms. Dr. Edwards has published over 100 articles on advanced assessment technologies as well as several books, including a business bestseller, 360° Feedback. He currently serves on several boards, including the Arizona Science Center, whose mission is to motivate students to learn and to pursue engaging careers in science and math.
DR. DAVID GIORGI
PRESIDENT & CEO
OPTISWITCH TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
2008 ALGAE BIOMASS SUMMIT SPEAKERS
This is the entire list of summit speakers at the recently held Algae Biomass Summit in Washington. The list might be useful to many of you who are making efforts in the algae to fuel domain.
MARK P. ALLEN, P.E.
CEO & Co-Founder
A2BE CARBON CAPTURE, LLC
Mr. Mark Allen is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of A2BE Carbon Capture LLC. He is a licensed professional engineer with over 25 years experience in the design, construction, and operation of large-scale engineering, infrastructure, and environmental projects including biological process systems with a capacity of over 500 million gallons per day. He holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a successful entrepreneur having founded a venture capital backed corporate knowledge management company in 1999 where he was the
Chairman and CEO. Previously he managed large engineering organizations for Rust Environment and Infrastructure, Metcalf & Eddy, SAIC, and others. For these organizations Mr. Allen had full profit and loss responsibility for multiple lines
of business including: water and wastewater engineering, environmental engineering, hazardous and solid waste engineering, transportation engineering, general civil engineering, information technology, and other professional service offerings. Mr. Allen is also a former Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
DR. AMI BEN-AMOTZ
SENIOR SCIENTIST
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY (ISRAEL) AND SEAMBIOTIC LTD
Dr. Ami Ben-Amotz is presently Professor of Marine Phycology at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Haifa, Israel. Dr. Ben-Amotz focused his studies on the alga Dunaliella while obtaining both his MSc degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his PhD from Weitzman Institute of Science (WIS), Israel. After post doctorate studies on marine microalgae at Brandeis University, USA, he returned to Israel and began research at the NIO and the WIS to study the biology, physiology, biochemistry and biotechnology of Dunaliella in a long collaboration with the late Prof. M. Avron of the WIS. The fruitful cooperation led the way to establishment of the commercial Dunaliella production plant in
Eilat, known today as Nature Beta Technologies Ltd., (NBT) Israel, a subsidiary of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan. Along his long career with Dunaliella, Dr. Ben-Amotz served as Head of the Department of Marine Biology at NIO and Head of the Dunaliella Section at the WIS, Chief Scientist of NBT and recently as Chief Scientist of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan. In March 2007, Dr. Ben-Amotz was nominated as President of the 8th International Marine Biotechnology Conference in Eilat. Dr. Ben-Amotz has more than 130 publications and supervised dozens of students mostly on aspects related to
Dunaliella, marine microalgae and natural carotenoids.
DR. JOHN BENEMANN
FOUNDER
BENEMANN ASSOCIATES
Dr. John Benemann received his degrees at the University of California Berkeley in Chemistry (B.S.) and Biochemistry (Ph.D.). He completed his post-doctoral studies in San Diego, and in 1974 rejoined UC Berkeley as an independent investigator at the Sanitary Engineering Research Laboratory to study microalgae for wastewater treatment, biofuels and fertilizer production. While at Berkeley, he supervised the thesis work of five Ph.D. students in Civil Engineering, Biophysics and Plant Physiology. In 1980 he started a small biotechnology company and four years later became an Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been a full time consultant for nearly 20 years and during much of this time has also been a part-time researcher at UC Berkeley. His research and consulting work span across disciplines and institutions, from the fundamental problems of photosynthesis and biological hydrogen production to the engineering of wastewater treatment ponds and landfills to abate greenhouse gas emissions.
DR. VARUM BORIAH
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Varun Boriah received his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology - Karnataka, India with an emphasis in fluid mechanics. He is pursuing a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley emphasizing applications of digital particle image velocimetry in micro-scale fluid devices. He is currently a summer intern in the Thermal/Fluid Science & Engineering Department at Sandia Labs in Livermore, California.
PROFESSOR SAMMY BOUSSIBA
PRESIDENT
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY AND HEAD OF LANDAU FAMILY MICROALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
LAB, BLAUSTEIN INSTITUTES FOR DESERT RESEARCH, BEN GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV
Prof. Boussiba received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biochemistry of Cyanobacteria in 1981 from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. After 2 years of postdoctoral studies at Cornell University at Ithaca N.Y., he rejoined the Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory (MBL) at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Prof. Boussiba is the Head of the MBL since 1995 to date. His current research interest concerns developing the biotechnology of the production of high value products, with special emphasis on astaxanthin from Haematococcus, use of microalgae to encounter environmental problems, and developing integrated aquaculture biosystems for efficient water utilization. As an outcome of this work, commercial enterprises have been set up, one
located in the Arava at Kibutz Ketura, a plant for the production of the valuable carotenoid astaxanthin produced from the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. This set up includes one the world largest and most advanced tubular photobioreactors. The second one concerns the establishment of a start-up company “BioSan” involved in the commercialization of engineered cyanobacteria for mosquito biocontrol of pest diseases. Prof. Boussiba is the author of few dozens of publications, and has been the supervisor so far of some 40 research students (M.Sc., Ph.D. and postdocs).
In 2003 Prof. Boussiba was awarded "Doctor Honoris Causa" by the University of West Hungary. Also, as a reward for his achievements in Microalgal Biotechnology, Prof. Boussiba was awarded at 2004 a Chair in Economic Botany, by the Senate of the Ben-Gurion University. All the above has positioned Prof. Boussiba among the world leading scientists in the field of Microalgal Biotechnology. He currently serves as the president of the International Society of Applied Phycology (ISAP).
ANDREW T. BRAFF
ASSOCIATE
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
Andrew Braff is an associate in the Seattle office at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a member of the steering committee for the Algae Biomass Summit, and counsel to the Algal Biomass Organization. His practice focuses on renewable energy project development, including drafting and reviewing engineering, procurement, and construction agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, energy supply and offtake agreements, and equipment supply agreements for the wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and biofuels industries. Mr. Braff also has advised on federal and state legislative and regulatory process, including the Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard mandated by the Energy Policy Act and various state renewable portfolio standards. Mr. Braff previously served
as an extern for Justice Mary E. Fairhurst of the Washington State Supreme Court and as director for policy and public affairs for California State Assemblyman (now State Senator) Mark Wyland. In addition, he served as a legislative assistant
to Congressman George R. Nethercutt, Jr. Mr. Braff received his B.A. from Whitman College and his J.D. degree from the University of Washington School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Washington.
DR. DAVID BRUNE
PROFESSOR
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Dr. David Brune is a Professor and Newman Endowed Chair of Natural Resources Engineering at Clemson University. He holds the following degrees: Ph.D., Sanitary Engineering , University of Missouri (1978 ); M.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Missouri (1975 ); AND B.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Missouri (1974). Dr. Brune has been working with aquaculture for 20 years, of which the first decade was spent in raising catfish. During that time, Clemson researchers found ways to increase algal growth; the algae produced additional oxygen and treated waste in the water.
