There’s no doubt that many people, farmers, truckers, small businesses, greenhouse owners, are jumping on the “make money with algae” bandwagon. After all, why not? Anyone with a garage, a backyard, or a small piece of land can start making money with algae.
Algae “farms” are starting to pop up. Even a new word is being added to the professional lexicon-“Algaepreneur.”
An “algaepreneur” is someone who has decided to take the plunge and start making money with algae.
Consider this; a farmer in the US is lucky if he can get $600 (last year’s prices) per acre for corn. Is it any wonder when..
- Diesel fuel is selling for $9.00 a gallon in Australia. At 3000 gallon per acre that’s $27,000 per acre
- Omega 3 oils can fetch up to $6000 per metric ton
- Organic fertilizer $230 per ton and 40 tons/year/acre = $9,200 per acre.
- Algae animal feed: @$290 to 325/MT 40/tons/yr/acre = $11,600 to $13,000 per acre.
Granted, algae present challenges different than other crops, but the rewards will go to the early adopters, the one’s vision and the desire to succeed before the herd follows.
Take a look below at some of the pioneers
Algae Biofuels
Seaweed’s Promise for Algal Fuels
Seaweeds, a macro form of algae, hold great promise because of their potential for very high yields and high oil production while thriving on non-arable land. Another benefit is that they grow well in saline water. Traditionally crops will not excel in salt water and in some areas of the country valuable agricultural land has been taken out of production due to high concentrations of salt.
The result, Mitchell believes, will be a multi-trillion dollar industry that will disrupt the use of fossil fuels.
Health Food Products
Cellana, a leading developer of algae-based bioproducts, uses the most productive plants on earth – marine microalgae – to produce its ReNewTM line of Omega-3 EPA and DHA oils, animal feed, and biofuel feedstocks. Cellana’s patented ALDUOTM system enables economic, sustainable, and consistent production of photosynthetic algae at industrial scale.
Cellana intends to construct and operate commercial facilities to produce these products as integrated algae-based biorefineries.
Algae Cosmetics
Solazyme, a San Francisco-based algae fuel startup, is expanding its brand by bringing algae technology into the nutrition and cosmetics industries. This week, the company unveiled Algenist, an anti-aging skincare line that uses microalgae compounds as a main ingredient.
The idea for the Algenist skincare line came from Arthur Grossman, a Stanford University professor and microalgae expert. Soon after the company’s inception in 2004, the Solazyme team came to Grossman to find out what applications microalgae might have besides biofuel. His response: skincare, primarily because algae successfully protect themselves against the same harsh environmental conditions as humans.
Algae Bio Plastics
What are bioplastics?
A sustainable alternative to traditional plastics, bioplastics are plastics that are fully or partially biobased, and/or biodegradable or compostable. In other words, they are plastics that are made from renewable resources (plants like corn, tapioca, potatoes, sugar and algae), and they will break down faster than traditional plastics, which are typically made from petroleum, and other fossil resources such as natural gas.
Forward thinking algae entrepreneurs are already jumping on the bandwagon. Big money is flowing to algal research and development in some of the world’s largest industries.
Big oil, the major airlines, big pharmaceutical, big agriculture, even the military is pumping money into this humble organism unparalleled in any time in human history.
With good reason…
The “Algae Revolution” has begun.
PS…As you know, timing is everything in business. And as in this case, there’s no time to lose. So if you have any interest whatsoever, now is the time to take action. Before it slips your mind and before it’s too late.