Algae to Fuel Plant in Holland, Michigan - Sequest LLC

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Holland (Michigan) may be in line for a $7 million state-funded pilot project to combine wastewater and carbon dioxide to grow algae for biofuel and animal feed.

Lawmakers are expected this month to complete work on grants for targeted industries worth hundreds of millions in coming years. That comes on top of film-production incentives that are drawing dozens of movie projects to Michigan at an estimated cost of $100 million.





In Holland, representatives of Bloomfield Hills-based Sequest LLC toured the city's wastewater and coal plant as a prospective site for its plan to divert carbon dioxide from the power plant, combine it with treated wastewater, and grow algae. The algae would then be converted to biofuels and other uses.

No one has done before. But if it works, Sequest CEO Bob Truxell believes it could help transform the world energy equation.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Cellana - Shell, HR Biopetroleum JV Has Demo Plant for Algal Oil in Hawaii

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HR Biopetroleum has joined with Shell on a company, Cellana, that is one of about 20 worldwide looking to commercialize algae technology. Shonsey said Cellana has a leg up on the competition because it already has a patented process and research expertise from HR Biopetroleum that has been developed over nearly two decades. That work has solved contamination problems that can occur while identifying the best algae species for oil production, he said.

Cellana's pilot plant is producing oil now and that a demonstration plant is being built in Kona (Hawaii) to scale it up. Within three years it hopes to have its first commercial plant operating and within six years, another five plants.

Full story here

The Oilgae Comprehensive Report gives numerous case studies and examples of what the pioneers are doing in this domain.

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Alternative Jet Fuel: Algae is a Promising Option

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When it comes to jet fuel, there's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the aviation industry is working hard to develop clean, renewable alternatives to petroleum. The bad news? None of them will be coming to a plane near you anytime soon. It's a reality that may push some cash strapped airlines to embrace more abundant – but dirtier – options.

At the Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington recently, airlines and researchers laid out their vision for an alternative fuel future. And while there are several different options being investigated, it would appear that algae is the one to beat.

Full story here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Nick Mashin of Canrex Biofuels Ltd. - Algae Fuel Has Bright Future

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Toronto, Jun 2008

“Biodiesel from algae has the potential to replace petro fuels”, boasts entrepreneur Nick Mashin. Currently, biofuels are largely derived from oil seed crops such as canola, soybean, rapeseed and palm oil. The competition between food and fuel uses has resulted in record breaking commodity prices for these agricultural stocks.

Biofuels have since become more expensive than conventional fossil fuel and many biofuel plants have become government subsidized or forced to close. Nick Mashin of Canrex Biofuels Ltd. predicts the future is biodiesel derived from algae. Algae farming has been around for 50 years, and with oil content as high as 70 percent, algae clearly has a future in biodiesel production. Biofuels such as ethanol take an equal part of fossil fuel to produce the same proportion of ethanol with the added release of carbon emissions.

In addition to the high oil yield of algae, its added benefit is that it is a major consumer of carbon dioxide. Mashin insists that algae operations could partner with industries that produce high levels of carbon dioxide to draw off their emissions and absorb them into algae cultivation.

Canrex Biofuels Ltd. is currently developing and refining its technology that will see algae production and the supply of biodiesel expand worldwide. With worldwide concern for the future of energy supplies and prices, biodiesel is a clean renewable fuel with few environmental impacts if developed without the use of food stocks.

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Air NZ, Continental, Virgin, Boeing Join Algae Biofuels Organization

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Three airlines are joining the newly-formed Algal Biomass Organisation (ABO), a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the development of commercially viable transportation and power-generation fuels, as well as other non-energy applications, from algae biomass.

Air New Zealand, Continental Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, together with biofuel technology developer UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, are the first wave of aviation-related members to join the ABO. The organisation is co-chaired by aircraft maker Boeing Co.

The airlines are advocating the identification and acceleration of new generations of fuel sources for the industry that have lower life-cycle carbon emissions, such as sustainable algae-based biofuels.

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Inventure Chemical , Seambiotic Team Up for Biofuels from Algae Fed by Coal-fired Power Plant

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Joint project to use coal to grow algae for biofuels

Algae's clout as a fuel feedstock seems to rise every day. Inventure Chemical and Seambiotic announced this week a joint venture to create biofuels from algae fed by a coal-fired power plant.

An open pond for growing algae used at a pilot plant in Israel.
(Credit: Seambiotic)

Based in Seattle, Inventure Chemical has a process for converting algae to either biodiesel, ethanol, or specialty chemicals. Seambiotic, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, has developed an open-pond algae farming system that is now testing in Israel.

The joint venture will grow algae using flue gas emissions from a power plant and either use the resulting liquid fuel to power its operations or sell it.

Full story from here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Simon Upfill-Brown Replaces Bob Metcalfe as CEO of GreenFuel

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GreenFuel Technologies, a closely watched algae start-up, has hired a new CEO to place interim CEO Bob Metcalfe.

