Biofuels from algae and other renewable sources

Introduction
Facts about biofuels, especially those derived from algae, provided by involved companies; background and current situation
Companies involved in the research, development and production of biofuels
- 1st generation biofuel; bioethanol, vegetable oil, seed and grain, etc.
- 2nd generation biofuel; jatropha, miscanthus, panicum and other non-food feedstock
- 3rd generation biofuel, algae and microorganisms
- Associated companies
Critical considerations
Special Terms and Abbreviations
WWW resources

In the following section you will find a compilation of statements, facts and citations regarding the various aspects of biofuels with a focus on algae derived biofuels.
The data was collected from internet based resources, so it's deemed to be a subjective selection. Also, keep in mind that the provided information does not necessarily represent scientifically assured and reviewed data, but instead reflect the state of an industry as it is presented by the members of this industry in the WWW.
Nevertheless, approaching the topic by such a web based, 'snapshot' research bears the advantage of providing a representative overview of the current situation, without coping with the very technical details.
On the other hand when looking just at the self-image of an immature industry, the provided data and facts could appear all too optimistic, concealing adverse arguments and neglect critical views and standpoints. It seems quite natural that unveiling the 'dark spots' of a technology cannot be expected from promotors of such technology. Such information has to be searched elsewhere. Therefore, some of the adverse arguments, again focused on algae derived biofuels, are presented in the section 'Critical considerations'.

Most of the data was originally compiled in 2008 and although it can not be dubbed as outdated, some of the information has certainly become obsolete as the industry is highly dynamic, not at least because it faces strong headwinds from the fast changing developments, the technical difficulties in project realization, financing hurdles and regulatory issues. Additionally, the industry has to compete with the financial power and the interests of the oil majors, although most of these big companies participate themselves in algae biofuel projects

For a scientifically more founded source of background information about algae derived biofuels a publication of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) can be recommended. This research report dates back to 1998 and can be regarded as classical, because it was one of the first undertakings which evaluated the necessary framework and the possibilities of alternative, algae derived fuels in a nationalized program. This report can be downloaded as PDF at:

'A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program: Biodiesel from Algae' Adobe PDF

The U.S. Department of Energy has also published a roadmap outlining the perspectives of algal biofuel production, especially in order to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandate of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) which aims at producing 36 billion gallons (~136 billion litres or ~850 million barrels) of renewable fuels by 2022. This roadmap document is also available as PDF and can be downloaded at:

'National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap' Adobe PDF

The rapidly evolving industry of algae derived biofuels has also to cope with a whole body of legal issues, affecting water treatment, handling of genetic modified organisms, standardization of products and other conceptual and contractual issues. An introductionary, but comprehensive outline of the legal framework for algae utilizing corporations and entities was compiled by the the attorneys at law Stoel Rives LLP and can be found in the web available book 'Law of Algae'. Although this treatise covers chiefly the U.S. legal system, the considerations and general information provided therein will certainly be valid for other regions of the world as well and be of value for the interested reader, regardless of the geographic location.
Moreover, there are meanwhile numerous scientific and popular publications on the topic, just search for example at NCBI's PubMed, at Google's Scholar or just one of the major search engines for 'biofuels' or related search terms. Additional links to information providers on the web, like institutions, organizations or publishers are given below under 'WWW Resources'.

Units used throughout the text:
1 ac (acre) = 4046 m²
1 ha (hectare) = 10000 m²
1 gal (US gallon) = 3.785 l
1 bbl (barrel) = 42 US gallons or 159 l
1 btu (British thermal unit) = 1.055 kJ
1 t (metric tonne) of oil = ~7.3 bbl = ~306.6 gal = ~1160.7 l

Facts and citations from company web-sites:

Algenol Inc.:

Advantages of biofuels:
1. One ton of CO₂ is converted into approximately 60-70 gallons of ethanol.
2. 1.5 million metric tons of CO₂ can be converted into approximately 100 million gallons of ethanol.
3. Over 90% of the CO₂ is captured during the process.
4. Over 50% of the CO₂ is utilized in the process.
5. Algenol can use captured industrial or captured atmospheric CO₂ in its process.
6. We at Algenol say Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is the real answer.
7. Capture that same CO₂ and utilize it by turning it into ethanol, plastic and other useful products.
8. Store that CO₂ in products, not in the ground.
9. We agree that the government needs to play a big role in providing funding and incentives for technology research into both carbon capture and carbon utilization technologies.
10. Cap and Trade should become a reality soon.

Background:
1. 32% of carbon dioxide emissions are from transportation fossil fuels
2. 50% of electricity in America is from coal, which is a significant contributor of CO₂ to the atmosphere.
3. All large utilities and companies should capture their CO₂.

Efficiency:
Algae-to-ethanol provides a greater economy of scale than corn ethanol. It takes approximately 20 million acres of corn to produce 7 billion gallons of ethanol (2009), while one quarter of non-arable desert (5 million acres) has the potential to produce 50 billion gallons of ethanol or more.
- Corn produces 400 gallons per acre per year of ethanol.
- Sugarcane produces 870-890 gallons per acre per year of ethanol.
- Algenol will produce at the rate of over 9,000 gallons per acre per year of ethanol.

For 100 million gallons of ethanol:
Corn = 280,000 acres or 430 sq miles (20.8 miles x 20.8 miles)
Algae = 10,000 acres or 16 sq miles (3.95 miles x 3.95 miles)

U.S. Fuel Market:

Potential Ethanol Requirement To Replace Gasoline:
% Ethanol in Gasoline Required for U.S. (bgpy) U.S. Corn ethanol (bgpy) Unmet Demand (bgpy)	E10 14 8 6	E25 35 8 27	E50 70 10 60	E85 120 12 102

bgpy = billions of gallons per year

Bionavitas Inc.:

Biofuels: - possible production: 2000 - 20000 gallons of biodiesel from algae per acre per year

FAQ no. 7:
- maximum yield of algae growth: 100 - 200 tonnes of algae per acre per year
- operating yield: 3 - 40 tonnes of algae per acre per year

FAQ no. 14:
- 1 tonne of algae can produce up to 100 gallons of biofuel

FAQ no. 18:
67% fewer unburned hydrocarbons than petroleum diesel
48% less CO than petroleum diesel
47% less particulate matter than petroleum diesel
80% less PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) than petroleum diesel
50% less O₃ than petroleum diesel
90% less nPAH (nitrated PAH's) than petroleum diesel
100% less sulfates than petroleum diesel

FAQ no. 22:
- by-product: astaxanthin

BioFuel Systems:

General Information:
Biodiesel advantages:
Renewable: Biodiesel is derived from vegetable oil which is essentially grown - a sustainable resource that will not run out. Petroleum diesel is derived from crude oil, which is finite and will eventually run out.
Carbon neutral: Biodiesel use does not lead to any overall change in the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. The vegetables from which the oil has been extracted remove CO₂ from the atmosphere to grow. When biodiesel is burned the CO₂ is released back into atmosphere.
Less noxious, non-toxic: Biodiesel lacks the unpleasant odour of petroleum diesel and exhaust emissions smell like a barbecue! Users can expect a near 100% reduction in Sulphur dioxide (SO₂), 40-60% reduction in soot & particulates, 10-50% reduction in Carbon monoxide, and a reduction in all Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Phenanthren -97%, Benzofluoroanthen -56%, Benzapyren -71%, Aldehydes & Aromatics -13%. Unlike petroleum diesel, it is biodegradable.

BioAlgene:

Comparison of Biofuel Yields:
- 2000 - 5000 gallons of oil per acre per year for algae
- 635 gallons per acre per year for palm oil

Coskata Inc. on source utilization for ethanol production:
- Practical Estimate of Potential U.S. Ethanol from a GM research analysis:
Coskata graphics

graphic copyright of Coskata Inc.

China Clean Energy Inc.:

Forecast on biodiesel development:
Demand for motor vehicles grew at 14.5% from 2000 through 2005 to 31.6 million vehicles, 24% of which use diesel fuel. The increase in the motor vehicle fleet has been driven by higher demand for transportation as a result of the construction of national roads and highways that interconnect cities throughout China. In addition, the widespread use of mechanized farming has resulted in a significantly growing number of farming trucks. These trends have resulted in a rapid rise in the consumption of diesel to approximately 90 million tons in 2005 equivalent to approximately 10% annual growth rate over 2000. Analysts forecast demand for diesel to grow at 5.7% in the 2006-2030 period to 360 million tons. Using a conservative assumption of a 5% biodiesel blend yields forecasted demand for 6 million tons of biodiesel by 2010, 10 million by 2020 and 18 million in 2030, up from 110,000 in 2005 (source: Credit Suisse, IEEJ, US Department of Commerce).
China Clean Energy's competitive cost structure arising from the use of waste oil feedstock as well as its proprietary technology should enable the Company to capture market share and grow its revenues aggressively. In addition, the Company may leverage its cost position to capture market share in the global biodiesel market, which is expected to reach 619 million tons by 2010, up from an estimated 36 million tons in 2006.

