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From Mind-Bending To Mind-Blowing: Biofuel Stories of 2012
Sometimes the biofuels world is just truly bizarre. At other times, it’s too cool for words. The biofuels stories which cross my desk sometimes seem like they belong in a science fiction novel, at others like they should be in a horror movie. For example, in 2009 we had the Beverely Hills plastic surgeon who wanted to turn human fat into biodiesel.
Looking at the last year in retrospect, here are a few highlights from 2012:
From the “Teacher Tinkering With algae, Discovers Secret” Dept: we have; a 10th. grade teacher spies some algae in Yellowstone National Park and scoops some up to try and grow algae biofuels. Along with it, he scoops up a fungus as well. He then discovers the fungus likes feeding on the algae, getting in the way of growing the algae. Curious, he dries it out and finds it “oozes oil.” Further research finds that the secreted oil is perfect for biofuels, taking algae based biofuels in a totally new direction…or is it? Fungus biofuels, anyone?
From the “It’s Just Too Cool For Words” Dept: If some of the talented designers at The Algae Competion had their way, at Marina City in Chicago, you can expect to see buildings are covered with photosynthetic skins and vertical gardens, collecting the sun’s energy from the outside and producing food and energy for urban citizens on the inside. They want to green desert coastlines and produce food for millions of people. They want to create algae building systems that recycle polluting wastes into high value animal food, fuel and biofertilizers. If building with algae ever catches on, and I think it will, this is a whole new world in architecture.
From The “It Sounds Like Science Fiction” Dept: Engineering Magnetic Algae. Conversion of algae to biofuels requires dewatering before extracting usable products—a daunting task since the mass of water in a growth pond exceeds that of the algae by 999 to one. Recently, LANL physicists and bioscientists genetically engineered magnetic algae to investigate a novel harvesting method: pulling algae from the water with a magnet.
From the “Coolest Home Grown Design” Dept: The Skylight Harvest algae production system.We have another entry from The Algae Competition, from Lauren Benstead. Utilizes rooftop space incorporating solar panels, rainwater recycling, filtration station, fold-out drying screens, and a small pump system that agitates the growing algae. Highly adaptable due to its size and structural design, and offers the benefits of algaculture to everyone, everywhere. I expect to see more and more of in-house, as well as small scale designs in 2013.
From the “Brightest Kid On The Block” Dept: We have Josh Wolf. Josh is a 10th grade student at Elk River High School. He devised a way, using recycled parts, of basically creating a new type of bioreactor. Using Red, Blue and Green LED’s and utilizing alga’s night cycle, an ingenious method of enhancing algae growth. In addition, he designed a low cost solar drying method as well as completely solar open pond design.
For 2012, the algae world exploded with new designs, new technologies, new strains, new uses, and best of all, new ideas. What 2012 has taught us is that there is seemingly no end to the uses we can employ algae in. Governments, multinational oil companies, airlines, the Navy, small business, and most of all, talented people all over the world have jumped on the algae train. And this, is just the beginning. Hold on, 2013 is going to be an even better ride.
The Algae Revolution Has Begun
More Evidence Algae Biofuels is About To Go Commercial in 2013
Who’s funneled $116M into Algenol and Aurora Algae? We know finally, it’s Reliance.
Algae’s Secret Investor
In earlier 2010, a considerable amount of information started to mount up indicating that Reliance Industries Limited – the oil, chemical products, telecommunications and industrial conglomerate, was planning to place a wager on algae in the fuel oils and chemicals area.
Reliance – for those people not as knowledgeable about India’s business environment – is known as a South Asian giant. It’s the country’s biggest private-sector business concerning income revenue and profits, and also scored in the Global Fortune 100 this past year.
Observers of the rising impetus driving algae at Reliance were dumbfounded this year after no investment decisions had been reported, with either a large-scale inside financial commitment or perhaps a tactical financial commitment with one of the top early-stage businesses. All of us certainly were puzzled with no activity here at Digestville.
