Blatant Reality

Last week, ASU professor Mark Edwards was highlighted on the news website AZCentral.com. Edwards is the author of the several books, including “Green Algae Strategy” which he self-published in 2008. The article gives a great mini-bio that helps to explain just how he became interested in energy and sustainability issues, which ultimately led to his fascination with algae.

He grew up on a farm in central California and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, oceanography and meteorology.

While Edwards was at the Naval Academy, Jacques Cousteau was a frequent lecturer, and Edwards said Cousteau helped instill in him a sense of stewardship for the planet.

When Edwards left the Navy he received his MBA and Ph.D. in marketing and consumer psychology from ASU and he entered the business world. He and colleague Ann Ewen pioneered the concept of 360-degree feedback, which is widely used in performance evaluations.

Edwards and Ewen married, and he has been a professor at ASU since 1978. Since he began teaching, his research and writing have focused increasingly on environmental issues associated with sustainable food, water and energy.

I have read Edwards’ book “Green Algae Strategy” as well as “Crash“, which focuses more on using algae to overcome hunger in the world. Both of these books offer excellent insight into the many benefits of using algae for energy, food, and other sustainable products.

If you are interested in algae biofuels, I would definitely recommend reading one or both of these book since they are a great introduction to the subject. At one point, Edwards offered PDF files of these books for free on his website but that doesn’t seem to be the case now. Nevertheless, you can visit his site which has more information on his books at GreenIndependence.org.

Even if the books aren’t available for free, they are well worth buying so definitely check them out.

Solix Biofuels has announced that it will be collaborating with BASF to produce specialty chemicals from algae in conjunction with biofuels. The idea of using algae to produce chemicals has been around for a while, with some proposing using algae to produce a chemical that can sell for $800/gallon.

Here is an excerpt from their press release:

“We are excited to begin this important development with BASF,” said Doug Henston, Solix Biofuels’ CEO. “Algae offer the potential to produce a diversity of chemical products in addition to their fuel potential. We believe our AGS offers a high unique level of flexibility in its production capability, ideally suited for the ultimate large-scale cultivation of a broad range of algae species with multiple commercial applications. This partnership affords us the opportunity to work with a leader in the chemical industry to produce some unique chemical products from algae while continuing to pursue the production of fuel from algae.”

One thing to note is that is that markets for chemicals, especially specialty chemicals, will most likely be fairly small. Therefore, while the initial price for the chemicals may be high, simple economics would dictate that the more product on the market, the lower the price will become. Therefore, companies like Solix who hope to use algae to produce co-products like chemicals will have to keep this in mind and work a potentially decreasing return into their profit forecasts.

However, in the short term, this could help the Solix and other algae companies looking to do the same thing raise needed revenue. Since algae oils will have to compete with comparatively low petroleum prices, co-products will likely help keep companies afloat while they optimize their production systems.

Overall, this is good news and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more algae companies making the same kind of announcements.

This coming week, those involved or interested in the algae industry will converge on Phoenix, AZ to attend a three day conference that will cover topics from Science and Technology, Commercialization and Policy, Government and Finance. Prior to this conference on September 27, ASU and the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) are hosting a workshop titled “Priming the Green Engine – an Introduction to Algae”.

“Priming the Green Engine” is geared toward non-scientists, particularly individuals in business, government and the media, as well as anyone else looking to understand how algae can contribute to a sustainable economy.

Leaders in algal research from the Laboratory for Algae Research and Biotechnology (LARB) at ASU’s College of Technology and Innovation, as well as algae experts from the University of Texas, the University of Washington and from industry, such as Earthrise Nutritionals, will discuss algae strains, cultivation of algae in the lab and outdoors, production and processing of algal biomass, and biomass conversion into biofuels and high-value bioproducts from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sept. 27, at ASU’s Tempe campus.

Following the morning session, attendees will tour the algae research and production facilities at ASU’s Polytechnic campus in Mesa. The facilities are jointly operated by researchers with ASU’s College of Technology and Innovation and Heliae Development, LLC.

If you are attending the conference or happen to be in Phoenix on September 27, you should try to attend this workshop to get an up close look at the algae research currently being studied.