Inventure Chemicals:

Technology and Services:
- by 2012 the world is projected to have 7474 coal-fired power plants, pumping out 9 billion tons of CO₂ each year

Kent BioEnergy:
- algae capable of biodiesel production of 5,000 to over 10,000 gallons per acre-year, one hundred times more than soybean or rapeseed oil

Keystone BioFuels (now demised company) FAQ:
- 1 bushel of soybeans equals 1.5 gallons of biodiesel

OriginOil:
- in 2007, global oil demand rose twice as fast as it had the year before, reaching 36 billion barrels per year and a critical price point of more than $140 per barrel

Live Fuels:

Application of algae technology:

Algal Fuels: Simple idea, complex problem
Today, many innovative companies seek to replace petroleum fuels using algae. But they use highly mechanized and costly processes to grow, collect and process algae. If we hope to make algae fuels cheap and sustainable, there are many fundamental biological, physical, and chemical challenges that must be simplified and solved.

Biological Challenges: Algae grow on their own terms
1. Land: Meeting the world's fuel needs with renewable algal oils grown through farming will require large, mostly flat tracts of land near sustainable water resources located in favorable climate conditions. The cost of surveying and purchasing suitable plots of land for industrial-sized needs is significant.
2. Water: Even though algae can thrive in salt and waste water, as well as fresh water, using large amounts of water for growing algae may be at odds with water needs of population centers, agriculture, and wildlife habitat. Evaporation alone can consume millions of gallons a day from moderately sized operations.
3. Nutrients: The availability and balance of nutrients dramatically affect the types and productivity of algae populations. Managing sufficient resources of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and some 57 other nutrients, many of which are in diminishing supply, contributes heavily to a project's operating costs.
4. Strain Selection: Identifying and maintaining the ideal composition of species in large-scale production of algae is needed to generate a consistent high quality product. Oil content and productivity, as well as resistance to contamination and adaptation to the local water chemistry, among several other factors, are essential in determining a viable strain that promises high yields.
5. Temperature: Specific temperatures must be maintained for specific algal strains to thrive. Weather is inherently unpredictable requiring constant monitoring and expensive heating and cooling equipment to maintain consistent temperatures.
6. Predators & Parasites: Algae ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to invasive species and bacteria. Closed systems lower the risk of exposure, but are too expensive to scale and maintain for commercial production. On the other hand, open ponds are less expensive to build and operate and can be more easily scaled, but it is nearly impossible to control the introduction of undesirable algae strains, algae predators or other microbes that impact the cultivation of algae.
7. Toxins: Maintaining a clean, unpolluted environment is crucial for algal growth. Similar to the risk posed by invasive species, contamination from outside sources puts the ecosystem at risk of dramatic productivity losses.
8. Salt: Using salt water for algae production eliminates direct competition with agricultural water use, but evaporation increases salinity in open ponds, and if salt concentration exceeds a certain level, the algae cannot survive.

Physical Challenges: Algae are small, but the volume of water isn't
9. Pumping: The circulation of water and nutrients throughout the production system is crucial for maintaining algal growth and harvest rates, but it also requires enormous sums of energy and capital. Many of the current processes require large investments in mechanical equipment, which is not a scalable solution and is exceptionally energy intensive. With current technologies, we would need to pump the equivalent of Lake Superior to produce 20 million gallons of algal oil. This is an engineering challenge of unprecedented proportion. No single water treatment facility has ever moved water at this rate, let alone simultaneously incorporated an advanced materials processing system with sensitive biological and technological components.
10. Harvesting: Removing algal biomass from the water culture in high concentrations is a difficult and costly process. Current technologies rely on energy intensive equipment, chemical flocculation, and other methods that can harm the algae and have extremely high operating costs. To economically harvest algae at scale, simpler and more efficient systems must be implemented.
11. Concentrating: Though algae-laden water looks quite green, it is deceptively dilute. By weight, algae are approximately one part in 3,000. Typical concentrating techniques (microstrainer, centrifuge, filtration, etc.) can only bring this ratio down by an order of magnitude, and these processes are not economical or scalable.

Chemical Challenges: Unlocking algae without a sledge hammer
12. Extraction: Removing the oil and nutrients from harvested algae is a complex process. Many companies are searching for a "lipid trigger", or a way to easily turn algae into a single-cellular oil factories. But altering the metabolisms of microorganisms is extremely complex and is not a feasible approach to attaining the production levels of today's energy industry. Similarly, the use of powerful, expensive chemicals and physical processes is equally unrealistic for producing large volumes of low-cost fuels.

ScienceAlert, 5 Nov. 2009 :

- Prof. Borowitzka about an alga cultivation test plant in Northern Australia, a joint project between Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, and the University of Adelaide in South Australia:
"We have achieved production rates of 50 tonnes per hectare per year, over half of which is converted to oil."
"...cost of producing biofuel from algae has already dropped from $12 a kilo to below $4 in the past year, but the aim is to get it down to less than $1 a kilo."

POET:

Rising food prices (Food vs. Fuel):
Contrary to this thinking, the ethanol industry actually has a very minimal impact on the price of consumer food.
When the facts are truthfully viewed, it is clear that other factors such as energy costs and inflation have a much more significant impact
on food prices than does the price of corn. As a matter of fact, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, for each dollar spent on food by the consumer,
less than 20 cents is for the actual cost of food. Over 80 cents of that dollar goes to other costs such as marketing, packaging and transportation.
Yes, food prices are increasing. But, that's nothing new. Historically food has experienced an annual inflation rate of 2.9%. This year, with rising energy costs,
food prices are increasing about 1.5% more than average. Still, Americans spend a lower percentage of their income on food than any other nation on the planet.
The National Corn Growers Association has estimated that that approximately 15 billion gallons of ethanol can be produced from corn without giving up the existing
domestic and export markets. Additionally, they point out that ethanol's co-product, a high-protein animal feed called distillers grains, will displace more than one billion bushels
of corn for feed per year starting in 2008.

Ethanol economy:
Each year, a typical 60 MGPY (million gallon per year) ethanol plant built and operated by POET will:
- Consume approximately 21 million bushels of corn
- Produce 60 million gallons of ethanol
- Produce 178,000 tons of Dakota Gold Enhanced Nutrition Distillers Products™
- Create approximately 40 jobs
- Provide an annual payroll of about $1.8 million
- Drive revenues of restaurants, hotels, entertainment, etc.

Land use related to production of ethanol:
Deforestation happened before biofuels and is decreasing:
Deforestation was occurring long before biofuels. From 2002-2005, 52,000 square miles (33 million acres) were deforested in Brazil while corn was trading
between two and three dollars per bushel. In fact, 317,000 square miles (202 million acres) had been deforested well before the current increase in commodity prices.
Brazilian deforestation fell for the fourth consecutive year in 2007 and is at a 20 year low at the same time ethanol production reached an all time high.

Qteros (see note):

About BP biofuel production:
BP is a leading player in the global biofuels market. In the US, BP blended and distributed 763 million US gallons of ethanol and about 1 million US gallons
of biodiesel during 2007. In Europe, BP sold 344 million liters of ethanol and 847 million liters of biodiesel during 2007. BP's sales of biofuels in 2007 accounted
for about 10% of the global biofuels market.

Energy independence:
Over 80 million barrels of oil are consumed across the globe every day.
The Renewable Fuels Association estimates that in the United States alone, the ethanol industry supported the creation of nearly 250,000 new jobs in all
sectors of the economy in 2007. Roughly 20 percent of these jobs were created in our manufacturing sector, where our workers produced fuel from grains grown by our farmers.

Sustainability and Environmental Benefits:
The United States alone uses nearly 150 billion gallons of gasoline per year.

Energy challenges:
Production goals for alternative fuels in the US:
Qteros graphics

no. are in billions of gallons, graphic copyright by qteros 2010.

Supply chain economics of ethanol:
With the large automakers professing to increase their output of E-85-compliant vehicles to 50 percent by 2012, and with the federal recommendation that today's cars
use up to E-15 ethanol blends, the country is moving toward the national goal of 36 billion gallons/year by 2022. Of course much additional fuel infrastructure
(e.g., pipelines and filling stations) needs to be in place in order for these ambitious national goals to be met.

Process economics of cellulosic ethanol production:
In 1999, Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted a study that estimated the quantities of potentially available biomass in five feedstock categories:
urban wood wastes, primary mill residues, forest residues, agricultural residues, and dedicated energy crops. The study found that 512 million dry tons of biomass could be
available each year in the United States at delivered prices of less than $50/dry ton.
America is a nation with over 230 million vehicles. Providing those cars and trucks with a cleaner burning, domestically produced fuel that emits fewer greenhouse gasses (GHGs)
would benefit the nation in many ways. The goal is to meet the U.S. government mandate of 16 billion gallons/year from cellulosic ethanol by 2022 at a cost competitive with gasoline.

Note: Qteros has closed operations around April 2012 and its website seems to be down and no longer available.
Update: As of April 2013 the Qteros website is back and up again, but if operation has been resumed seems unclear at this time.