BILL BUCHAN
CEO
MARKET POTENTIAL, INC- NASA INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
Bill Buchan has 21 years of experience in the energy and environmental sectors as a consultant with such firms as Arthur D. Little, evaluating and commercializing new technologies in these sectors. His experiences with new technologies, including fuel cells, distributed generation, alternative fuels, renewable energy, and several air emission and water control technologies, has given him great insight into the direction of the energy and environmental markets and the adoption issues new technologies face. During the last 18 years, Mr. Buchan’s focus has been in sales, marketing, and business development, while managing the business activities of his consulting operation. Throughout his career, Mr. Buchan has developed business strategies for clients in multiple industries, including energy, environment, biotech, transportation, internet, and retail sectors. He has helped raise both public and private money for the commercialization of energy and environmental technologies. Mr. Buchan was also the VP of Marketing and acting-CEO of a bio-oil venture, Sustainable Biomass Energy, and continues to be involved in other start-ups today. He is a member of the Gerson Lehrman Group Council, providing investors with market insights regarding new energy and environmental technologies. A licensed
engineer, Mr. Buchan has authored over 20 publications and presentations during his career and he holds a Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, a Master's degree in civil/environmental engineering, and an MBA with an emphasis in entrepreneurship from the University of California at Berkeley.
THOMAS BYRNE
PRESIDENT & CEO
BYRNE & COMPANY, LTD
Thomas Byrne, owner of Byrne & Company Limited, is one of the ethanol industry’s most experienced consultants. He received his B.S. degree in Accounting from St. Cloud State University. His experience dates back to 1979 where he began his career as an accountant and later becoming a consultant to the biofuels industry. Since forming Byrne & Company Ltd, Tom has worked on many successful projects for clients, offering a broad array of services. These services include feasibility studies; business plan preparation; organization of equity meetings; structuring and negotiating debt with public and private financing organizations, from raising capital to the completion of the project; and applications for federal and state grant incentives. Tom also has spoken at conferences in New York, Costa Rica, Poland, and Panama on the securing of financing within the biofuels industry and the future of biofuels. As the president and CEO, he has the responsibility to manage the planning and delivery of services provided to clients, as well as preparing complex financial models and overseeing project development services. His experience has allowed him to introduce development projects to equity and financial organizations, Departments of Trade and Economic Development, and federal, state, and local organizations to provide financial and other assistance. Mr. Byrne is a member of the Renewable Fuels Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Economic Development Association of Minnesota, American Coalition for Ethanol, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
DR. FENG CHEN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
CENTER OF MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BIOTECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
Dr. Feng Chen is Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institue’s Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB). Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Marine Microbial Ecology in 1995 from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published more than 40 scientific papers and book chapters, covering both basic and applied aspects of marine microbiology and biotechnology. His research focuses on ecology, physiology, genomics and proteomics of microbes which include viruses, bacteria and microalgae in the marine environment. Dr. Chen has extensive experience
with isolation and characterization of microalgae from aquatic environments, and is a member of algal research team at COMB. Dr. Chen has been invited to deliver multiple speeches at international conferences. He has served in several
review panels for federal funding agencies and has received research funds from NSF, DOE, NOAA, Sea Grants, and other private interests. Currently, he is developing several research programs related to algal biofuels.
BEN CLOUD
PRESIDENT & COO
XL RENEWABLES
For over 25 years, Ben Cloud was a farmer, farmland developer and consultant with operations in Arizona and Southern California. His early adoption of drip irrigation has provided a clear vision for the application of proven irrigation components in the development and operation of large-scale algae biomass production systems. In 2006 he co-founded XL Renewables, Inc. to produce renewable motor fuels. The Company's initial project is a $260 million integrated biorefinery in Vicksberg, Arizona. Mr. Cloud attended the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and currently serves as President of the Project CENTRL (Center for Rural Leadership) Alumni Council. He was a co-founder of Gold Canyon Bank in Gold Canyon, Arizona in 2005. Mr. Cloud is a resident of Chandler, Arizona.
DR. KEITH COOKSEY
PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Keith Cooksey is one of many U.S. scientists who studied the feasibility of turning algal oil into biodiesel in the 1980’s. From 1978 to 1995, the U.S. Department of Energy funded, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory administered, a study to investigate algae as a source of fuel and its ability to consume the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
RUPERT CRAGGS
GROUP MANAGER
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WATER AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH (NEW ZEALAND)
EZIO NICOLA D’ADDARIO
R & D DEPARTMENT MANAGER
ENI DIVISION R&M
Ezio D’Addario currently manages the Ecomanagement and Environmental Protection group at the Environmental Research Centre of Eni Division Refining & Marketing in Monterotondo, Italy. Mr. D’Addario is responsible for researching environmental monitoring of marine basins, biomarkers and bioindicators, Life Cycle Assessment of new systems for energy and biofuel production and CO2 biofixation with microalgae. A chemical engineer, Mr. D’Addario has worked for many companies in the Eni group beginning with Snamprogetti as a petroleum process engineer. Since studying biotechnology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, he has worked in the R&D units of Eni corporate for many years, developing biotechnological processes for pharmaceutical intermediates and sweeteners production.
Throughout his career, Mr. D’Addario has managed multiple international R&D projects by utilizing his biotechnological experiesnces to develop technologies related to waste and wastewater treatment, soil bioremediation and biofuel production. Mr. D’Addario spent three years in London at the Agip Kazakhstan Oil Consortium where he was in charge of the Environmental Impact Assessment of offshore facilities at the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea.
BILLY M. GLOVER
MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRLINES
Billy Glover leads an enterprise-wide team responsible for developing and implementing a global environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Under his leadership the team is addressing key issues facing the aviation industry including reducing aircraft noise and greenhouse gas emissions, alternative fuels research, and influencing public policy and opinion. His cross-functional team is also providing input on key product design elements for maximizing the environmental performance of Boeing aircraft. Mr. Glover, who previously led derivative product development for Commercial Airplanes, has held various engineering assignments with the company involving 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 airplanes, as well as product development, research programs, and government and commercial contracts. He also has extensive experience leading government and industry relations nitiatives. Mr. Glover is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. He is also a member of the Industrial Advisory
Committee for Herrick Labs, Purdue University and is a board member of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). He is co-chair of the Algal Biomass Organization. Mr. Glover joined Boeing in 1978, after graduating from Purdue University with a Masters of Science in Engineering, with an emphasis in engineering acoustics. He received his Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering in 1976 from Purdue University. In addition, Glover has completed executive education studies at the Harvard Business School.
DR. STEVEN J GLUCK
SCIENTIST
DOW CHEMICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Dr. Steven Gluck is a scientist for the BioSciences platform within The Dow Chemical Company. Dow Chemical BioSciences defines renewable resource opportunities for existing Dow products. He is responsible for assessing and identifying routes for technology breakthroughs in the commodity scale production of algae oils. In addition to fuel applications, these oils are also being developed by his team as feedstocks for other chemical processes. Dr. Gluck’s leadership of technical due-diligence teams creates additional algal opportunities by evaluating external technologies and partnering with other companies and universities when applicable. Dr. Gluck has worked for Dow Chemical since 1979. Prior to his work at BioSciences, he was responsible for developing new environmental treatment technologies
particularly with respect to water, wastewater, and greenhouse gases. Dr. Gluck also optimized operations support as well as being the organization’s Intellectual Capital Manager. He is the president of the Instrumentation Testing Association and is very active in the Water Environment Federation. Dr. Gluck received a BS from Whitworth College, an MS from the University of Idaho and a PhD from the University of Leipzig.
QUINN GORETZKY
PROJECT MANAGER
INNOVATIONS CANADA
DR. BEN GRAZIANO
R&D MANAGER, INNOVATIONS
THE CARBON TRUST (UK)
Dr. Ben Graziano joined the Carbon Trust’s Innovations Team in March 2008. The Innovations Team helps to develop commercially promising low carbon technologies through funding, partnerships, expert advice and large-scale demonstrations. Within Innovations, he is responsible for the Carbon Trust’s Algae Biofuels Challenge, which is part of the Bioenergy Directed Research Programme. Dr. Graziano’s other responsibilities include managing a portfolio of Applied Research projects and informing the Carbon Trust of new low carbon technology commercialization opportunities. The Carbon Trust is a private company, backed by the UK government. Its mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organizations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon
technologies.