Solazyme is expected to announce that the Navy has asked them to provide an additional 150,000 gallons of fuel from algae. This is more than seven times larger than the initial order of 20,000 gallons.

In a big boost for biofuels, Solazyme is expected to announce today that the U.S. Navy has ordered an additional 150,000 gallons of its algae-based fuel.

Based in South San Francisco, Solazyme grows algae in large vats and then extracts the oils for a variety of applications, from fuel to foods and the cosmetics industry.

The new contract with the Navy is more than seven times the size of an initial 20,000-gallon contract awarded last year and completed this week. The Navy is eager to find alternatives to its HRF-76 Naval Distillate, the shipboard diesel that it uses to power gas turbines and boilers.

Even better yet, this article states that Solazyme will produce 100,000 gallons of its algae based oil by the end of this year.

Solazyme says it is likely to produce about 100,000 gallons of its algae-based oil by the end of the year.

To my knowledge, this is the largest amount of fuel any algae biofuel company has said they expect to produce within a year.

In case you were wondering, the government has been working with algae companies in a variety of venture, something you can read more about in this article.

As anyone who visits this site often can tell, algae-based news is a very important topic that is constantly discussed. In fact, one could say that is has almost taken over the site.

Since that wasn’t the original goal of this website, I have launched another website, AlgaeNews.com, which deals strictly with algae news.

The site includes commentary on the algae industry like that found here as well as article consisting strictly of the opinions and views of experts in the algae field.

Algae News also includes RSS feeds updated daily with best variety of news articles discussing algae. These feeds are organized for your convenience into three different categories: Company News, Industry News, and Research News.

Hopefully with this new site up and running, I will be able to focus on a wider variety of energy related topics here on Blatant Reality.

So if you come here to keep current on algae biofuel related topics, be sure to visit and bookmark AlgaeNews.com!

Oh and be sure to follow Algae News on Twitter (@Algae_News) for the most up to date algae biofuel news!

Seambiotic and Rosetta Green have announced that they will collaborate to try to find new strains of algae suitable for the biofuel industry. Essentially, Rosetta Green will identify the strains and Seambiotic will test the identified strains.

Here is the press release from Rosetta Green for more information:

Press Release Source: Rosetta Green On Monday July 26, 2010, 9:27 am EDT

REHOVOT and ASHKELON, Israel, July 26, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rosetta Green, a company specializing in the identification of unique genes in plants and algae for the cleantech and plant biotech industries and Seambiotic, a company specializing in the growth of algae at industrial scale, announced yesterday that they have signed a collaboration agreement to develop and test improved algal strains for the biofuel industry. According to the agreement, Rosetta Green will be responsible for the development of the strains and Seambiotic will be in charge of large scale algal growth and biofuel production.

The companies will initially focus on increasing the oil content of the algae and producing strains that can better withstand contamination. The companies have formed a joint steering committee that will be responsible for the management and operation of the collaboration. The proof of concept phase of the collaboration is anticipated to last about two years, during which the companies will explore the development of facilities for producing biofuel from algae on an industrial scale.

Rosetta Green is focused on the identification of unique genes that function as main control bio-switches; the company will make use of these technologies to develop algal strains with improved traits for biofuel production. Seambiotic is focused on industrial scale algal cultivation using flue gas from power stations to accelerate growth rate. Algae are considered the most promising feedstock for sustainable biofuel production, as they do not require arable land or potable water for growth. Additionally, algae have significantly higher biofuel productivity potential than land crops such as corn and soybean.

Amir Avniel, the CEO of Rosetta Green noted: “I am very pleased with this agreement; we have found a partner with world-leading skills who was impressed by our technologies and the large potential of Rosetta Green. This collaboration brings together two companies with unique and advanced capabilities. I have no doubt that biofuel from algae is currently the most promising potential alternative to fossil fuels. Most of the large oil companies in the world have already invested millions of dollars in the field due to its numerous advantages, especially as yields can be 300 to 500 fold higher than those of land plants. The U.S. administration has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in this area after realizing its vast potential for reducing the dependence on foreign oil.”