Zeachem:

Productivity of land use for ethanol production:

Fuel Type	Farm Yield	Factory Yield	Auto Efficiency	Land Productivity
1st Generation - Corn Ethanol	150 bu/ac/yr	2.7 gal/bu	14 mi/gal EtOH	5,670 mi/ac/yr
2nd Generation - Cellulosic Ethanol	7.5 BDT/ac/yr	90 gal/BDT	14 mi/gal EtOH	9,450 mi/ac/yr
3rd Generation - Advanced Cellulosic Ethanol (ZeaChem Inc.)	15 BDT/ac/yr	135 gal/BDT	14 mi/gal EtOH	28,350 mi/ac/yr
3rd Generation + Auto Efficiency	15 BDT/ac/yr	135 gal/BDT	25 mi/gal EtOH	50,625 mi/ac/yr

BDT = Bone Dry Ton, bu = bushel, ac = acre, yr = year, gal = gallon, mi = mile(s)

Companies involved in the research, development and production of biofuels

In this section you will find a brief listing of selected companies involved in research, development and production of biofuels.
With the production of biofuels chiefly one criteria comes to mind: The competion with food bearing crops and the arable land needed for raising such crops. Dependent on the process and the materials used for the produced biofuels, these are divided in first, second and third generation biofuels. This division looks sometimes arbitrary and is partly due to the historic development of those processes, thus, there are no definite lines of division for separating one kind of biofuel from another. Therefore this compilation sticks with a definition based on the origination of the material, which is used for the production of biofuels: First generation biofuels are those which are derived from food crops and seeds like sugar cane, corn, rape or cotton seed and other crop, as well as those generated by using plant oils like rapeseed or palm oil. These biofuels compete highly with food crops and also with arable lands used for raising such crops.
Second generation biofuels are those fuels which are produced from non-food crops like Jatropha curcas, the Miscanthus and Panicum (Switchgrass) genera and other plants or from waste streams generated by wood or food production. These plants and biomass streams do not directly compete with food-crops and can be raised on non-arable or less valuable lands or are by-products or waste of conventional production techniques.
Third generation biofuels are those fuels which are derived from algae or other microorganisms like bacteria or funghi and therefore do not compete with food crops and do not need arable and fertile soils to be raised.
Sometimes biofuels derived from certain advanced processes like microorganism catalyzed bio-butanol production and other technologies is termed as next generation biofuels, even if they use biomass streams sourced by food crops like corn or vegetable oil. In this article these technologies have been regarded as 1^st generation biofuels.
The information provided here is taken solely from the companies' web-sites, thus reflecting the companies as they display themselves on the World Wide Web. As it is standard nowadays to present a business on the WWW, such a listing does also mirror the overall market situation and the position a company takes in that market. There are huge differences in technological approaches as well as in the achievements and the progress companies have made in their field of business. Some companies are just starting their development while others are already planning for, or even utilizing production plants. Anyway, the market seems to promise a great future and appears to be moving towards a real world technology and a viable part of future energy supply. You will find addresses, URL's and short summaries about the business models, the processes and technologies these companies use or develop, as well as some information about their future plans or about goals they have already achieved. The listing is by no means complete, so especially in the 1^st and 2^nd generation biofuels business, which mostly process crops to ethanol, are already so many companies in the field that they cannot all be listed by this limited site. So the arbitrary selection of these companies is only an exemplification, but it is useful when comparing the 1^st and 2^nd generation business programs and the progress they have made with that of 3^rd generation companies. On the other hand, as the number of companies developing 3^rd generation biofuels can still be overseen, this listing is more comprehensive.
Another database, compiled by BioFuels Digest lists the current and future project outputs of advanced biofuel producers and can be downloaded at: Advanced Biofuels & Chemicals Project Database
Beside the biofuel producing companies exist numerous enterprises, which supply raw materials, engineering know-how, technology or services to the biofuel industry. An arbitrary selection of these companies are listed under Associated Companies and it might be interesting to track these enterprises as they evolve into new specialists of the future while the biofuel industry grows and mature.

1^st generation biofuels

Amyris, Inc.
5885 Hollis Street, Suite 100
Emeryville, CA 94608
USA

phone: +1 (510) 450-0761
fax: +1 (510) 225-2645
e-mails:
General: info@amyris.com
Careers: hr@amyris.com
Investor and Media Relations: Erin Kinsella, kinsella@amyris.com

Brazil Office:

url: amyris.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel and other products like lubricants, cosmetic ingredients (mainly Neossance® squalane), polymer and plastic additives (e.g. proprietary NoCompromise® isoprene), flavors and fragrances by utilizing sugar cane as feedstock and yeast as fermenting agent
business strategy focused on production of a proprietary farnesene compound called Biofene®, a long-chain branched hydrocarbon molecule used as first building block for further product synthesis
production of artemisinic acid, a precursor to the anti-malaria drug artemisin via the yeast based platform
proprietary yeast technology capable of production of around 50000 different molecules by transformations of the yeasts metabolic pathways
pilot plants in Emeryville, California, USA and Campinas, Brazil for the demonstration and optimization of the company's technology
Biofene® production plant in Brotas, state of São Paulo, Brazil, sourcing sugarcane feedstock from the local Paraíso mill operated by Paraíso Bioenergia S.A. (Tonon Bioenergia S.A., São Paulo, Brazil)
commercial scale production facilities through arrangements with Biomin do Brasil Nutricão Animal Ltda. (facility in Piracicaba, Brazil), Antibióticos S.A. (facility in Léon, Spain)
additional production capacities by a joint venture with Usina São Martinho S.A., Brazil and an arrangement with Glycotech Inc., NC, USA
collaboration with Singapore based agrar company Wilmar International for development and production of surfactants based on Biofene®, aiming at replacement of nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants (NPEs)
collaboration with French energy company Total on renewable fuels and specialty products
US-based joint venture named Novvi with Brazilian energy company Cosan for development and production of lubricants
Brazil-based joint venture utilizing the sugarcane milling capabilities of ETH, an Odebrecht S.A. company, for the production of Biofene®, projected to start in 2014
collaboration with Swiss based flavor company Firmenich for development and production of renewable flavor and fragrance ingredients
partnership with German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen US for evaluation of biodiesel
partnership with French tire manufacturer Michelin for development and commercialization of proprietary NoCompromise® isoprene, projected to start in 2015
partnership with French cosmetic ingredient manufacturer Soliance for production, utizlization and marketing of Biofene® and derived products
agreement with Swiss based flavor company Givaudan for supply of Biofene®
agreement with Japanese chemicals manufacturer Nikko Chemical Co. for supply of squalane
venture capital investors (initial and current): Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TPG Biotech, DAG Ventures and Votorantim Novos Negocios.
key investors include Temasek Holdings, Total Gas & Power USA, Naxyris SA (an affiliate of NAXOS Capital Partners), Biolding Investment SA (a company owned by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani of Qatar) and an entity affiliated with director John Doerr (of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a current stockholder as of Feb. 2012)
publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol AMRS

BioOils
Polígono Industrial Nuevo Puerto
Transversal Calle A
Palos de al Frontera
21810 Huelva
Spain

phone: +34 959369349
fax: +34 959369033
e-mail: info@bio-oils.com

url: www.bio-oils.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel from vegetable oils derived from different feedstocks like animal fats, soybean, castor bean, peanut, palm, rapeseed and sunflower
production plant in La Rábida, Palos de la Frontera, Spain with a production capacity of 250.000 metric tonnes per year and a storage capacity of 100.000 cubic metres
processing of feedstock oils by transesterification with methanol
planned capability for 2nd and 3rd generation feedstocks like jatropha or marine algae biomass

China Clean Energy Inc.
Shannon Yan
Fulong Industry Zone, Longtian Town
350315 Fuqing City, Fujian
China

phone: +86 224-402-3270
e-mail: shannon.yan@chinacleanenergyinc.com

url: www.chinacleanenergyinc.com

Business model, technology, processes:

manufacturing, development and distribution of biodiesel and special chemicals derived from waste and vegetable oils
special chemicals produced: Monomer Acid, Stearic Dimer Acid, Printing Inks, Dimer-Based Polyamide Hot Melt Adhesives, Low Molecular Weight Liquor Polyamide Resin High Performance Polyamide Hot-melt Adhesive, Alcohol-Soluble Polyamide Resins, Benzene-Soluble Polyamide Resins, Biodiesel & Bio Heating Fuel
publicly traded company, quoted on the OTCBB under the stock symbol CCGY

Cobalt Technologies
500 Clyde Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94043
USA

phone: +1 (650) 230-0760
fax: +1 (650) 230-0756
e-mail: info@cobalttech.com

url: www.cobalttech.com

Business model, technology, processes:

research and development of biobutanol production processes from cellulosic biomass, especially low-cost feedstock like sugarcane bagasse
proprietary processes for identification and development of high efficient microbial strains, especially optimizing the pairing of microorganisms and plant material used
focused on bacterial conversion of sugars to butanol
patented extraction of cellulose and hemicellulose and simultanous conversion to simple sugars (5- or 6-carbon units)
patented continous bioreactor design
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) signed in 2010 between Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), China Lake for the development of a conversion technology to produce jet-fuel from n-butanol
proprietary process for the catalytic conversion of butanol to 1-butene and subsequent oligomerization to bio-jetfuel, developed in cooperation with the NAWCWD
supply of n-butanol to speciality chemical company Albemarle for contractual production of jet-fuel for the NAWCWD
patented fermentation process for starch to ethanol conversion
patented vapor compression destillation (VCD) for separation of alcohol from the feedstock material
recycling water used in fermentation
agreement with Fluor Corporation for the provisioning of engineering expertise and consulting services towards the design of biobutanol production facilities
agreement with American Process Inc. (API) to build an industrial scale cellulosic biobutanol refinery by integrating the biobutanol technology into API's lignocellulosic refinery in Alpena, MI, USA with a planned production capacity of 470000 gallons per year. Joint marketing of GreenPower+™ Biobutanol solutions
partnerships with Asian based chemical companies for production of butadiene
planned demonstration facility in Campinas, Brazil for production of n-butanol from sugarcane bagasse in cooperation with chemical company Rhodia Poliamida e Especialidades Ltda., a Brazial subsidary of Rhodia (Solvay Group) and agribusiness company Bunge
venture capital investors (initial and existing): Pinnacle Ventures, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund (MLSCF), Burrill & Company, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Life Sciences Partners (LSP), @Ventures, Harris & Harris Group Inc., Bunge Limited