JOSH L. GREEN
PARTNER
MOHR DAVIDOW VENTURES
Josh Green joined MDV's investing team with a focus on Cleantech companies. Cleantech spans multiple, independent value chains ranging from solar to biofuels to clean coal. He applies his experience in a broad range of industries including semiconductors, biotechnology and networking to help Cleantech entrepreneurs define their markets and products. Mr. Green has more than 25 years of experience working with companies from startup phase to large public company, and has helped many management teams focus their energy on building value for the enterprise and its
stakeholders. Throughout his career he has guided entrepreneurs and helped to build some of the most successful emerging growth companies in Silicon Valley including the Internet (Yahoo!), biotechnology (Geron), medical devices (Target Therapeutics), telecommunication/networking (Cerent) and semiconductors (Xilinx). Mr. Green has a track record of growing and developing teams and organizations. He was instrumental in expanding Venture Law Group to over 110 lawyers and assisting in the successful merger with Heller Ehrman in 2003. Previously, he practiced law at Brobeck,
Phleger & Harrison LLP, and developed the Palo Alto office from six to well over 100 lawyers. Mr. Green has completed initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions that rank among the largest and most successful in Silicon Valley history. Together, these transactions total more than $10 billion dollars. His work was recognized when he was named to the Forbes Midas List. He graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 1977 and the UCLA School of Law in 1980 where he was on the Law Review.
NATHANAEL GREENE
SENIOR POLICY ANALYST
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
Nathanael Greene received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Brown University and a Master of Science Degree in Energy and Resources from University of California Berkeley. He joined NRDC in 1992 and worked two years before continuing his studies. Upon obtaining his master’s degree In 1996, he returned to NRDC and worked there since. Mr. Greene is a senior policy analyst and is responsible for working on energy policy and related issues including utility restructuring, energy taxes, energy efficiency, renewables, and low-income services. His particular expertise is clean energy technologies including wind, solar and biomass energy, fuel cells, combined heat and power, and energy efficiency as well as the regulations and policies necessary to promote these technologies. For the last few years Mr. Greene has been focusing on assessing the sustainable potential for biofuels and developing policies to advance them.
DENIS HAYES
PRESIDENT
BULLITT FOUNDATION
Denis Hayes directs The Bullitt Foundation from the perspective of a practical visionary who has devoted his life to conservation. With mixed feelings, he acknowledges that he is probably still best known for having been National Coordinator of the first Earth Day when he was 25. But he also is the seasoned veteran of many environmental, legislative, and litigation victories over the years. Internationally, he is recognized for expanding Earth Day to more than 180 nations.
It is now the world’s most widely observed secular holiday. During the Carter Administration, Mr. Hayes directed the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He has been a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University, and a Silicon Valley lawyer. Mr. Hayes has received the national Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as the highest awards bestowed by the Sierra Club, The Humane Society of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Council of America, the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank, the interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the American Solar Energy Society, and the Commonwealth Club. Mr. Hayes has served on dozens of governing boards, including those of Stanford University, the World Resources Institute, the Federation of American Scientists, The Energy Foundation, Children Now, the National Programming Council for Public Television, the American Solar Energy Society,
Greenpeace, CERES, and the Environmental Grantmakers Association. He continues to chair the board of the international Earth Day Network. Mobilizing the resources of The Bullitt Foundation, Mr. Hayes intends to make the Pacific Northwest – the best-educated, most environmentally aware, most progressive corner of America – a global model for sustainable development.
DR. DAVID HAZLEBECK
PROGRAM MANAGER
GENERAL ATOMICS
DR. CARL N. HODGES
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE SEAWATER FOUNDATION
Dr. Carl Hodges is the founder and chairman of The Seawater Foundation and an internationally known scientist and innovator. An atmospheric physicist and mathematician, Dr. Hodges’ work can be seen in Seawater Farms Eritrea (SFE), an integrated agricultural and aquacultural farm in Africa. Critical to the success of the Eritrea project has been Dr. Hodges’ experiences with controlled environmental agriculture in the Middle East and the Americas, the Land Pavilion at EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World in Florida, scientific consulting on Biosphere 2 and many corporate associations including Coca-Cola, Disney, Kraft Foods, W.R. Grace, Lufthansa, and Resorts International. Replicating SFE and advancing the integrated seawater farm systems now being built in Sonora will provide the planet with its first new agriculture in 10,000 years.
DR. QIANG HU
DIRECTOR
LABORATORY FOR ALGAE RESEARCH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Qiang Hu, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at Arizona State University (ASU) with 20 years of knowledge and experience in applied phycology, photobioreactor system design, and mass culture of microalgae for various commercial applications. Pioneering high-density algal culture methodology, Dr. Hu has contributed to the understanding of biological principles underlying photosynthetic productivity in high-density algal mass cultures. An expert in photobioreactor system design, he has developed various types of culture systems in China, Israel, Japan, and USA. Prior to ASU, Dr. Hu was engaged in the final phase of a 10-year national algae-based carbon sequestration program in Japan. Dr. Hu has published over 30 research papers and is an inventor and holder of 14 patents related to algae-based biofuel production, carbon sequestration, wastewater treatment, and high-value products from algae.
DR. MICHAEL H. HUESEMANN
STAFF RESEARCH ENGINEER
PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY-MARINE SCIENCE LABORATORY
Dr. Michael Huesemann (Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas) has conducted both experimental and theoretical research in environmental and marine biotechnology for more than fifteen years. Dr. Huesemann currently is or has been the principal investigator on numerous major U.S. Department of Energy funded
research projects focusing on diverse areas such as photosynthetic hydrogen production, optimization of microalgal lipid and hydrocarbon production, biofixation of carbon dioxide from flue gases by marine microalgae, the effects of ocean
carbon sequestration on nitrogen cycling, and hydrocarbon bioavailability in aged petroleum contaminated soils undergoing bioremediation treatment. He is also the principal investigator on an Office of Naval Research funded project
on in-situ phytoremediation of PAH and PCB contaminated marine sediments with sea-grasses. In addition, Dr. Huesemann has published journal articles on the metabolic regulation of solvent production in anaerobic fermentations, the modeling of the leaching kinetics of hydrocarbons in aged soils, statistical soil sampling, critical analyses of mitigation responses to global climate change, environmental policy analysis, sustainable development, and professional ethics. He currently also serves as editorial board member of Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, and Progress in Industrial Ecology.
DR. MARK HUNTLEY
CHIEF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
CELLANA
Dr. Mark Huntley (Ph.D., Biological Oceanography, Dalhousie University 1980) is a thought-leader in marine biological sciences. One of the most frequently-cited researchers in his field, an organizer of global research initiatives, and an entrepreneur, Dr. Huntley has been active in biofuels research and development for more than 20 years. He has held research faculty positions at both Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of Hawaii. He held a senior management role for 10 years in the GLOBEC program, a $300 million international scientific research program investigating the impact of global change on marine ecosystems. Dr. Huntley was cofounder of Aquasearch, Inc., an algae biotechnology public company, and co-founder of HR BioPetroleum. He currently serves as Chief Science and Technology Officer for both Cellana and HR BioPetroleum.