Numerous companies worldwide are attempting to develop engineering and biological solutions for economic and sustainable production of biofuel from algae, but the joint initiative of Rosetta Green and Seambiotic is first of its kind as it combines the unique capabilities of both companies in algal growth, processing and advanced biotechnology.

Daniel Chinn, CEO of Seambiotic adds: “The agreement with Rosetta Green is another milestone in the development of the technology to make algae the next generation of biofuel crops. This sort of collaboration which brings together leading companies from complement art fields, such as Seambiotic and Rosetta Green, is the only way to successfully meet the challenges that lie ahead in the field.”

Almost everyone supports the development of new sources of energy. However, differing personal and political opinions on what constitutes “safe” or “economical” mean the requirements that these energy sources must meet are far from uniform. For example, many liberals focus on new energy technologies that emit less carbon while conservatives focus more on sources that would give our nation the ability to produce our energy domestically.

Both of these goals can be attained, but the question remains: what is the best path forward?

Many on the left want to see a tax levied on carbon, arguing that this will force the development of greener technologies.But at least one environmental researcher, highlighted in the July 2010 edition of Popular Science magazine, thinks that technology innovation, rather than government policies, will lead to new and greener energy sources.

Part of what alarms his critics is how un-alarmist his conclusions have turned out to be. For example, instead of using policy to change how people will behave in the future, [Jesse] Ausubel prefers exploring technological responses to what he believes people are going to do regardless. His favorite defense of this laissez-faire approach is to explain that, absent any policy dictating that it should happen, energy consumption over the past 100 years has steadily “decarbonized.” That is, humankind has moved to fuel sources with progressively better ratios of carbon atoms to hydrogen atoms–wood at 10:1, coal at 2:1, oil at 1:2, natural gas at 1:4 and, eventually (in the future Ausubel envisions) 100 percent hydrogen. He thinks technology inevitably improves things. “That’s not to say I don’t worry about the downsides of technology,” he says. “A lot of my work is about that. But my general interest is new and high-tech ways of dealing with problems.”

Ausubel rightly argues that over the years, technology has steadily been advancing and decarbonizing largely without government intervention, a concept that should continue in the future.

For examples supporting Ausubel’s argument, one does not have to look any further than the nuclear industry, where a trend of innovation can be seen with companies like Babcock & Wilcox looking to bring asmaller nuclear reactor to market. Their goal is to create a modular reactor that can easily be shipped to its destination for final assembly. The smaller size means using one-fifth of the staff a regular size reactor requires, a benefit that will significantly lower operation costs, which in turn means these reactors will allow smaller utilities to diversify their energy profiles.

That means more utilities may look into using nuclear energy, carbon-free technology that produced enough energy around the clock to serve as baseload power.

Additionally, recent technological innovations in the algae biofuel industry could lead to major advances in the hydrogen field. An algae biofuel technology company recently announced that they had developed a method to cheaply ‘harvest’ hydrogen from algae, a method that scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory called “the ‘Holy Grail’ of the hydrogen economy.”

Examples of innovations like these in the energy industry are happening frequently and largely without government intervention. With talk about a new climate/energy bill being written, Congress needs to remember that it should not try to force technological advances but instead should focus on creating a climate where innovation is encouraged.

Ultimately, instead of the heavy hand of the government steering the development of our energy technologies by artificially affecting the price of energy through carbon taxes or selective subsidies, we should let the private sector do what it does best: innovate and commercialize, two things that will benefit everyone in the process.

Originally posted on American Solutions

OriginOil announced today that they will receive their first payment from their first customer for the shipment of their Quantum Fracturing System. The is all part of a deal that OriginOil has with Australian Energy company MBD, a deal they announced this past May.

Here is the latest press release detailing this transaction:

OriginOil Announces Revenue from First Customer
- Shipment of OriginOil Quantum Fracturing System to MBD Energy Triggers Payment -

Los Angeles, CA July 27, 2010 – OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, today announced that it recently notified MBD Energy Limited that it is ready to ship a Quantum Fracturing™ System, the first unit in a multi-phase commercialization program. The notification triggers a payment under a purchase order from the Australia-based customer.