EOP Biodiesel AG
Am Hünengrab 9
16928 Pritzwalk-Falkenhagen
Germany

phone: +49 (0)33986 / 505-0
fax: +49 (0)33986 / 505-99
e-mail: info@eopag.de

url: www.eopbiodieselag.de

Business model, technology, processes:

production and distribution of biodiesel products derived primarily from rapeseed oil
daily production of 400000 liters DIN EN 14214 compliant biodiesel
daily production of 150 tons rapeseed expeller for animal nutrition
daily production of 1,5 tons Kaliumsulfate (KSO₄)
retailing of by-product glycerine
publicly traded company, listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany under the stock symbol E2B

Note: declared insolvency in december 2010, since then incorporated as German Bio Fuels GmbH

Gevo Inc.
345 Inverness Drive South, Building C, Suite 310
Englewood, CO 80112
USA

phone: +1 (303) 858-8358
e-mails: info@gevo.com

url: www.gevo.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and production of isobutanol from biomass using microorganisms and enzyme technology
proprietary GIFT® technology based on bio-engineered yeasts fermenting sugars into isobutanol, capable to retrofit existing ethanol producing facilities
patent portfolio of 450 patents and patent filings
strategic alliance with ICM for engineering expertise and facility design
equipment developed in collaboration with ICM deployed at a demonstration plant via a retrofit of an ethanol facility in St. Joseph, MO, USA
with a capacity of one million gallons per yer (MGPY)
aquired a production facility in Luverne, MN, USA
marketing alliance with Mansfield Oil Company for marketing and distribution of isobutanol fuel into the petroleum market
agreement with Bye Energy for the exploration of marketing and distribution opportunities of renewable jet-fuel to small and medium-sized airports
engineering and consulting agreement with Mustang Engineering, LP for the development of paraffinic kerosene (jet-fuel) from isobutanol
collaboration with South Hampton Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Arabian American Development Co., for development of a hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant at Silsbee, TX, USA with a capacity to process up to 10000 gallons of isobutanol per month into a variety of renewable hydrocarbon materials, including jet fuel for engine testing, isooctane for gasoline, isooctene and para-xylene for polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
agreement with Coca-Cola Company to develop renewable para-xylene isobutanol, in order to support the development of Coca-Cola’s second-generation PlantBottle™ packaging, made from 100% plant-based materials
collaborative agreement with the Malaysian government’s East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Malaysian Biotechnology Corp (BiotechCorp) and the State Government of Terengganu for the development of a isobutanol production facility at a biorefinery complex in Kertih, in the state of Terengganu
joint development agreement (JDA) with Beta Renewables, a joint venture between Chemtex and TPG, to develop an integrated process for the production of bio-based isobutanol from cellulosic, non-food biomass
licensing agreement with Cargill for producing isobutanol from cellulosic feedstock like switchgrass, waste wood, pulp corn cobs and stalks and sugarcane bagasse
non-binding supply agreements with LanXess, Total, Sasol, Toray and the Air Transport Association of America
venture capital investors (initial and existing): Burrill & Company, Khosla Ventures, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund (MLSCF), Osage University Partners, Total Energy Partners, Virgin Green Fund
since February 2011 publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol GEVO

Gushan Environmental Energy Limited
Room 908, China Merchants Tower
168-200 Connaught Road Central
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

e-mail: chinagushan@gmail.com

url: www.chinagushan.com

Business model, technology, processes:

biodiesel production from waste and vegetable oil, production capacity of 450000 tons/year on 7 facilities
approximately 100000 tonnes per year produced and sold
publicly traded company, listed at the NYSE, USA under the stock symbol GU

Note: as of Nov. 2012 the company was merged with Trillion Energy Holdings Limited and subsequently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange

Houston Biodiesel
1138 W 20th Street
Houston, TX 77008
USA

phone: +1 713 222-0832
e-mail: chris@houstonbiodiesel.com

url: www.houstonbiodiesel.com

Business model, technology, processes:

biodiesel station, retailing ASTM 6751 biodiesel (B100)
approximately 350000 gallons in 2008 sold
providing knowledge about biodiesel production and procuring workshops for home production of biodiesel

Imperium Renewables
568 First Avenue South
Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98104

phone: +1 (206) 254-0203
fax: +1 (206) 254-0204
e-mails:
   General: info@imperiumrenewables.com
   Sales: sales@imperiumrenewables.com
   Public Relations: jwilliams@scovillepr.com
   Investors: investor@imperiumrenewables.com

url: www.imperiumrenewables.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel conforming to ASTM D6751 (American Society of Testing and Materials) and European Standard EN 14214 from various feedstocks like canola and soy
utilizes proprietary technology
plant in operation located in Hoquiam, WA, capable of production of 100 Mio. gallons per year
sales of by-product glycerin/glycerol

Longyan Zhuoyue New Energy Co., Ltd.
Pinglin Industrial Development Zone
Tieshan, Xinluo
364000 Longyan, Fujian
China

phone: +86 592-7191109
fax: +86 592-7191108
e-mail: James Wang, james.wang@chinabiodiesel.cn

url: www.chinabiodiesel.net
www.zyxny.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel from waste grease, vegetable oil
two production plants with an annual output capacity of 100000 tons of biodiesel per year
formerly named 'China Biodiesel International Holding Co., Ltd.' and publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM) under the symbol CBI
since November 2010 privately held

Petrotec AG
Fürst-zu-Salm-Salm-Str. 18
46325 Borken-Burlo
Germany

phone: +49 (0)2862/91000
fax: +49 (0)2862/910099
e-mail: info@petrotec.de

Petrotec Holding:

url: www.petrotec.de

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel, conforming to the European biodiesel standard EN 14214, from recycled vegetable cooking oil, waste animal grease and similiar sources
continous multi-feedstock production technology
annual production capacity 185000 tons
publicly traded company, listed on the Prime Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany under the symbol PT8

Pinnacle Biofuels Inc.
117 Mac McGoogan Dr.
P.O. Box 905
Crossett, AK 71635
USA

phone: +1 (870) 304-2463

url: www.pinnaclebiofuels.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biodiesel primarily from soy oil and chicken fat
production capacity of about 10 million gallons B100 biodiesel per year, conforming to the ASTM D 6751 standard

Renewable Energy Group, Inc.
416 S. Bell Ave.
PO Box 888
Ames IA 50010
USA

phone: +1 (515) 239-8000
+1 (888) REG-8686
fax: +1 (515) 239-8009
e-mail: jeff.pattison@regfuel.com

url: www.regfuel.com

Business model, technology, processes:

producer of biodiesel and by-products like glycerin or free fatty acids from various feedstocks, utilizing natural fats and oils
alternative feedstocks like camelina oil, jatropha oil and algae oil produced on laboratory scale
distributor of proprietary REG-9000® biodiesel products, conforming to the ASTM D 6751 specification
more than 255 million gallons of owned/operated annual production capacity
operating several biorefineries across the USA
publicly traded company since July 2012, listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol REGI

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG
Augustusplatz 9
04109 Leipzig
Germany

phone: +49 (0)341/308530-90
fax: +49 (0)341/308530-99
e-mail: info@verbio.de

url: www.verbio.de

Business model, technology, processes:

production and distribution of biodiesel conforming to the European DIN EN 14214 standard and produced from vegetable oils mainly derived from rapeseed
production and distribution of bioethanol mainly derived from low-quality cereals (barley), production residues utilized as fertilizer or for the production of biogas
production and distribution of biogas (methan), feedstocks mainly derived from agricultural waste streams and residues from the ethanol production
production and distribution of biogas (methan) derived from straw, 2 production facilities with a capacity of 20000 tons straw per year yielding 60 MW of gas annually
R&D in the fields of biofuels, facility design and engineering
annual production capacity of 450000 tons of biodiesel and 300000 tons of bioethanol
distribution of by-products glycerine and ethanol production residues which are for example sold as nutrients for cattle
publicly traded company, listed on the Prime Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany under the stock symbol VBK

2^nd generation biofuels

Bulk Agro India Pvt. Ltd.
G1-397 & 420, RIICO, Bhamashah
Industrial Area,
Kaladwas, Udaipur, Rajasthan
India

phone: +91 294-2650062 / 2650066
fax: +91 294-2483182
mobile: +91 9414156473
e-mail: bulkagro@bulkagro.com

url: bulkagro.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of biofuels especially ethanol derived from the Jatropha curcas plant
step-up plans for conversion of bio-ethanol to bio-butanol
planning for production capability of 20 million litres in 2011
distribution of Jatropha seeds
subsidiary in Mexico with a planned plant capable of producing 20 million litres of bio-ethanol in 2012
Jatropha related business services: initial soil testing and audit, site inspection / assessment, nursery establishment and management, plantation establishment and management (including application of advanced pruning techniques), financial feasibility study (capital, running costs, cash flow projections), advanced Jatropha pruning / harvesting techniques, location and assessment of profitable biofuel investment projects, development of biodiesel refinery & production facilities
manufacturing and distribution of oil press and expeller machinery

BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Inc.
31 Musick
Irvine, CA 92618
USA

phone: +1 (949) 588-3767
fax: +1 (949) 588-3972
e-mail: inquiries@bfreinc.com

url: bfreinc.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of ethanol from cellulosic waste by proprietary concentrated acid hydrolysis technology
patented process technology derived from Arkenol, a related company to ARK Energy
utilized biomass feedstocks comprise agricultural residues (straws, corn stalks and cobs, bagasse, cotton gin trash, palm oil wastes, etc.), crops grown specifically for their biomass (grasses, sweet sorghum, fast growing trees, etc.), paper (recycled newspaper, paper mill sludge’s, sorted municipal solid waste, etc.), wood wastes (prunings, wood chips, sawdust, etc.), and green wastes (leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit wastes, etc.).
aims at production of ~160000 l of ethanol from 500 tonnes of raw material and 20 tonnes of acid per day
area requirement for a standalone plant: ~ 5 hectares
development of ethanol facilities in Lancaster, California and Fulton, Mississippi with projected production capacities of 3.9 million and 19 million gallons per year, respectively.
cooperation with NEDO, JGC in retrofitting an ethanol purification facility in Izumi, Japan for continuous ethanol production from woodchips based on the Arkenol concentrated acid-hydrolysis process. As of 2004 the production rate is 300 litres of ethanol per day.
publicly traded company, quoted on the OTCBB under the stock symbol BFRE

Coskata, Inc.
Global Headquarters
4575 Weaver Parkway, Suite 100
Warrenville, Illinois 60555
USA

phone: +1 (630) 657-5800
fax: +1 (630) 657-5801
e-mail:
general inquiries: info@coskata.com
careers: careers@coskata.com

url: www.coskata.com

Media Contact:
Mary Massey
phone: +1 (312) 854-8393
e-mail: media@coskata.com

Business model, technology, processes:

flexible feedstock utilization for production of FlexEthanol™
natural gas, waste, forest and crop residues are reformed or gasified to a 'syngas' and then biotechnologicallly transformed by bacteria to ethanol and water
process capacity of up to 7 gallons of ethanol per mmBtu of natural gas and 100 gallons of ethanol per dry ton of softwood
Horizon pilot facility located at headquarters in Warrenville, IL, USA
Lighthouse demonstration plant located in Madison, PA, USA
planned for commercial facility in the state of Alabama, USA
venture capital investors (initial and existing): Globespan Capital Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Khosla Ventures, GM, Total, Coghill Capital Management, Great Point Ventures, The Blackstone Group, Triple Point Capital, Arancia Industrial and Sumitomo

Dynamic Fuels, LLC
USA

phone:
Employment: +1 (225) 744-1300
Technical: Jeff Bigger +1 (918) 764-3490
Marketing & Sales: Robert Ames +1 (479) 290-2926
e-mail:
Employment: careers@dynamicfuelsllc.com
Technical: jbigger@dynamicfuelsllc.com
Marketing & Sales: robert.ames@dynamicfuelsllc.com
url: www.dynamicfuelsllc.com

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of diesel fuel from animal fats and greases and vegetable oil, using the proprietary Bio-Synfining™ process
- building a production plant in Geismar, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge with a nominal production capacity of 5000 barrels per day, equating to 75 million gallons per year
- by-products are naphtha and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
- 50-50 joint venture between Tyson Foods, Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation
- the 50% share of Tyson Foods Inc. was aquired by Renewable Energy Group in June 2014, see Dynamic Fuels facility

Inventure Chemicals
P.O. Box 861417
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-0012
USA

phone: +1 (888) 861-3335
e-mail: info@inventurechem.com
url: inventurechem.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and deployment of Mixed Super Critcal Fluid (MSCF) technology for the conversion of low-value biomass to high-value mixed sugars, amino acids and lipids
feedstock comprises cane bagasse, rice straw, corn stover, corn cobs, palm mesocarp fiber, palm empty fruit bunch, DDG (Dried Distiller Grain) and other
sugars can be used to produce biofuels or special chemical compounds (e.g. ethanol, butanol, sorbitol, lactic and succinic acid)
MSCF technology has general de-polymerization effect, thus proteins are converted to their constituting amino acids, toxins are destroyed and fatty acid methylester (FAME) or free fatty acids are produced from feedstock like jatropha, cameline or castor beans
partnerships with Wilmar International, General Atomic, Honeywell's UOP and SG Biofuels
partnerships with Arizona Public Service, Seambiotic and Imperium Renewables

KiOR, Inc.
13001 Bay Park Road
Pasadena, TX 77507
USA

phone: + 1 (281) 694 8700
fax: + 1 (281) 694 8799
e-mail: contact@kior.com
url: www.kior.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and commercialization of proprietary Biomass Fluid Catalytic Cracking (BFCC) technology
production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass by utilizing catalytic chemistry
focused on non-food feedstock like wood and forestry residuals (wood chips, logging residues, urban wood waste), bagasse and residues from farming activities or dedicated biofuel crops like switchgrass or sorghum
waste products are water and ash which could be used as fertilizer
fuel products are similar to fossil fuels and can be blended with conventional fuels whith compliance to existing fuel standards (e.g. ASTM)
R&D and pilot facility in Pasadena, TX, USA
demonstration facility with an equivalent output capacity of 15 barrels of crude oil per day
started commercial scale production with a $213 million cellulosic fuel facility in Columbus, MS, USA utilizing mainly Southern Yellow Pine as feedstock
Columbus facility is capable of processing 500 bone dry tons of wood biomass per day and has an output capacity of ca. 13 million gallons of fuel per year
planned facility in Natchez, MS, USA with a capacity of 1500 bone dry tons of wood biomass per day
fuel offtake agreements with Hunt Refining, Catchlight Energy (a joint venture between Chevron Corporation and Weyerhaeuser), and FedEx Corporate Services
venture capital investors (initial and existing): Khosla Ventures
publicly traded company since 2011, listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol KIOR

Mascoma Corp.
67 Etna Road, Suite 300
Lebanon, NH 03766
USA

phone: +1 (603) 676-3320
fax: +1 (603) 676-3321
e-mail: info@mascoma.com

Further Mascoma Offices:

url: www.mascoma.com

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass, wood and agricultural waste
- yeast and bacteria based conversion process called consolidated bioprocessing (CBP)
- R&D facility in Lebanon, New Hampshire; demonstration plany in Rome, New York
- joint venture company Frontier Renewable Resources LLC with J.M. Longyear for a planned production plant in Kinross, Michigan with a production capability of 20 MMgal scheduled to start production in 2012
- venture capital investors: Khosla Ventures, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund (MLSCF), Flagship Ventures, Atlas Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,
VantagePoint Venture Partners, General Motors, Marathon Oil

POET, LLC
4615 North Lewis Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
USA

phone: +1 (605) 965-2200
fax: +1 (605) 965-2203
url: www.poet.com

Further POET Offices:

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of ethanol from
- network of 26 production plants across the mid-western USA with a combined production capacity of 1535 million gallons per year
- patent pending raw starch hydrolysis process BTX™
- company segmented into several business units: Design & Construction, Plant Management, Nutrition, Ethanol Products, Research, Risk Management, Biomass

Qteros Headquarters
100 Campus Drive
Marlborough, MA 01752
USA

phone: +1 (508) 281-4060
url: www.qteros.com

Media Contacts:
Peter Kelley
e-mail: peter@renewcomm.com
phone: +1 (301) 887-1060 ext. 115
Josh Baran
e-mail: josh@renewcomm.com
phone: +1 (212) 779-2666

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of cellulosic ethanol by utilizing the bacterium Clostridium phytofermentans the so-called Q Microbe® which is capable of fermenting cellulose directly into ethanol
- proprietary Complete Cellulosic Conversion (C3) technology
- venture capital investors: Battery Ventures, BP, Camros Capital, Long River Ventures, Venrock, and Valero Energy Corporation
- closed operations in April 2012 ?

Solazyme Inc. Global Headquarters
225 Gateway Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
USA

phone: +1 (650) 780 4777
fax: +1 (650) 989 6700
e-mail:
Corporate and Partnering Inquiries: partnering@solazyme.com
Media Relations: press@solazyme.com
url: solazyme.com

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of bio-oil from proprietary, genetic engineered, heterotrophic microalgae grown in dark fermenters which are fed by various plant feedstock based sugars
- targeting fuel, chemical, nutrition and health science markets
- offices in Campinas and São Paulo in Brazil and Peoria, IL, USA
- integrated biorefinery (IBR) production system with nameplate capacity of 2 million litres of oil annually
- own skin-care product Algenist
- several testings of the biofuels with various engines and vehicles
- partnership with Imperium Renewables, Inc.
- partnership with Ecopetrol, the largest company in Colombia and one of the four major oil companies in Latin America
- partnership with Dynamic Fuels LLC (now REG Synthetic Fuels LLC), a joint venture between Tyson Foods, Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation, which has been awarded a contract to supply the U.S. Navy with 450,000 gallons of renewable fuels.
- partnership with Bunge Global Innovation LLC for a 100,000 metric ton renewable oil production facility adjacent to Bunge's Moema sugarcane mill in Brazil with a planned production start end of 2013
- partnerships with Dow Chemical and Unilever for the development and production of advanced chemicals
- partnership with Roquette Fréres in a Solazyme-Roquette joint venture for the development of food ingredients
- partnerships with Sephora and QVC for distribution of microalgae derived skin-care products, including Algenist
- publicly traded since May 2011 on the NASDAQ under the stock symbol SZYM