CONGRESSMAN JAY INSLEE
MEMBER OF THE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM 1ST DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON STATE
Raised on the shores of Puget Sound, Congressman Jay Inslee comes from a long line of Washingtonians and wants to protect the state’s natural beauty for his three sons and generations to come. Congressman Inslee has worked at the federal level – as representative for the 4th Congressional District from 1992-1994 and the 1st Congressional District since 1999 – to protect the environment of Washington state and address the problem of global warming. Congressman Inslee fought to restore protections for roadless areas in national forests and led a successful campaign in the House to keep limits on oil-tanker traffic in Puget Sound. Since 2005, he has used his seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee to promote his vision for a clean energy future, the New Apollo Energy Act, and to advance other legislation that would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. In March 2007, he was appointed to the 15-member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Beyond advocating sound environmental policies, Congressman Inslee has
used a common-sense approach in Congress to help expand the region’s high-tech economy, promote privacy protections for American consumers and strengthen programs for seniors like Social Security and Medicare. He also has supported increased spending for port security and veterans’ services. Congressman Inslee backed the war in Afghanistan to root out terrorists; but he voted against the war in Iraq and has been an outspoken critic of administration policies there. Even before his election to the U.S. Congress, Congressman Inslee was a public servant. He was a state legislator and prosecutor in Selah, Wash. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Washington and earned his law degree from Willamette University.
DR. SCOTT C. JAMES
PRINCIPAL MEMBER OF THE TECHNICAL STAFF, THERMAL/FLUID SCIENCE & ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Scott James received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego with emphases in fluid mechanics and numerical methods. In 2001, he graduated from UC Irvine with a doctorate in Engineering with emphasis on solving environmental flow and transport problems. Shortly thereafter, he joined Sandia National Laboratories’ Performance/Risk Assessment and Decision Analysis Department in Carlsbad, New Mexico, in charge of certifying the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the only operating transuranic nuclear waste repository in the world. Next, he joined the Geohydrology Department in Albuquerque and contributed significantly to the Yucca Mountain Project and International Programs. Dr. James is currently a Principal Member of the Technical Staff in the Thermal/Fluid Science & Engineering
Department at Sandia Labs in Livermore, California, where he continues to work on a wide variety of environmental flow and transport modeling problems. Recently, he has focused on modeling open-channel flow systems in an attempt to optimize algae growth for biofuel production.
VINOD KHOSLA
FOUNDER
KHOSLA VENTURES
Vinod Khosla grew up dreaming of being an entrepreneur, despite growing up in an Indian Army household with no business or technology connections. Since age 16, when he first heard about Intel starting up, he dreamt of starting his own technology company. Upon graduating with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Mr. Khosla failed, at age 20, to start a soy milk company to service the many people in India who did not have refrigerators. He came to the US and got his Masters in Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University. His startup dreams attracted him to Silicon Valley where he got an MBA at Stanford University in 1980. Upon graduation Mr. Khosla was one of the three founders of Daisy Systems, which was the first significant computer aided design system for electrical engineers. The company went on to significant revenue, profits and an IPO, but he, driven by the frustration of having to design the computer hardware on which the Daisy software needed to be built, started the standards based Sun Microsystems in 1982 to build workstations for software developers. At Sun he pioneered "open systems" and RISC processors. Sun was funded by long time friend and board member John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In 1986 Mr. Khosla switched sides and joined Kleiner Perkins where he was and continues to be a general partner of KPCB funds through KP X. There, through the years, with other partners, he took on Intel's monopoly with Nexgen/AMD (the only microprocessor to have significant success against Intel, sold to AMD for 28% of AMD), incubated the idea and business plan for Juniper to take on Cisco's dominance of the router market, to formulate the very early advertising based search strategy for Excite, and to transform the moribund telecommunications business and its archaic SONET mplementations with Cerent (sold to Cisco for $7B), and many other ventures. Mr. Khosla helped in creating value, having fun, succeeding, failing (remember Dynabook?) and driving impact in partnership with entrepreneur, and the partners at KPCB. In 2004, Mr. Khosla, driven by the need for flexibility to accommodate four teenage children and a desire to be more experimental, to fund sometimes imprudent "science experiments", and to take on both "for profit" and for "social impact" ventures, formed Khosla Ventures, funded entirely with family funds. His goals remain the same - work and learn from fun and knowledgeable entrepreneurs, build impactful companies through the leverage of innovation, and spend time as a
partnership making a difference. He has a passion for nascent technologies that can have a beneficial effect and economic impact on society. Mr. Khosla’s greatest passion is being a mentor to entrepreneurs, assisting entrepreneurs and helping
them build technology based businesses. He assists or serves on the boards of a number of the companies including EASIC (programmable ASIC platform), Infinera (optical communications), Kovio (printed electronics), Skyblue (internet
PC), Spatial Photonics (Micromirror displays), Xsigo (datacenter switch), among others. Mr. Khosla is a charter member of TiE, a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals founded in 1992 that now has more than forty
chapters in nine countries. He is also a Founding Board member of the Indian School of Business. His current passion is Social Entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on Microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool. He is a supporter of many
microfinance organizations in India and Africa. He has been experimenting with global housing. Mr. Khosla is also passionate about alternative energy, petroleum independence, and the environment.
DR. ROBIN KODNER
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
BODEGA ALGAE, LLC
Dr. Robin Kodner is a geobiologist and has been doing interdisciplinary research on algae for over 10 years. She completed her PhD in Biology from Harvard University where her research was collaboration among the Biology and Earth Sciences Departments at Harvard and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Her research has focused on lipids from algae, their preservation potential in the geologic record, and interpreting ancient organic matter sourced by algae, which is often preserved in the form of petroleum. In working with the biofuels industry and with Bodega Algae, Dr. Kodner is able to apply her knowledge of the diversity of algae and their associated lipids and lipid biosynthesis to making biofuels. Currently she is working on strain development and growth optimization for Bodega's modular bioreactor. Dr. Kodner is also continuing her academic research as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Washington, applying the same analytical tools to investigate algal biomass contributions to the global
carbon cycle, as well as investigating the evolution of algal lipids and lipid biosynthesis.
DR. JOSEPH A. KOCAL
DIRECTOR OF RENEWABLES RESEARCH
RENEWABLE ENERGY & CHEMICALS GROUP, UOP, A HONEYWELL COMPANY
Joe Kocal has been with UOP for 27 years in the Research and Development department. He has worked in the areas of catalyst and process development focussing primarily on new technology for UOP and the industry. Dr. Kocal has 45 patents that protect the new technologies that have been commercialized. He was previously manager of the Exploratory Platforms research group. Currently Dr. Kocal is a Sr. Fellow and Director of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals Research group. He has a Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
TYLER J. KRUTZFELDT
PRINCIPAL
MONT VISTA CAPITAL
Tyler Krutzfeldt, a Board Member of the Algal Biomass Organization, is Founder and Managing Director of Mont Vista Capital, a merchant banking firm focused exclusively on alternative energy sector. Mont Vista Capital clients represent the full spectrum of alternative energy industries including geothermal, algae, ethanol, wind energy, and waste to energy. He is a featured nationwide speaker at major industry conferences such as the national USGBC GreenBuild conference, Bloomberg analytics, and on public television. Mr. Krutzfeldt is the author of an article titled "Carbon Intensity - Opportunity vs. Threat" published in an international biofuels publication in June 2008. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Board Member of Miami CFA. He received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Applied Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Alternative Energy Resources Committee. Mr. Krutzfeldt and his family are also 3rd generation Montana ranchers involved in agribusiness.
DR. ADELHEID KUEHNLE
PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
KUEHNLE ARGOSYSTEMS, INC.