“This is a major milestone for OriginOil and represents our first revenue event,” said Riggs Eckelberry, CEO. “We are excited to support MBD Energy, a leader in the global race to help coal-fired power plants absorb their massive CO2 emissions using algae.”

Recently, OriginOil notified MBD Energy that it is ready to ship a Quantum Fracturing System, designed to maximize algae CO2 absorption with minimal energy, to MBD Energy’s research and development facility at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. The company’s Single-Step Extraction™ System, designed to efficiently separate algae oil from its biomass, will be the next deliverable and will trigger another payment under the purchase order.

In May, the parties agreed on a multi-phase commercialization program under which OriginOil will supply MBD Energy with its algae-to-oil technology platform in progressively larger installations. Subject to the success of the initial test phase, MBD will purchase significantly larger systems to serve its power station projects in Australia, beginning with a one-hectare pilot plant at Tarong Power Station in South Eastern Queensland, and expanding to full production sites at all three of MBD’s power station projects in Australia.

According to MBD Energy, each of its power station projects has the potential to grow to 80-hectare commercial plants, each capable of producing 11 million liters of oil for plastics and transport fuel, and 25,000 tonnes of drought?proof animal feed annually. MBD Energy estimates that the projects will eventually consume more than half of each power station’s flue-gas emissions.

OriginOil’s Quantum Fracturing System breaks down nutrients such as CO2 into micro-particles that stay suspended in water longer, allowing algae to feed more efficiently. The Single-Step Extraction system is the first commercial “wet” extraction system, able to separate algae oil from its biomass without costly and energy-intensive dewatering operations.

About OriginOil, Inc. (web address: www.originoil.com)
OriginOil, Inc. is developing a breakthrough technology that will transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum. Much of the world’s oil and gas is made up of ancient algae deposits. Today, our technology will produce “new oil” from algae, through a cost-effective, high-speed manufacturing process. This endless supply of new oil can be used for many products such as diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, plastics and solvents without the global warming effects of petroleum. Other oil producing feedstock such as corn and sugarcane often destroy vital farmlands and rainforests, disrupt global food supplies and create new environmental problems. Our unique technology, based on algae, is targeted at fundamentally changing our source of oil without disrupting the environment or food supplies.

About MBD Energy Limited (web address: www.mbdenergy.com)
MBD is an Australia-based public, unlisted technology company. One of the world’s largest mining companies, Anglo American, became a cornerstone investor in MBD in 2009 and Anglo Coal’s Global CEO, Seamus French, has recently joined as a non-executive director of MBD Energy. The MBD Energy Board is chaired by former BHP Chairman, Jerry Ellis. MBD has a joint research and development facility located at James Cook University (JCU), Townsville, Queensland. MBD Energy and its JCU team are regarded as international leaders in the use of captured flue-gases as feedstock to produce algal biomass for Bio-CCS. In addition to the project at Tarong Power Station, MBD Energy currently has two similar projects underway with Loy Yang Power in Victoria and Eraring Energy in New South Wales. MBD Energy is a founding member of the Bio CCS program. The program is made up of a number of regional projects with each targeting 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gas sequestration per year by 2020.

Yesterday, the DOE announced another multi-million dollar grant with large portions going towards algae research. The goal of this latest round of grants focuses on carbon capture. Here are some of the details:

DOE announced Thursday $106 million in Recovery Act funding for six corporate projects that will research the potential to use CO2 as an inexpensive raw material.