SG Biofuels World Headquarters
132. N. El Camino Real, Suite O
Encinitas, CA 92024
USA

phone: +1 (760) 718-3120
fax: +1 (760) 718-3122
url: www.sgbiofuels.com

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of plant oil from Jatropha curcas planted on low-cost land in Central America with a current yield of 300 gallons/acre/year or 750 gallons/hectare/year
- seeds of Jatropha contain 30-40% oil, the resulting pressed oil can be processed to ASTM 6751 compliant biodiesel
- established Genetic Resource Center (GRC) in San Diego, California, USA which hosts the world's largest and genetically diversified library of Jatropha genetic information
- plans for genetic improvement by bredding and selection processes of the Jatropha plant
- geographical focused on Latin America
- provides services like feasibility studies, plantation consultancy and management for Jatropha cultivation projects

ZeaChem Inc. Headquarters
Union Tower, 165 South Union Boulevard, Suite 380
Lakewood, CO 80228-2257
USA

phone: +1 (303) 279-7045
fax: +1 (303) 279-9537
url: www.zeachem.com

PR Contact:
Carrie Atiyeh
Director, Public Affairs
phone: +1 (303) 248-7778
e-mail: catiyeh@zeachem.com

ZeaChem Inc. Lab 1490 O'Brien Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025-1432
USA

phone: +1 (650) 543-8120
fax: +1 (650) 323-6804

Business model, technology, processes:
- production of cellulosic ethanol and other low molecular organic compounds from biomass waste streams by combination of biochemical processes utilizing acetogenic bacteria and thermochemical treatment
- biomass mainly derived from poplar trees provided on a contractual basis by Green Wood Resources
- cellulosic and hemicellulosic parts of the feedstock are converted to acetic acid by acetogens while lignin and other parts of feedstock are gasified and used for hydrogen production and power generation
- claiming to yield 135 gallons per bone dry ton (gal/BDT) of feedstock compared to 60-100 gal/BDT from other cellulosic processes.
- venture capital investors: Firelake Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, Mohr Davidow ventures, PrairieGold Venture Partners and Valero Energy Corporation

3^rd generation biofuels

a4f_S.A.
Campos do Lumiar
Edificio E-R/C
Estrada do Paço do Lumiar
1649-038 Lisbon
Portugal

phone: +351 21 8072499
e-mail: info@a4f.pt

url: www.a4f.pt

Business model, technology, processes:

development and engineering for microalgae production projects
spin-off from Necton S.A.
expertise of several algae production systems, like open raceways, tubular and flat panel photobioreactors (PBR)
prototype system in operation at a cement factory in Pataias, Portugal
participating in AlgaPlex, GIAVAP and BIOFAT projects

AFS BioOil Co.
395 Oyster Point Blvd., Suite 308
South San Francisco, CA 94080
USA

phone: +1 (650) 745 8390
fax: +1 (650) 745 8466
e-mail: info@afsbiooil.com

url: www.afsbiooil.com

Business model, technology, processes:

construction of biorefineries for the production of biofuels derived from microalgae which are grown by wastewater nutrients, exhaust gases or sunlight
licensed technology from Algae Floating Systems
partnered with Fairfield Suisun-Sewer District in Fairfield, CA and started working on deployment of a full scale commercial module

AlgaeLink N.V.
Industrieweg 21 (Industrial zone: Burenpolder)
Yerseke 4401 LA
The Netherlands

phone: +31 (0)113 570011
fax: +31 (0)84 7246292
e-mails:
General inquiries: info@algaelink.nl
Sales: sales@algaelink.nl

url: www.algaelink.nl

Business model, technology, processes:

algae production for nutraceuticals, food and pharmaceutical additives, animal feed, biofuel, CO₂ sequestration and waste water management
distribution of a fully automated photobioreactor system for the cultivation of salt and freshwater algae, offering initial scaling of 42, 480 and 2000 square meters
distribution of a solar dryer system for drying and dewatering of algae
providing R&D and consulting for algae production and CO₂ sequestration projects
cooperation with the international airline KLM for the development of algae based fuels
maintenance of a web shop, selling various species and strains of algae as feedstock and supplement for aquacultures

AlgaEnergy S.A.
Avda. de Europa, 19
Parque Empresarial 'La Moraleja'
28108 Alcobendas (Madrid)
Spain

phone: +34 91 490-2020
fax: +34 91 490-4794
e-mail: info@algaenergy.es

url: www.algaenergy.es

Business model, technology, processes:

R&D in various fields of algae utilization:
PISCIS project, algae production for aquacultures
CO2BIOCAP, creation of a mobile CO₂ capture system
CENIT VIDA, a joint research project between different companies, led by Iberdrola
GENETDIESEL, development of algae strains for biofuel production by genetic engineering and metabolic modification
LIFE+ CO2ALGAFIX, biofixation of CO₂ from industrial combustion gases, program comprises a planned 10,000 square meters algae biomass production plant in Arcos de la Frontera (Cadiz)
FP7 ECLIPSE, a joint multinational, multi-university and multi-company research project for the development of new materials from waste and obtaining an ecological container (Tetrabrick type) from microalgal waste
participation in several other R&D projects at the universities of Almeria and Seville
aquired patent rights from the CSIC (National Research Council) and the University of Seville, to exploit Anabaena cyanobacteria for CO₂ sequestration
patent rights for exploitation of Muriellopsis microalgae, a species rich in lutein, which can be used as food additive
Technological Microalgae Experimentation Platform (PTEM) at the Madrid-Barajas Airport
algae biomass production in Las Palmerillas Plant, Almeria, Spain
partnerships with the Universities of Almeria and Seville and the companies Iberdrola, Procter & Gamble, Futerro, Galactic, Banacol and Antarctic

Algae Systems
USA

e-mail: humanresources@algaesystems.com

url: algaesystems.com

Business model, technology, processes:

proprietary, NASA derived OMEGA technology: offshore based, membrane enclosed algae cultivation, fed by sewage for biodiesel production and clean water retrieval
strategic partnerships with De Norske Veritas (DNV), Edgar Bronfman Jr. (EJB) Capital Group and Global Thermostat

Algae.Tec Ltd.
Ground Floor, 516 Hay Street
Subiaco, Perth, WA 6008
Australia

phone: +61 (08) 9380 6790
fax: +61 (08) 9381 9161
e-mails:
Corporate: phatfull@algaetec.com.au
Technical: emcconchie@algaetec.com.au
Media: rstroud@algaetec.com.au

url: algaetec.com.au

Business model, technology, processes:

closed control of algae production within photo-bioreactors of an engineered modular environment and efficient downstream biofuel processing
strategic partnerships with German airline Lufthansa, the Sri Lanka arm of cement company Holcim (Holcim Lanka), the Chinese Kerui Group and the Australian agribusiness Manildra Group
showcase facility Shoalhaven One, next to a Manildra industrial facility located south of Sydney, Australia, opening at 2 Aug. 2012
planned carbon-capturing, biofuel producing plant in Sri Lanka, near a Holcim cement facility, comprising of 250 modules capable of producing 31 million litres of oil and 31000 tonnes of biomass per year, whilst capturing 125,000 tonnes of CO₂
facility planned for 2014 at Macquarie Generation's Bayswater coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley, NSW
agreement for the refinery of 50 million litres of biodiesel with Biodiesel Industries Australia (BIA)
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with WorleyParsons for the purpose of project development and engineering expertise
manufacturing base in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
publicly traded company, listed on the Australian stock exchange (ASX) under the stock symbol 'AEB' and on the United States Over The Counter market OTCQX under the stock symbol 'ALGXY'

AlgaGen LLC
PO Box 1734
Vero Beach, FL 32961
USA

phone: +1 (772) 9781395
e-mail: eriks@algagen.com

url: www.algagen.com

Business model, technology, processes:

distribution of algae
development of new cultivation techniques
development of new products derived from algae
contract production of microlagae, including strain isolation and maintenance

Algasol Renewables
PO Box 1
E-07190 Esporles
Baleares, Spain

phone: +34 971 14 8600
fax: +34 971 14 8614
e-mail: info@algasolrenewables.com

url: www.algasolrenewables.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and commercialization of a patented, flexible, multi-compartment photobioreactor (PBR) floating on pond or ocean surface while producing micro alga biomass
PBR utilizes alkane producing cyanobacteria
partnership with NASA (OMEGA project, see also Algae Systems), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Origin Oil.
alliance with Kagisano Innovations (pty) Ltd., Botswana for development of alga bimoass producing facilities on 5000 ha in Botswana
collaboration with GIAN.MAI srl, Italy and the University of Naples, Italy for development of an alga biomass producing facility, starting with a 4000 m² pilot plant, planned for later scale-up to 20 ha
collaboration with Fluid Imaging Technologies, a manufacturer of particle analysis instruments, for deployment of the portable cell-analyzer FlowCAM®
alliance with the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa to develop a alga biomass producing facility for research purposes
foundation of AlgaOleum consortium together with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pall Corporation, University of Michigan and Fluid Imaging Technologies

AlgEn
Brnčičeva ulica 29
1231 Ljubljana
Slovenia

phone: +386 1516 1008
e-mail: info@algen.si

url: www.algen.si

Business model, technology, processes:

R&D in areas of waste water treatment, biogas digestate utilization, photobioreactor control system and biofilm reactor technology (AlgaDisk project)
maintenance of algae cultures

Algenol
28100 Bonita Grande Drive
Suite 200
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
USA

phone: +1 (239) 498-2000
e-mails: info@algenol.com
Press Contact: lawrence.pacheco@fd.com
phone: +1 (202) 346-8855