Simon Upfill-Brown will join the company in mid-July from Haltermann Custom Processing, where he was CEO of the chemical manufacturing firm. He was general manager of Haltermann Dow after Dow Chemical bought the company in 2001 until it was spun out this year as a separate company.

In a statement, Upfill-Brown said "algae has come of age."

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Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Solazyme Claims Algae Biodiesel Meets Fuel Standards

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Closely held Solazyme Inc. is set to announce shortly that its algae-derived biodiesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials specification for diesel fuel. This means it can go into existing diesel engines without modifications.

Solazyme says it is the first diesel derived from algae to meet these standards. Before you go out and sell the farm to invest, a couple caveats:

1) ASTM doesn’t police or put their stamp of approval on these claims; it’s up to Solazyme’s competitors to knock it down if untrue;

2) numerous companies are producing oil from algae, but none are doing so economically and at a meaningful scale – yet.

Full report from here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Funding bonanza for Sapphire Energy

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A Californian start-up company promising "green crude" fuel from algae has been given $50m (£25.33m) in funding from investors, including Britain's biggest charity, the Wellcome Trust.

The year-old start-up, Sapphire Energy, came out of "stealth mode" this week with an announcement that its trials have been so successful that its backers have promised no-limit funding.

"Sapphire's interdisciplinary team hit milestones within three months that everyone thought were impossible. We realized at that point we could change the world, so we sat them down and told them, 'the chequebook is completely open; tell us what you need'," said Robert Nelsen, managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, one of the companies that has ploughed money into Sapphire.

Full report here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Algae can free us from importing soybean oil?

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Thus asks this article from Daily Times, Pakistan

With the costs of edible oil spiraling in the international market, experts are keen on finding solutions for the crisis that is engulfing developing countries, including Pakistan. Interestingly, one of the top contenders for alternative sources of edible oil is something commonly found in oceans, lakes, ponds, swimming pools and even goldfish bowls: algae.

Speaking to Daily Times, alternative energy expert Mian Suhail Hussein said that researchers have developed techniques to solve potential food crises. Algae are found almost everywhere, in any body of water. While they are not truly plants, these single-celled organisms have the same ability as plants to convert sunshine into chemical energy using photosynthesis. For some species of algae, this chemical energy is stored in the form of oils very similar to common vegetable oil, said Hussein.

Read the full story from here


Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Inventure Chemical, Seambiotic Enter JV to Build Commercial Algae to Biofuel Plant in Israel

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Inventure Chemical has announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Seambiotic Ltd. (based in Tel Aviv, Israel) to construct a pilot commercial biofuel plant in Israel, using algae created from CO2 emissions as feedstock. The plant will utilize high-yield oil-rich algae strains that Seambiotic has developed and grown in its open pond system coupled with Inventure's patent-pending conversion processes to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other value-added chemicals.

"This is a milestone for Inventure, and for the next generation of biofuels," said Mark Tegen, Inventure's chief executive officer and co-founder. "Seambiotic has been extremely successful in its algae-based CO2 sequestering project with Israeli Electric Corporation, which proves the viability of their model. Combining their algae production technology with our algae to biofuel conversion process will close the loop."

Full report here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

Inventure Chemical, Seambiotic Enter JV to Build Commercial Algae to Biofuel Plant in Israel

You are at: Oilgae Blog. See the complete list of Oilgae Blog articles.

Inventure Chemical has announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Seambiotic Ltd. (based in Tel Aviv, Israel) to construct a pilot commercial biofuel plant in Israel, using algae created from CO2 emissions as feedstock. The plant will utilize high-yield oil-rich algae strains that Seambiotic has developed and grown in its open pond system coupled with Inventure's patent-pending conversion processes to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other value-added chemicals.

"This is a milestone for Inventure, and for the next generation of biofuels," said Mark Tegen, Inventure's chief executive officer and co-founder. "Seambiotic has been extremely successful in its algae-based CO2 sequestering project with Israeli Electric Corporation, which proves the viability of their model. Combining their algae production technology with our algae to biofuel conversion process will close the loop."

Full report here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

American Algae Growers Corportation (AAGC)

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American Algae Growers Corportation (AAGC) is a new company dedicated to the production of eco-friendly oil by "feeding reclaimed emissions from coal and gas burning facilities to an oil producing algae," it says.

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again

OriginOil Files Patent for Breakthrough Algae Oil Extraction Technique

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Press release

LOS ANGELES - (Business Wire) OriginOil, Inc. , the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, announced today the filing of its fourth patent application.

The patent application, “Lysing and Extraction System for Microorganisms,” details OriginOil's invention of a method to extract the oil from algae with high energy efficiency, without requiring the use of chemical solvents.

Full press release here

Nature gave us oil from algae; perhaps we should try Nature's way again