Dr. Kuehnle has over 20 years of experience in plant breeding and biotechnology. More than two dozen tropical flower varieties developed by Dr. Kuehnle are now cultivated and traded globally. She is on leave as Professor from the
University of Hawaii, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, to devote her entrepreneurial talent to Kuehnle AgroSystems, Inc. Dr. Kuehnle has a B.A. degree from Middlebury College and a PhD from Cornell University. Dr. Kuehnle has authored six books and book chapters, more than 60 scientific papers, and is an inventor of 14 patents. Recently, Dr. Kuehnle was named the 2008 Scientist of the Year at the University of Hawaii, winner of the 2008 Hawaii Technology Industry Award, and a finalist as 2008 Pacific Business News Business Woman of the Year.
ALINA KULIKOWSKI-TAN
VICE PRESIDENT
CARBON-CAPTURE CORPORATION
Alina Kulikowski-Tan initially joined Carbon-Capture Corporation (CCC) as a consultant and actively engaged privatepublic partnership opportunities on behalf of the company. Prior to joining CCC, Mrs. Kulikowski-Tan was senior vicepresident with the ADEPT Group, a consulting firm specializing in research, development, and commercialization of new technologies in transportation and energy applications. Her expertise includes project management, strategic planning, capitalization and market research.
DR. DAVID LEWIS
SENIOR LECTURER
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE LEADER, MICROALGAL ENGINEERING
RESEARCH GROUP
Dr. David Lewis is a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. He enrolled at the University in 1993, completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) Honours Degree in 1998. In 1999 David began his Ph.D. in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His Ph.D. project was funded by the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment and focused on the control of cyanobacteria in water supply reservoirs. Dr. Lewis became a lecturer in 2002 and setup the Microalgal Engineering Research Group (MERG) with a research focus on water and wastewater quality & treatment, commercial and environmental applications for microalgae. A key research project within MERG is the optimization of microalgal removal from secondary treated wastewater for agricultural applications. This project directly addresses the challenge of harvesting microalgae from open ponds and the techniques perfected in this area are critical for our biodiesel project. As a Chemical Engineer with a trade background (Electrical Fitter/Mechanic), Dr. Lewis is well equipped to undertake commercial and industrial scale research and development. His engineering background provides the necessary skills to be able to conceptualise and scale-up processes that are economically and environmentally sustainable.
JIM LONG
VENTURE PARTNERS
GABRIEL VENTURES
Jim Long is a Venture Partner at Gabriel who handles investments as well as advises other Gabriel portfolio companies. He is on the boards of Aurora BioFuels, Connectbeam, PlantSense, and YLX. Mr. Long brings with him many years of experience and success in building businesses in the high technology industry, as well as in developing new technologies and patents for the Internet and PC environments. Recently, Mr. Long has been an advisor for several start-ups such as Ruckus Wireless (WiFi video), Skipper Wireless (mesh nets & VoIP), Coghead (SaaS for the long tail), and Jibe Networks (acquired by Citrix). Previously, Mr. Long was the CEO of RioPort, a leading music application service provider (ASP) via its digital distribution infrastructure and MP3 player software. RioPort, powered MTV.com, Best-Buy.com, Yahoo, HP, Nike.com, and Microsoft; was the first internet company to license digital songs for resale from all five major record labels and enabled the first music cell-phones via a partnership with Nokia. Before joining RioPort, Mr. Long was the CEO and Founder of Starlight Networks. Starlight pioneered video streaming and video multicasting with award-winning Internet video infrastructure software and coined the term, "streaming video". Mr. Long is known as the "father" of that industry. Starlight provided Internet video communications products for Fortune 2000 businesses including Smith Barney, General Electric, Bloomberg, Viacom, Disney, Harvard, and Peoplesoft. Starlight Networks was the leader in the corporate video
streaming market when it was acquired by PictureTel in November 1998. Later, he helped transition the business to PictureTel by developing a SaaS business strategy. Mr. Long has also worked with various venture capital firms and startups.
He was instrumental in the successful turn-around of Tolerant Systems to Veritas Software, a leader in the storage management software market. Mr. Long began his career in software development and product marketing at Hewlett Packard where he invented the first presentation graphics application. Later, he spent four years as a venture manager for Fred Adler Venture Capital. Mr. Long holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard University and a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
DR. TRYG J. LUNDQUIST
PROFESSOR
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, PROJECT P.I., ENERGY BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE
Tryg J. Lundquist, Ph.D., P.E. is on the Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His research group develops technologies related to water treatment, energy, and resource recovery. Prior to joining Cal Poly, he worked as a researcher and engineer on algae production and wastewater reclamation projects with the late William J. Oswald at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
MICHAEL MASSINGILL
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
KENT SEATECH CORPORATION
Mr. Massingill is the Executive Vice President of Kent SeaTech Corporation (KST). Since its inception in 1980, he has been influentual in the design, development, and operational success of their commercial striped bass aquaculture facility,
the world’s first and largest, with annual seafood sales of 3.5 million lbs of "California Farmed Striped Bass"®, tilapia, carp, and catfish. Mr. Massingill has also been active in Kent SeaTech’s R & D programs and has been instrumental in
establishing its microalgae-based technologies. Working jointly with Clemson University, Kent SeaTech has developed unique methods for producing microalgae for energy, biomass, and water treatment applications. Based on 40 years of
algae culture experience, Kent SeaTech's technology resolves nearly all of the technical and economic obstacles remaining in the development of commercial-scale production of liquid fuels from algae. KST has also obtained exclusive
rights to Clemson patented technologies, including groundbreaking new techniques for harvesting microalgal biomass and converting it to forms of biolipids that are much easier and economical to extract and process. Kent SeaTech’s microalgae
technology is now refined sufficiently so that outside investor participation is being solicited.
PATRICK MAZZA
RESEARCH DIRECTOR
CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Patrick Mazza is Research Director for Climate Solutions, a research and advocacy group missioned to accelerate global warming solutions. He has written extensively on biofuels and related sustainability issues. A recent series, Growing Sustainable Biofuels,” is available at www.harvestcleanenergy.org. Mr. Mazza also wrote the Energy Foundation framing paper on agriculturally produced energy, The New Harvest: Biofuels and Wind Power for Rural Revitalization and National Energy Security. Other major papers in recent years include a MacArthur Foundation funded report, Carrying the Energy Future: Comparing Hydrogen and Electricity for Transmission, Storage and Transportation, and Powering Up the Smart Grid.
DR. MARGARET MCCORMICK
GENERAL MANAGER
TARGETED GROWTH, INC.
Margaret McCormick is the General Manager for Bio-based Materials at Targeted Growth, Inc. (TGI). She is also a partner at Integra Ventures, a life science venture capital firm. Dr. McCormick has been part of the founding management company of several biotechnology companies including Sapphire Therapeutics, Spectral Genomics and Bacterial BarCodes. She was formerly with BCM Technologies (the venture subsidiary of Baylor College of Medicine) and McKinsey & Company. Dr. McCormick is the treasurer and on the executive board of the Washington Biotechnology and iomedical Association and on the Biotechnology Scientific Advisory Board of Sigma-Aldrich. Dr. McCormick earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
DR. B. GREGORY MITCHELL
PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO, SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY
Dr. Brian G. Mitchell is a Research Biologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of California - San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Mitchell received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in aquatic biology from the
University of Texas at Austin and in 1987 he received his PhD in Biological Oceanography from the University of Southern California. From 1990-1992, Dr. Mitchell served NASA as Program Manager for the Ocean Biochemistry Program and
Program Scientist for the SeaWiFS Ocean Color Satellite Mission. His research on phytoplankton photosynthesis, plankton ecology, ocean optics and satellite remote sensing has been sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, NSF, NASA and NOAA. Dr. Mitchell’s laboratory work focuses on growth and photophysiology of phytoplankton. Field projects explore mechanisms that transport shelf-derived iron into the Scotia Sea, application of new optical methods for inferring ecosystem structure and function, and parameterization of models for phytoplankton photosynthesis. He is currently active in coordinating research and commercial demonstration of algae mass culture for biofuel and CO2 abatement. The focus of his research on algae commercial applications is optimization of yields of bioenergy molecules in the light-temperature-nutrient matrix that regulates algae. More details can be found at www.spg.ucsd.edu.