Further offices:

url: www.algenol.com

Business model, technology, processes:

proprietary algae strains (cyanobacteria) and Direct to Ethanol ™ processing technology for production of more than 9000 gallons of ethanol per acre
process is based on proprietary flexible plastic film (polyethylene) photobioreactor (PBR), uses desert and non-arable land and converts salt water to fresh water
process is modular and scalable
proprietary Vapor Compression Steam Stripping (VCSS) technology for purification of the ethanol for downstream processing
planned integration of biodiesel production from residual alga biomass by hydrothermal liquefaction and light hydrotreatment
commercial development campus in Ft. Myers, Florida, USA
license agreement with Sonora Fields S.A.P.I. de C.V. a wholly owned subsidiary of Biofields S.A.P.I. de C.V. in Mexico who has access to 55000 acres of non-arable land in the Sonoran desert in Mexico near a Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) power plant
environmental approvals for project development in the Sonora aquired in 2012
collaboration with Dow Chemical, Membrane Technology & Research, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and Georgia Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology) for setting up a 24 acres pilot plant at Dow Chemicals site at Freeport, Texas.
partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, India
collaboration with Linde Group for a joint development project with the goal to identify optimal management of O₂ and CO₂

NXT Fuels
New Zealand

url: www.aquaflowgroup.com

Business model, technology, processes:

several technologies for the management of algae biomass for different purposes:
water remediation: algae removal from municipal waste water
water remediation: improvement of water quality by sequestration of nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphate) from waste streams
proprietary algae harvesting and conversion technology for the production of precursors to biofuels (GreenCrude™), fine chemicals and fertilizer from algae biomass
pilot programme at Bay of Plenty, New Zealand aiming to remove algal blooms in the Rotorua Lakes
project for harvesting and dewatering algae at municipal waste water ponds in Blenheim, New Zealand
pilot plant in Nelson, New Zealand for refinery of algal biomass to yield special compounds like GreenCrude™ (precursor to biofuels) or fine chemicals
collaboration with Honeywell's UOP refinery technology company and the US American Department of Energy for monitored algae cultivation trials at a Honeywell site in Hopewell, VA, USA
additional partnerships with chemical company CRI Catalyst, Pure Power, New Zealand Capital Strategies, New Zealand's international business development agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)
cornerstone investor Pure Power
changed name from Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation Limited to NXT Biofuels

Aurora Algae Inc.
3325 Investment Boulevard
Hayward, CA 94545
USA

phone: +1 (510) 266-5000
e-mails:
general information: info@aurorainc.com
press inquiries: press@aurorainc.com
government relations: gr@aurorainc.com

url: www.aurorainc.com

Business model, technology, processes:

salt water, open pond cultivation of proprietary strains of non-GMO algae, especially Nannochloropsis
proprietary hydrodynamic design for open pond cultivation systems- biodiesel conversion
development of proprietary pond information management system (PIMS) for monitoring and automating parameters of algae cultivation, like pH, temperature, turbidity, biomass density or nutrient levels
patented algae biomass harvesting system based on dissolved air flotation (DAF)
production of protein and omega-3 fatty acids from algae biomass, resulting in a proprietary products (A2 Protein™, A2 EPA Pure™, A2 Feed™, A2 Fuel™) which are marketed as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, biofuels or fish feed
corporate headquarters in Hayward, CA, USA, mainly working on algae strain selection and development, growth optimization, crop protection technologies and process development
20 acres demonstration facility in Karratha, North-Western Australia on a 1000 acres property housing 38 microponds, eight inoculation ponds and six 1-acre production ponds, producing about 15 tonnes of algae biomass per month
planned commercial scale facility in Maitland near the demonstration plant with fifty 5-acre ponds capable of producing 600 tonnes of algae biomass per month

Bioalgene
Seattle, WA
USA

phone: +1 (206) 734-7323
e-mail: info@bioalgene.com

url: www.biolalgene.com

Business model, technology, processes:

algae cultivation, production of biodiesel and by-products
pilot plants planned

Bioalgostral
Technopole, Bat CYCLOTRON
2 rue Maxime Rivière
97490, Saint Clotilde
La Réunion, France

phone: +262 938828
fax: +262 504423
e-mail: bao@bioalgostral.com

url: www.bioalgostral.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production and evaluation of algae cultivation within the tropical Indic Ocean, focusing on biofuels, nutraceuticals and nitrate, phosphate and CO₂ sequestration
partnerships with Temergie, Technopole de la Reéunion (Technology association of La Réunion), SR21, Qualitropic (Organization for innovations from natural, tropical resources) Gerri (Green environment project for Réunion), Biomarine (Organization for marine bio resource businesses), ARVAM (Agency for the research and evaluation of marine resources), AD Réunion (Development agency of La Réunion), CYROI, Réunion Ile verte, ARER (Regional agency for energy of La Réunion), Trimatec

Bionavitas, Inc.
8469 154th Avenue NE
Redmond, WA 98052

e-mails:
general inquiries: info@bionavitas.com
media: media@bionavitas.com

url: www.bionavitas.com

Business model, technology, processes:

patent pending light distribution process called LIT™ (light immersion technology)
bioreactor approach for algae cultivation
partnership with Blue Marble Energy for production of specialty biochemicals

BioProcess Algae, LLC
45 High Point Avenue
Portsmouth, RI 02871
USA

phone: +1 (401) 683-5400
fax: +1 (401) 683-5449
e-mail:
corporate and partnering inquiries: partnering@bioprocessalgae.com

url: www.bioprocessalgae.com

Business model, technology, processes:

design, build and operation of proprietary Grower Harvester™ bioreactors
bioreactors use a high surface area and a biofilm-based approach to enhance light penetration, productivity, harvest density and gas transfer
technology facility in Maine, USA for algae strain selection, growth optimization and culture scale-up
five acre demonstration plant co-located with a Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) ethanol plant in Shenandoah, IA, USA, utilizing waste heat, waste water and CO₂ for growth of algae biomass
joint venture between Clarcor (NYSE: CLC), BioProcessH₂O LLC and Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDQ: GPRE).

Blue Marble Biomaterials
5653 Alloy S
Missoula, MT, 59808
USA

phone: +1 (800) 738-0849
fax: +1 (206) 452-5898
e-mails:
General: info@bluemarbleenbio.com
Investors: invest@bluemarblebio.com
Sales: sales@bluemarbleenbio.com
Technology: tech@bluemarblebio.com
Media: media@bluemarbleenbio.com

url: www.bluemarblebio.com

Business model, technology, processes:

patented AGATE (acid, gas, ammonia targeted extraction) technology for extraction of biogas and special chemical compounds (ester, amides, anhydrous ammonia) from carbonaceous waste by microorganisms
various feedstocks like food co-products, spent brewery grain, spent coffee and tea, algae, milfoil, agricultural silage, wood chips and others can be utilized
patented algae cultivation system for bioremediation
utilizing non-genetically modified organisms (non-GMO) in polycultures (different bacteria in one culture)
technology produces a wide array of speciality compounds like complex supercritical extracts and oils, thioesters, esters, terpenes or carboxylic acids
partnership with brewery company Anheuser-Busch for conversion of brewery waste into carboxylic acids
exclusive distribution contract with the custom manufacturing and services business SAFC®, a Sigma-Aldrich company
partnerships and collaborations with the University of Montana, the public-private partnership Innovate Montana, the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation
finalized purchase of former GTC Oats Inc. facility in Missoula, MT, USA which will be retrofitted to a commercial bio-refinery

Cellana LLC, Mainland Office
10685 Roselle Street, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92121
USA

phone: +1 (877) 208-5070

Hawaii Office:

url: cellana.com

Business model, technology, processes:

company founded from an joint venture of HR BioPetroleum, Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
production of marine microalgae derived biofuel, chemicals and feedstock
patented ALDUO™ technology is based on the use of non-GMO strains of algae which are grown in combination of closed photobioreactors and open ponds
proprietary ReNew™ brand comprising four product categories: Omega-3 fatty acids, animal feed, biofuel and algae biomass
algae derived protein tested for replacement of fishmeal protein in aquacultures of salmon, carp and shrimp
six-acre pilot facility in Kona, Hawaii, operated since 2009
research program in collaboration with CEROS with the aim to monitor algae genetic adaption and increase lipid yield
partnerships with National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts (NAABB), Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP³), US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Defense, University of Hawaii
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. and Alexander & Baldwin aiming to develop a commercial scale algae facility near Maui Electric’s Ma’alaea power plant
off-take agreement with Neste Oil for algae based crude, dependent on certain commercial scale criteria