(…)

DOE describes the projects, in six different states, that will provide $156 million in private matching funds:

1. Alcoa, Inc. (Alcoa Center, Pa.)—Alcoa’s pilot-scale process will demonstrate the high efficiency conversion of flue gas CO2 into soluble bicarbonate and carbonate using an in-duct scrubber system featuring an enzyme catalyst… Alcoa will demonstrate and optimize the process at their Point Comfort, Texas aluminum refining plant. (DOE Share: $11,999,359)
2. Novomer Inc. (Ithaca, N.Y.)—Teaming with Albemarle Corporation and the Eastman Kodak Co., Novomer will develop a process for converting waste CO2 into a number of polycarbonate products (plastics) for use in the packaging industry….Novomer has secured site commitments in Rochester, NY, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Orangeburg, SC and Ithaca, NY where Phase 2 work will be performed. (DOE Share: $18,417,989)
3. Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd. (Triadelphia, W. Va.)—This project will pilot-test an open-pond algae production technology that can capture at least 60 percent of flue gas CO2 from an industrial coal-fired source to produce biofuel and other high value co-products….The host site for the pilot project is Cedar Lane Farms in Wooster, Ohio. (DOE Share: $6,239,542)
4. Phycal, LLC (Highland Heights, Ohio)—Phycal will complete development of an integrated system designed to produce liquid biocrude fuel from microalgae cultivated with captured CO2…. Phycal will design, build, and operate a CO2-to-algae-to-biofuels facility at a nominal thirty acre site in Central O’ahu (near Wahiawa and Kapolei), Hawaii…. (DOE Share: $24,243,509)
5. Skyonic Corporation (Austin, Texas)—Skyonic Corporation will continue the development of SkyMine® mineralization technology—a potential replacement for existing scrubber technology…The project team plans to process CO2-laden flue gas from a Capital Aggregates, Ltd. cement manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas. (DOE Share: $25,000,000)
6. Calera Corporation (Los Gatos, Calif.)—Calera Corporation is developing a process that directly mineralizes CO2 in flue gas to carbonates that can be converted into useful construction materials. An existing CO2 absorption facility for the project is operational at Moss Landing, Calif., for capture and mineralization. (DOE Share: $19,895,553)

Here is the DOE’s original Press Release

Last week, the Algae Industry Magazine announced that it has formed a Science and Industry Advisory Board that included some of the big names in the algae field. One of the members on this board is none other than OriginOil’s new CTO Brian Goodall. Here is OriginOil’s press release announcing his inclusion in AIM’s advisory board:

OriginOil Chief Technology Officer Joins Algae Industry Magazine Science and Industry Advisory Board
- Dr. Brian Goodall, Distinguished Scientist and Global Technologist, Joins Expert Panel -

Los Angeles, CA July 21, 2010 – OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, has announced that Algae Industry Magazine has appointed OriginOil Chief Technology Officer Dr. Brian Goodall to its Science and Industry Advisory Board.

“We congratulate Dr. Goodall, who has played a crucial role in advancing the algae biofuels industry throughout the years, as his experience and history will be invaluable to the Science and Industry Advisory Board,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil’s CEO.

Algae Industry Magazine (A.I.M.) reports on the growth and development of the algae biofuels and co-products industry and serves as a forum for those involved in a sustainable energy future. It has now assembled algae industry leaders to analyze and provide guidance on technology and controversial issues in the algae biofuels and co-products industry.

“With this panel, we intend to bring a reality filter to the information being passed along to the readers, in order to better advance the algae production industry with reliable data and credible achievements,” stated A.I.M. publisher David Schwartz.

The advisory board for Algae Industry Magazine also includes several leading industry experts from North America. Some of these individuals are Charles Bensinger, SFCC Biofuels Program Director; Russell Chapman, Executive Director of the Scripps Institute; Ben Cloud, CEO of Phyco BioScience; Robert Henrikson, former CEO of Earthrise; Alina Kulikowski-Tan, Vice President of Carbon Capture Corporation; Ike Levine, Assistant Professor from the University of S. Maine; and Jim Sears, the CTO of Algae@Work.

With a career spanning more than 30 years in both the U.S. and Europe, Dr. Goodall has held senior positions in multinational companies such as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, B.F. Goodrich and Rohm & Haas. He has been credited with over 80 patents and 60 published papers in the scientific journals. While Vice President of Downstream Technology at Sapphire Energy, Inc., he worked with Continental Airlines in helping to achieve the first U.S. commercial demo flight using an algae-oil blend.

Be sure to check out the article I wrote last week based off an interview I had with Dr. Goodall about OriginOil’s “Hydrogen Harvester”