LISSA MORGENTHALER-JONES
FOUNDING CEO
LIVEFUELS, INC.
Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones is the founding CEO of Live Fuels, Inc, an alliance of scientists expecting to make algae ‘biocrude’ a viable biodiesel oil source by 2010. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics. Ms. Morgenthaler-Jones has written for such publications as Barron's and TheStreet.com. She's been quoted in The New York Times and BusinessWeek, has appeared on radio, CNBC and Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser.
JEFF MUHS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY ENERGY LAB
Jeff Muhs organized elab after being hired as a USTAR professor at Utah State University and now serves as its Executive Director. He and his colleagues at USU founded elab to create new energy innovations to help free America from its
energy dilemma within a generation and to spin off successful businesses across Utah and the U.S. that capitalize on these technologies. A lifelong innovator, Mr. Muhs grew up on a farm in Southern Illinois and spent summers with his dad building houses by day and driving tractors at night. After graduating from college, he worked at Amphenol Fiber Optic Products and developed their line of multimode fiber optic splitters used in local area networks. Mr. Muhs next worked for DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Among his inventions there was a vehicle weigh-in-motion system now being deployed at military facilities worldwide to speed U.S. air deployments. He also invented a system that remotely monitors the security of special nuclear materials using optical fibers, a technology now in use at U.S. nuclear storage facilities. Mr. Muhs’ last invention at ORNL was hybrid solar lighting systems. He served as the Vice President of Research with Sunlight Direct, Inc. – an energy technology company that spun the technology out of ORNL in 2004. During his tenure at ORNL, Mr. Muhs was named Engineer/Scientist of the Year in 1997 and Science Communicator of the Year in 2004. In 2005, Mr. Muhs’ perspective on life changed dramatically when he served as an energy and science policy advisor in the
U.S. Senate. He drafted several provisions included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and led initial staff-level efforts for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, who served as a congressional catalyst for launching President Bush’s American Competitiveness and Advanced Energy Initiatives while Mr. Muhs was on his staff. His most important take-away messages from a year on Capitol Hill were that: a) America’s energy problem is not going away anytime soon, b) consensus top-level national energy goals were both lacking and needed to guide future research, and c) politicians were relying on researchers like him to innovate America out of its energy problem rather than enact mandates. He received his B.S. in Electro-Optics from the University of Houston in 1986.
ROBERT T. NELSEN
CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR
ARCH VENTURE PARTNERS
Robert Nelsen is a co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. Mr. Nelsen joined ARCH at its founding and has played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing and development of more than thirty companies including Sapphire Energy, Ikaria, Illumina (ILMN), Adolor (ADLR), Aviron (AVIR, acquired by Medimmune-MEDI), Caliper Life Sciences (CALP), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Array BioPharma (ARRY), NetBot, deCODE Genetics (DCGN), Nanosys, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), XenoPort (XNPT), GenVec (GNVC), R2 Technology (acquired by Hologic-HOLX), IDUN Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer-PFE), Genomica (GNOM, acquired by Exelixis-EXEL), Surface Logix, NeurogesX (NGSX), Classmates.com (acquired by United Online-UNTD), Nura (acquired by Omeros), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Spaltudaq, VLST, Ensemble Discovery, Accelerator, Apoptos, Fate
Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, and Everyday Learning. Mr. Nelsen is a director of Ikaria, Sapphire Energy, Fate Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, NeurogesX, and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals. He previously served on the boards of Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Surface Logix, Adolor, NetBot, Everyday Learning, Spaltudaq, Array BioPharma, Caliper Life Sciences, Illumina, R2 Technology, and Classmates.com, among others. He also serves as a director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.S. in
Economics and Biology from the University of Puget Sound.
DR. AMIR NEORI
ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER
ISRAEL OCEANOGRAPHIC AND LIMNOLOGICAL RESEARCH, NATIONAL CENTRE FOR MARICULTURE
KELLY OGILVIE
CEO
BLUE MARBLE ENERGY
Kelly Ogilvie is a co-founder and President of Blue Marble Energy (BME). Based in Seattle, BME is an algae biomass to energy company that is pioneering algae applications for petroleum displacement and other renewable products. He has a strong political and business background, with a wide range of experience extending from working for the Mayor of Seattle Greg Nickels, former Washington State Governor Gary Locke, other national and local campaigns, Paul Allen's Vulcan, and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ogilvie has a passion for alternative energy and clean technology which led him to pursue the development of BME's algae to energy technology and business model with James Stephens
in May 2005.
DANIEL J. OH
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
For more than 20 years, Daniel Oh has led a diverse range of business and management organizations. Currently, Oh serves as the chief operating officer of Renewable Energy Group®, Inc. Renewable Energy Group, Inc., (REG) is a biodiesel industry sales leader and is a full-service biodiesel company offering plant management, risk
management, raw material procurement, plant construction management, and biodiesel production, sales and marketing services. REG’s network of biodiesel production facilities includes wholly-owned biodiesel plants and management of third party-owned plants. Renewable Energy Group, Inc., markets biodiesel to fuel distributors and customers in many industries including on-highway fleets, original equipment manufacturers, maritime, military, home heating and agriculture industries. Prior to REG, Mr. Oh served as vice president and member of senior management at ABG, Inc., an
agribusiness consulting firm, responsible for the management consulting and market research practice. Prior to ABG, Mr. Oh was a leader in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking area of Corporate Strategy and Business Development Group at Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company, where Mr. Oh focused on structured financing, all aspects of M&A including integration activities and corporate strategy. Mr. Oh has also served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Oh’s post-graduate career began with the U.S. Army where Mr. Oh served as
an infantry officer for 11 years and held the rank of Major; service included combat, overseas and stateside assignments. Mr. Oh holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago with concentrations in finance, accounting and strategic
management as well as a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the United States Military Academy with a concentration in economics. Mr. Oh serves as Chairman of the Iowa Biodiesel Board.
DR. PHILLIP PIENKOS
RESEARCHER
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
Philip T. Pienkos, Ph.D., is a Principal Research Supervisor in the Applied Biology Group at NREL, joining that organization in August, 2007. Dr. Pienkos has 25 years of biotechnology experience, working on projects in the pharmaceutical, chemical and energy sectors. He was one of the founders at Molecular Logix where he acted as research director in this early stage drug discovery/development company. Prior to that Dr. Pienkos served as research director at Energy BioSystems where he led a group involved in fermentation development and biocatalyst improvement and at Enchira Biotechnology where he led a group responsible for protein therapeutic discovery and production. He was a founding scientist at Celgene Corporation, involved in the development of biotechnology-based methods to produce pharmaceutical intermediates, and worked at Lederle Laboratories, where he developed novel mode-of-action screens for new antibiotics. Dr. Pienkos has co-authored numerous technical publications (including papers on chloroplast replication in algae and nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria) and regularly speaks at national and international conferences. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin and post-doctoral training at the University of Texas. He served six years on the editorial board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology and is a founding member of the Algal Biomass Organization, currently serving on the board of directors for that organization.
