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Algae startup Sapphire Energy raising $144M
Posted On: April 3, 2012Algae biofuel is getting a massive infusion of money. Startup Sapphire Energy, which uses synthetic biology to make a green crude out of algae that can be turned into gas, diesel or jet fuel, announced on Monday that it’s raising $144 million in a Series C round from investors including agriculture company Monsanto. Previous investors in Sapphire include Bill Gates’ investment firm Cascade Investment and Sapphire has also raised a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy and a $54.4 million dollar loan guarantee from the Department of Agriculture.
NUI Galway’s participation in Energetic Algae project (EnAlgae) investigates algae as sustainable energy source
Posted On: March 23, 2012Seaweed is big business in Asia, where it is cultivated and used in a variety of food and beauty products. Nine-tenths of the world’s production for commercial use takes place in China, Japan and Korea. It is also commonly used as a sugar-rich animal feedstock in the US.
Of the 500 species that can be found in Ireland, though, only a small number are harvested. Now researchers in at NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute are taking part in a European collaborative project to investigate the potential of algae as a source of sustainable energy.
Algal bio-energy development is still in its infancy, but NUI Galway’s participation in the Energetic Algae project (EnAlgae), a four-year, €1.2-million initiative which hopes to shed more light on this undervalued resource.
OriginOil: diesel and gasoline could be made from algae and waste for US$2.28/gallon
Posted On: March 2, 2012OriginOil announces a new company study that suggests algae producers can produce finished fuels in a cost-effective manner with existing technology.
OriginOil, developer of a breakthrough technology to convert algae into renewable crude oil, announced a new company study indicating for the first time that algae producers worldwide can now make transportation fuels cost-effectively themselves.
The company’s analysis points to a potential production cost as low as US$2.28/gallon (US$0.60/litre) for gasoline or diesel using a blend of algae and waste feedstocks, using the latest growth, harvesting and fuel conversion technologies from OriginOil and other innovators.
Algatechnologies introduces Astaxanthin Water Soluble Emulsion
Posted On: March 2, 2012Algatechnologies, Israel, the leading manufacturer of natural astaxanthin, has developed a 2% natural astaxanthin in a unique liquid-emulsion format under the AstaPure™ brand name.
Natural astaxanthin is a lipid-soluble ingredient and can usually used in oil-based formulations. However, due to its extremely powerful antioxidant properties, there is a high demand in the market for a water soluble form that can be introduced in “oil-in-water” cosmetics formulations and as an active functional ingredient for beverages.
Sapphire to License Earthrise Spirulina for Green Crude
Posted On: March 2, 2012Sapphire Energy has announced it has entered into a licensing agreement with Earthrise Nutritionals LLC, Southern California-based producer of spirulina and spirulina-based products, to integrate Earthrise’s spirulina strain into Sapphire’s growing inventory of cyanobacteria and algae strains for algae-to-energy production. As a result of this agreement, Sapphire significantly improves its operational efficiency by expanding the range of strain choices available for producing Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude – a drop-in replacement for petroleum-based crude oil – that can be refined into diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline.
Novozymes and Sea6 Energy Team on Seaweed Research
Posted On: February 20, 2012Novozymes has announced an exploratory research agreement with India-based Sea6 Energy to co-develop a process for the production of biofuels from seaweed.
The research alliance will use enzymes to convert seaweed-based carbohydrates to sugar, which can then be fermented to produce ethanol for fuel, fine chemicals, proteins for food, and fertilizers for plants. Novozymes will research, develop, and manufacture enzymes for the conversion process, while Sea6 Energy will contribute its offshore seaweed cultivation technology.
European Microalgae Producer BTMW is Looking For Investors And Partners
Posted On: February 17, 2012Biotecnología de las microalgas europe, BTME, is a Spanish company focused on the production of microalgae and by-products. The company has been doing R&D activities for 5 years, and has just finished the construction of a facility for microalgae industrial production and R&D.
Currently the company is starting the industrial biomass production for aquaculture, R&D programs and health ingredients market. BTME is looking for investors and partners with the following objectives:
· To obtain financial support to boost the activities of the company
· To find synergies with other companies with the purpose of the joint development of new markets or a faster introduction in the existing ones.
For additional company information and contact: www.btmicroalgas.es
Algae.Tec Successfully Completes $5m Capital Raising With Patersons Securities
Posted On: February 3, 2012Algae.Tec Ltd has announced that the AUD$5,000,000 (USD$5,354,086.97) Placement through Patersons Securities Limited has been successfully completed.
As previously stated, this capital raising will be utilised to fund the fast-tracking of commercial projects recently announced.
Algae.Tec Executive Chairman, Roger Stroud, said the Company was extremely pleased with the capital raising.
“This again demonstrates that sophisticated investors are aligned with the need for alternative transport fuel technologies such as the Algae.Tec enclosed algae to biofuels solution,” said Stroud.
“The market is also responding to the recent milestones and commercial deal announcements the Company has signed with major companies in China, Sri Lanka and Europe.”
AURORA ALGAE SET TO RAISE $100M
Posted On: January 31, 2012The company’s Western Australia operation in Karratha is planned to be increased from the initial 100 hectares of commercial operation to 400 hectares in the next stage, and then 1000 hectares.
Aurora Algae began operations in Karratha mid last year and now has its sights on raising $100 million after hitting the $22 million mark a few months ago.
The $22 million has left the company fully funded until its next expansion phase of harvesting algae-based biomass for products in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable energy markets.
The company is looking to raise $100 million from existing and new private investors by mid-year, and is aligning at an IPO later in the year.
UC Davis and University of Tokyo collaborating on algae biofuels project
Posted On: January 22, 2012A better understanding of how algae can be used to make biofuels is the aim of a new joint project between UC Davis and the University of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of four new grants, jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Japan Science and Technology Agency, to develop environment-friendly fuels and reduce pesticide use.
The four grants, totaling $12 million (¥960 million), will be divided between the Japanese and US laboratories. UC Davis’ share will be about $1.5 million over three years, with the possibility of renewal for another two years.
All four projects are based on metabolomics, an approach that uses high-tech analysis to understand all the chemicals involved in a living cell’s metabolism.
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