Ends up that Reliance has been making investments the whole time. Silently. Significant.
A Credit Suisse statement regarding the business, (see page eight of the report, downloadable here), stated that Reliance has devoted $116 million (Rs6.2 billion). $93.5 million (Rs5.0 billion) in Algenol and 22.5 million (Rs1.2 billion) in Aurora Algae.
The most current news from Algenol
During the initial plenary period at the Algae Biomass Summit in September, Algenol CEO Paul Woods disclosed that the business, located at its 4-acre, out of doors Process Development Unit in Lee County, Florida, had attained continual output of ethanol for the 7,000 gallon per acre amount. That’s a considerable gain above the business’ initial goal of 6,000 gallon per acre, and was accomplished at its out of doors operations facility under standard performing procedures.
The most recent regarding Aurora Algae
We featured the launch of Aurora Algae‘s demonstration scale work in Western Australia as being #2 concerning Algae’s Big 2012, “Small Scale Algae Goes Big Time.”
Previously this year, we published: “Word has been sneaking back to the United States from Australia that Aurora Algae is well into a $100 million capital raise from a combination of existing and new investors, and is aiming at an IPO later in the year to fund its growth from a 6-acre demonstration unit to a small commercial facility of 250 acres, and then potentially to thousands of acres in its next iteration.”
Additional points of view on Aurora and Algenol
A shared factor among the two technologies. Neither of them utilize fresh water – each concentrate on saline-based varieties. We ranked these two in the leading 4 businesses “heading for commercialization now” amid “saltwater-based, Civilization-Saving, Bioenergy Technologies worth watching”.
The Reliance indicators from 2010
The Hindu initially discussed Reliance’s interest in algae-based biofuels starting in April 2010, after a delivery by M. Ganapati, President, Corporate Planning, Reliance Technology Group about the ‘Biofuels Scenario in India’. “Algae seems to be the most promising feed stock. Microalgae are uncellular biofactories that can provide oil from sunlight and carbon dioxide,” Ganapati stated back then. The Hindu appended that RIL suggested that the company may be “considering a proposal on setting up of a biofuel refinery, and called for selective government “investment grants to biofuels which will facilitate the update of biofuels.”
The indicators from 2011
Many people were convinced enough of Reliance’s intent that we ranked their desire for creating a significant wager in the industry. Another corporation we concentrated on DuPont – made a large financial investment in the purchase of Danisco and its Genencor enzymes unit later that year. Yet the seeming inactivity at Reliance left us perplexed.
The indicators restart in 2012
Still there persisted to be rumblings in the arena of algae. During an interview with the Digest, Dr. Jose Olivares, the leader of the NAABB algae R&D consortium, proclaimed:
“I think India is a force to contend with because of their long history with algae, but at this point they are trying to determine out how best to enter into the biofuels industry. We are very fortunate, from a NAABB perspective, to be partnering with Reliance Industries Limited, which is one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world and is located in India. They have two of the world’s largest refineries and they are in the top 20 petrochemical producers in the world. Reliance Industries is in the process of developing a strategy for biofuels and algae biofuels in particular. We are very privileged to be partnering with them in developing this strategy.”
Additionally we mentioned that Reliance, as well as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, sponsored an international summit, “Algae for Sustainable Development” together with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Indian Phycological Society. The February conference drew contributors from 11 countries around the world while exploring “Biofuels from algae, marine farming of macroalgae, carbon sequestration, nutraceutical and protein supplements from algae, and effluent remediation.”
The Conclusion
It’s a significant type of financial investment, evidently focused at the commercialization step, because of the phase that each Algenol and Aurora have arrived at on their particular paths – also it originates with a major corporation.
What precisely Reliance is finding in the information channels which would have been supplied to them, in the midst of contemplating and making financial investments at those sums, is still undisclosed. Evidently, although Algenol and Aurora are able to produce records data from their pilot and test projects, not only from the research laboratory. Indicating that they have significantly de-risked their technological innovation and are prepared to proceed to the commercially manufactured stage.