JOHN F. PIERCE
PARTNER
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
John F. Pierce is a partner in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Seattle office, where he represents clients in connection with the development and finance of projects involving wind, solar (including photovoltic, conentrated, and thermal),
geothermal, and biomass energy, as well as those involving alternative fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and advancedgeneration biofuels. Mr. Pierce’s practice encompasses project sponsors and investors, and is international in scope, with extensive dealings in South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, India, Africa, and the Middle East. His clients include both venture-backed companies in the renewable energy industry and traditional renewable energy project companies. Among many transactions, Mr. Pierce has advised on the development of ethanol production facilities in western states, as well as on their project financing and construction. He has provided counsel on wind energy projects in the U.S. and Canada, advised U.S. energy companies regarding joint ventures in a biomass-fuel-powered project in the Philippines, and provided counsel on the acquisition of Indonesian geothermal power projects and the development of plants in the
Philippines, including the drafting of the principal transactional documents and negotiations with lenders, as well as major overland and sub sea gas pipelines in Asia. Mr. Pierce also has broad international experience in infrastructure development and financing, including projects involving ports (bulk and containers) and industrial zones; joint ventures and other transactions in the aviation field; investments in Internet and software companies; telecommunications-related regulatory, commercial, and licensing matters; and the financing of oil and gas projects. Mr. Pierce received his B.S. degree from San Francisco State University and his J.D. degree from the University of Washington, School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the states of Oregon and Washington.
DR. JASON PYLE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
SAPPHIRE ENERGY
Dr. Jason Pyle was formerly Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Epoc, Inc., a privately held medical engineering company. Dr. Pyle holds an appointment as adjunct professor of bioengineering at Vanderbilt University where he has worked to develop cross-disciplinary programs of biological and engineering research. As the co- founder and Chief Technical Officer of Pria Diagnostics, Dr. Pyle was named Innovator of the Year (2006) by Frost and Sullivan. Dr. Pyle holds numerous pending and issued patents in the engineering and biological sciences and has worked in diverse crossdiscipline areas such as nanofabrication, optical engineering, and structural biology. In addition to his broad technical abilities, Dr. Pyle has established numerous corporate partnerships between small technical companies and some of the world’s largest corporations. He has directly supervised and coordinated both business development and operational activities within large co-development partnerships. Dr. Pyle has worked in finance, technical and manufacturing
transactions in Singapore, Japan, and China. His post-doctoral research focused on the large-scale expression and control of neural proteins. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology and an M.D. from Stanford University. He
received degrees in optical engineering and physics from the University of Arizona.
SEBASTIEN REMY
HEAD OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS RESEARCH PROGRAM
AIRBUS
Sebastien Remy graduated in 1984 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse, France. He started his career at the Aerospatiale Missiles Division in Paris. Then he occupied several positions within the Engine Performance Department at Airbus in Toulouse, being mainly involved in A320, A330 and A340 developments and certification, as well as in national and international research projects. He has been secretary of SAE E-33 Committee on
In-Flight Thrust Determination for 10 years. Mr. Remy was appointed in 2006 Head of the Powerplant Business & Program Support Domain, within Airbus Engineering, and Head of Airbus Alternative Fuels Research Programs in 2007. He represents Airbus in the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative.
MARK TEGEN
CEO
INVENTURE CHEMICAL
Mark Tegen brings over 18 years of petroleum industry manufacturing, marketing and logistics experience to Inventure. Before co-founding Inventure, he was President of Senergy Chemical, which he formed after licensing a novel patent to convert crude biodiesel glycerin into propylene glyco, a technology which won the 2006 Presidential Green Chemistry Award. In the subsequent two years, Mr. Tegen has worked diligently to develop the technology, form partnerships with Fortune 50 companies and build Senergy into a profitable start up with projected revenues in excess of $200 million. Prior to Senergy, Mr. Tegen was Vice President/General Manager of Pacific Fluids LLC, the largest bulk marketer and terminal of Biodiesel in the Pacific Northwest. He continues to serve as a steering committee member of the Seattle Clean Cities Coalition, and is a member of the Washington State Department of Agriculture Biofuels Advisory Committee. Mr. Tegen received his degree in Business Finance from the University of Washington
DR. MARIO TREDICI
PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE, FLORENCE, ITALY
DEAN TSOUPEIS
CEO
CULTURING SOLUTIONS, INC
Dean Tsoupeis is a veteran of the renewable energy sector, having more than 7 years experience. IN 2005 he designed, engineered, and built a pilot plant to refine waste vegetable oil into ASTM D-6751 approved biodiesel. Mr. Tsoupeis recently performed a feasibility study for a 60MMGY biodiesel refinery in the Tampa Bay area. This project is currently in its funding phase and is awaiting approval of air permits. He recently founded Culturing Solutions, Inc which has been licensed by Varicon Aqua Solutions to carry their internationally patented continuous algae production platform, the BioFence. The BioFence allows algae farms to be built regionally at sources of CO2 (power plants and industrial facilities) and can support co-located biodiesel refineries that provide affordable fuel to the Green Corridors Program.
Current proposals include an algae farm that will mitigate CO2 from a power utility and utilize it to create 60MMGY of biodiesel and 40MMGY of ethanol and another algae farm in South Texas that will produce both 10MMGY of biodiesel and highly nutritious algal protein.
DAVID WAIMANN
CEO
CEQUESTA, LTD
DR. JOSEPH C.WEISSMAN
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
AURORA BIOFUELS, INC
Dr. Joseph Weissman received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University in 1972, a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from University California, Berkeley in 1978. He is currently the President of SeaAg, Inc. a private Florida research and development firm as well as the Vice President for Outdoor Operations of Aurora Biofuels, Inc. in Alameda CA. Dr. Weissman is recognized as an expert in engineered systems for waste treatment, alternative fuels and chemicals, and aquaculture. He has over 30 years experience in the analysis, design, and operation of such systems. Dr. Weissman was awarded the contract for the development of the Outdoor Test Facility in Roswell NM by the Aquatic Species Program. He advises and consults internationally on algal mass cultivation. Dr. Weissman is Principal Investigator for US Department of Energy projects that utilize photosynthetic organisms for the production of biofuels and biofertilizers. He is also the owner of one of the largest clam seed hatcheries in Florida and for nearly 20 years has produced algal biomass for shellfish feed.
KRISTINA WEYER
RESEARCH SCIENTIST
SOLIX BIOFUELS
Kristina Weyer received her B.S. in Physics from Williams College in 2003 and received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in the spring of 2008. While pursuing her Master's degree, Ms. Weyer worked at Solix Biofuels through a graduate study program at CSU's Engines and Energy Conversion Lab. Ms. Weyer focused her work on thermal modeling of algae growth systems and titled her thesis: "Heat-Balance Model and Thermal Analysis of an Algae Growth System for Biofuel." Ms. Weyer's broad experience includes work at the Southface Energy Institute promoting energy efficient home building and at the Aprovecho Research Center conducting research on clean burning stoves in Turkey and India. She currently works for Solix Biofuels as an analytical engineer, focusing her work on gas delivery research and data acquisition and analysis.
BRIAN YOUNG
DIRECTOR IF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
IMPERIUM RENEWABLES, INC.
2008 ALGAE BIOMASS SUMMIT POSTER PRESENTERS
BELLINGHAM H.S. STUDENTS
STUDENTS
CALVIN ATKINS, DYLAN ALBRECHT, SAM LEWIS AND SIERRA RIVERS
Calvin Atkins, Dylan Albrecht, Sierra Rivers, and Sam Lewis are part of a research group led by chemistry teacher, Jamie Yoos, at Bellingham High School. They are studying the use of algae to sequester CO2 off of concrete plants and in turn, harvest the algae to produce biodiesel. Calvin, Dylan, and Sam were all part of the winning project in the technology challenge at WSU's Imagine Tomorrow Competition. With the addition of their new team member Sierra, the group has plans to compete at Imagine Tomorrow once again, as well as continue the algae research throughout the year. In the future, Calvin Atkins is planning on studying biochemistry at Stanford University next fall. Sierra Rivers hopes to attend the UW Honors program in 2009. Dylan Albrecht has plans to attend UC Berkeley to study nuclear engineering, and Sam Lewis is applying to University of Rochester for next fall. All four plan careers studying renewable sources of energy.
DR. ALEXANDER S. BELIAEV
SENIOR STAFF SCIENTIST
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE DIVISION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. Alex Beliaev is senior staff scientist in the Biological Science Division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington, USA. Since receiving a doctorate in 1999 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he has worked in the area of microbial physiology, ecology and functional genomics of environmentally relevant microorganisms. His current research interests involve developing systems-level understanding of respiration, central metabolism and the regulation of energy metabolism in bacteria. Dr. Beliaev is a Principal Investigator for several US DOE-funded Genomics:GTL Program (GTL) projects that are focused on understanding fundamental metabolic processes leading to production of biological fuels using cutting-edge metabolic engineering technology. He has authored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals (including PNAS and Nature) and made over 100 presentations at national and international professional meetings.
DR. JOANNE BELOVICH
PROFESSOR OF CHEMICAL & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
DR. JAY BURNS
CHIEF ALGAE SCIENTIST
BIONAVITAS
Dr. Jay Burns received a Ph.D. in Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.S. in Marine Science, Biology from Long Island University, Southampton. His previous research focused on nitrogen and carbon cycling in ocean, coastal and estuarine environments, as well as sediment
environments, such as salt marshes and mangroves. This included extensive research on the cyanobacteria, Trichodesmium and Richelia (a diatom symbiont). While working at the University of Southern California, he expanded his research to include nutrient uptake in kelp. Dr. Burns has also participated in research and monitoring of harmful algal blooms (HABs) while employed as the Marine Biologist and Marine Policy Analyst for the Quileute Indian Tribe. He is responsible for day-to-day laboratory activities, such as maintenance of algal cultures and conducting experiments. He is currently working on algal species selection, optimization of algal growth parameters and lipid production.
DR. ROSE ANN CATTOLICO
PROFESSOR OF MARINE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Dr. Rose Ann Cattolico received her doctorate at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, in 1973 and served as a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University until 1975 when she joined the faculty of the University of Washington. Her main research interests have been in the area of chloroplast genome architecture and gene function in non-chlorophy b containing algae as well as functional genetic diversity within stramenopile populations. She currently teaches classes in cell biology and algology. Dr. Cattolico has been significantly invested in training minority students as well as students with disabilities. Recently she has hosted undergraduates from Native American tribes through UW’s Stars and Bridges program and the Temple University Young Physicians Program. Through work-study and undergraduate research programs, she has also consistently supported minority women. Dr. Cattolico also routinely participates in the NASA, Mary Gates and Hughes programs that foster undergraduate research. During her tenure at the University of
Washington she has successfully mentored ten PhD students and six masters degree students in the completion of their degrees, and hosted fifteen postdoctoral fellows. She sponsors three to six undergraduates per year in the lab. Dr. Cattolico enjoys hiking in the North Cascades and Olympic mountains, parenting, raising chickens, and restoring an old, broken down house.
R. CAMERON COATES
GRADUATE STUDENT
SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
JEFF COLLIER
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
ENERGY DERIVED
Jeff Collier is the Product Development Director and co-founder of Energy Derived LLC, headquartered in Queen Creek, Arizona. Energy Derived is working to establish itself as a global leader in the design and manufacture of algae production process systems. For the last two years Mr. Collier has been extensively involved in the design and development of algae production systems. His initial involvement in the industry stems from a project to design and build vertical algae bioreactor systems at the Arizona State University. Since then Mr. Collier has worked diligently to
develop solutions for the processing and mass production of algae feedstock. Prior to the creation of Energy Derived, Mr. Collier was an engineering consultant providing services to the semiconductor industry on implementation and execution of system improvement and quality issues. He has spent the last 15 years developing solutions for companies throughout the semiconductor and electronics industries including IBM, Motorola, Western Digital, and Storage Technologies. Mr. Collier is currently pursuing a graduate degree at Arizona State University in addition to his
degrees in Manufacturing Technology and Robotic Automation.
DR. KEITH E. COOKSEY
RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
DR. JOEL L. CUELLO
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ARGICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Education: The Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Minor in Chemical Engineering, May 1994, M.S. Plant Physiology, May 1999, M.S. Agricultural Engineering, August 1990; The University of the Philippines, B.S. Agricultural Engineering, cum laude, April 1984; Postdoctoral Research
Experience, NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, U.S. National Research Council Research Associateship, December 1993 – December 1994
DR. AL DARZINS
GROUP MANAGER/PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER
NATIONAL BIOENERGY CENTER, NREL
DR. JOE DRAGAVON
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
UNIVERSITY OF HULL (U.K.)
KEVIN DRUMM
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SOLUTION RECOVERY SERVICES
DR. MARK EDWARDS
PROFESSOR
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mark R. Edwards, PhD, graduated from the US Naval Academy in mechanical engineering, oceanography and meteorology. Jacques Cousteau motivated and mentored his interest in the oceans and global stewardship. He holds an MBA and PhD in marketing and consumer behavior and has taught food marketing, leadership, sustainability and
entrepreneurship at Arizona State University for over 30 years. As founder and CEO of the software firm TEAMS International, Dr. Edwards served as lead assessment and leadership development consultant for over 400 firms globally. Over the years, Dr. Edwards has consulted with both public and private institutions and organizations across the economy. He retained by the US Departments of Energy and Defense, as well as the National Laboratories and other agencies. He has served on the board of a Fortune 50 transportation and foods company and has done extensive R&D on new foods and food sources. He has also consulted for Monsanto, Pioneer Seeds, DuPont, GE,
Quaker Oats, General Mills, Borden and many other agribusiness companies. Dr. Edwards has also worked with senior executives at 15 large US oil and gas firms as well as British Petroleum and Saudi Aramco. He has consulted with over a dozen power and water utilities such as Duke Energy, PG&E, and FP&L, in addition to pipeline and energy distribution firms. Dr. Edwards has published over 100 articles on advanced assessment technologies as well as several books, including a business bestseller, 360° Feedback. He currently serves on several boards, including the Arizona Science Center, whose mission is to motivate students to learn and to pursue engaging careers in science and math.
DR. DAVID GIORGI
PRESIDENT & CEO
OPTISWITCH TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Dr. Giorgi has been the president and CEO of OptiSwitch Technology Corporation since its incorporation in 1999. He previously spent over 14 years at Energy Compression Research (ECR) originating new concepts and directing research in the design and development of high power, fast rise-time systems which incorporate Light Activated Silicon Switches (LASS). These systems range from sources for high power microwaves and impulse RADARs to high dI/dt switches for capacitive discharges. From 1995 to 1998 Dr. Giorgi focused on the development of a high speed (<1 href="http://www150.cws.net/%7Ealgalb/events/documents/ABS08SpeakerList_000.pdf">Source (PDF)
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