Ecoduna Produktions-GmbH
Fischamender Strasse 12/3
2460 Bruck/Leitha
Austria

phone: +43 (0)699 15118802
e-mail: office@ecoduna.com

ecoduna plant:

url: www.ecoduna.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and production of photobioreactors for the continuous cultivation of microalgae
two proprietary reactor systems: vertical HangingGardens© and Deep Pond©
HangingGardens© reactors are closed, modular, vertical sheet-like reactors with 12 reactor panels on a 6 m tall tower corresponding to a photoactive volume of 440 l per square metre. Algae biomass is mixed by uprising bubbles of injected CO₂
demo plant (so-called Phobior project) for the production of omega-3 fatty acids from algal biomass. Phobior is funded by the European Commission's Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI) within the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme / Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme "CIP-EIP-Eco-Innovation 2009" and CO₂ is provided by a biogas plant operated by Energiepark Bruck. The facility went into operation in Oct. 2012.
50000 l demonstration plant at Senftenberg, Germany in cooperation with GMB GmbH a subsidiary of the energy provider Vattenfall. The facility is supplied with CO₂ from a nearby power plant and went inot operation in the autumn 2012
application of HangingGardens© technology in Danish Kalundborg Symbiosis project for water cleaning
involved in research project NeCruPro (Next Generation Crude Production) togetehr with Montanuniversität, Leoben, OMV AG, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, and Johannes Kepler Universität, Linz
involved in research project CALIPSO for research of calcium and light dependent signalling mechanisms in phosynthetic organisms together with University of Vienna, Austria, Bayer CropScience, Gent, Belgium, Photon Systems Instruments, Dasov, Czech Republic, University of Geneva (UNIGE), Suisse, Turun yliopisto University of Turku (UTU), Finland, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) Vienna, Austria, Jagiellonian University of Krakow (JU), Poland, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, France Durham University (UDUR), United Kingdom, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), Germany, Goethe University of Frankfurt (GU), Germany.
partnerships NOEBEG, AWS, FFG (Austrian research society), accent (Lower Austria Academic Founder Service), ASEP (Austrian Senior Experts Pool), Technologie- und Innovationspartner (TIP) (Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce's service for entrepreneurs), ecoplus (Lower Austria's Business Agency), RIZ (Lower Austria's Founding Agency)
R&D cooperations with Joanneum Research, Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

eco-solutions
Biocitech technology park
Paris
France

e-mail: contact@eco-solution.fr

url: www.eco-solution.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and distribution of processes for the improvement of industrial wastewater, treatment of ammonium in municipal wastewater and soil decontamination
development of new applications for biogas production and biofuels derived from algal biomass

Fermentalg
4 Rue Riviére
33500 Libourne
France

phone: +33 (0)557 250 220
url: www.fermentalg.com

Business model, technology, processes:

R&D for the industrial scale production of utilizable carbon compounds, like omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, coloring agent, biopolymers and biofuels from microalgae
aims at different markets like human and animal nutrition, cosmetics, green chemistry and biofuels
cultivation of microalgae in closed fermenters (bioreactors) under heterotrophic-mixotrophic conditions. The cultivated algae are treated with short bursts of low-intensity light to stimulate heterotrophic growth mode. Utilization of flash pyrolysis.
filed 14 patent families
joint venture Proléalg with Sofiprotéol for industrialization, production and marketing of omega-3 fatty acids derived from microalgae
partnership with the Life Sciences Division of France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, the CEA, for the development of processes with regard to bio-production of lipids from microalgae
EIMA programme for the development of industrial production of heterotrophic microalgae feed on other substrates than glucose, like dairy or cellulosic material
Greenline programme for the development of microalgae derived fuels by using 20,000 liter fermenters. Planned testing of the biofuel on various types of vehicles
Jet'ALG programme for the development of microalgae derived kerosene

Fotosintetica & Microbiologica s.r.l. (F&M s.r.l.)
Via dei Della Robbia, 54
50132 Firenze
Italy

e-mail: fem@femonline.com

url: www.femonline.it

Business model, technology, processes:

cultivation and production of algae biomass in closed photobioreactors
commercialization of proprietary photobioreactor models at capacities of 120 and 240 litres
consulting in the field of microalgae application, comprising bioenergy, agricultural and pharmaco-cosmetical applications
spin-off of the University of Firenze, Italy

Heliae Development, LLC
614 E. Germann Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85297
USA

phone: +1 (480) 424-2875
fax: +1 (480) 424-2882
e-mail: info@heliae.com

url: www.heliae.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and distribution of technologies related to algae strains, algae production systems, contamination control, extraction technology, harvesting and dewatering solutions
targeting food and feed, fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, fuels, green chemicals and cosmetics markets
focused on production of nutraceutical and cosmetical ingredients
proprietary technology platform Volaris™, based on hybrid, mixed hetero-phototrophic production processes
proprietary AMP™ Rapid Strain Screening System for detection of algae strains and measuring performance characetristics
proprietary MACS™ Mobile Pilot System for mobile screening of local algae strains and site analysis
proprietary Helix™ Seed Production Systems for production of axenic algae seed cultures
patented food-safe solvent extraction process
demonstration plant in Gilbert, AZ, USA, planned for extension to a commercial facility
production off-take agreements in place
distribution partnership with Evodos, a specialist in separation technology used in algae harvesting processes
partnerships with Mars foods and Salim Group, the world largest wheat noodle producer, as a key investors

Ingrepo B.V.
Heure 6a
7271 PA Borculo
The Netherlands

phone: +31 (0)545 275 946
fax: +31 (0)545 275 936
e-mail: office@ingrepro.nl

url: www.ingrepro.nl

Business model, technology, processes:

development and exploitation of hybrid algae culture reactors for the production of specific algae for nutritional and biomass purposes
R&D in the areas of EPA/DHA , high-quality protein for animal feeds and the production of raw materials for bioplastics, as well as bio-filtration and extraction of fatty acids from algae.
innovations: fungicare, a fungicidal product from alga extract; granello, algae granulate for animal feed; koi feed, a special koi fish feed; a special recipe for algae derived cheese
partnerships in the field of microingredients with Wageningen University, Food Valley, Achterhoeks Centrum voor Technologie (ACT), Akzo Nobel, ProGrass
proprietary AlgaePro™ concept for exploitation of biomass power plants and waste flow processing
AlgaeBioReactor technology for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater via algae beads which are automatically replaced when saturated by nutrients
partnerships in the field of biofuels with VAR (now Attero), Witteveen+Boos

Joule Unlimited
18 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730
USA

phone: +1 (781) 533-9100
fax: +1 (781) 533-9340
e-mails:
General Inquiries: info@jouleunlimited.com
Media Inquiries: press@jouleunlimited.com

url: www.jouleunlimited.com

Joule Fuels:

Business model, technology, processes:

proprietary Helioculture™, Direct-To-Process™, Liquid Fuel from the Sun™ and SolarConverter™ technology for conversion of CO₂ to biofuels and special chemicals via genetically engineered microorganisms (cyanobacteria)
continous process of product synthesis and separation
modular and scalable process design for production of 25,000 gallons of ethanol and 15,000 gallons of biodiesel per acre and year
proprietary Joule Sunflow™-E (ethanol) and Sunflow™-D (biodiesel) fuel products which are projected to be delivered at $1.28/gallon and $50/bbl respectively, including capital costs and excluding subsidies.
patent portfolio with 25 issued patents, 5 notices of allowance and 116 pending applications
launched SunSprings™ demonstration plant in Hobbs, New Mexico, USA in Sep. 2012
partnership with German automobile manufacturer AUDI

Kent Bioenergy Corporation
11125 Flintkote Avenue
San Diego, California 92121
USA

phone: +1 (858) 452-5765
e-mail: info@kentbioenergy.com

url: www.kentbioenergy.com

Business model, technology, processes:

algae cultivation and production of biofuels by utilizing patented harvesting and conversion technology
CEP (Controlled Eutrophication Process) open pond approach with zones for growth, concentration and harvest
CEP bioremediation
patents filed for genetic engineering of algae for rapid growth, high lipid yield, monoculture maintenance, enzyme production, lysis of cell wall, enhanced harvesting
partnership with Clemson University, South Carolina
R&D facility located in San Diego, CA, USA
160 acres production and development plant located near Palm Springs
700 acre pilot plant planned (site owned)
2000 acre production plant planned
patents owned: Aquaculture Wastewater Treatment Systems, Biofilm Wastewater Treatment Carrier Elements, Scalable Compartmented Culture Systems
licenses owned: Algae-based Water Recycling System, Algae-based Environmental Remediation Technology, Concentration and Separation of Algal Lipids
provisional patents: Bioflocculation and Floatation Techniques for Harvest of Microalgae, Genetic Modification of Algae to Enhance Harvestability, Methods for Maintaining Algae Monocultures, Algae-based Pharmaceutical Production Technology, Genetic Modification of Lipid & Carbohydrate Levels in Algae, Induced Lysis System Using Bacterially Encoded Algaecides

Lanzatech NZ Ltd.
24 Balfour Road
Parnell, Auckland
New Zealand

phone: +64 9 304 2110
fax: +64 9 929 3038
e-mail:
Media Inquiries: media@lanzatech.com

Further Offices and HQ:

url: www.lanzatech.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of ethanol or other organic chemicals (e.g. isoprene, MEK, isopropanol, etc.) by fermentation with microbes, which are fed with industrial gases high in carbon monoxide
usage of proprietary, genetically modified microbes enhanced by synthetic genomics
microbes capable of utilizing hydrogen-free gases
pilot plant at BlueScope Steel mill in New Zealand with two 500 liter gas fermentation reactors and 15,000 gal/year capacity, operating since Nov. 2008
demonstration facility with a capacity of 100.000 gallons of ethanol per year, started in 2012 at one of Baosteel's steel mills outside of Shanghai, China
planned demonstration facility at a site of steel producer Capital Steel, located near Beijing, China
aquired a former Range Fuels biorefinery in Soperton, Georgia, USA which will be operated as Freedom Pines Biorefinery production facility
venture capital investors (initial and existing): Khosla Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund (MLSCF), Petronas Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd, Dialog Group Berhad and Western Technology Investment (WTI)
extensive network of partnerships comprising steel producers Baosteel, HARSCO, POSCO, Bluescope Steel, Jindal Group, Siemens VAI, Shougang Group, China Steel, oil and natural gas producers Petronas, Indian Oil, chemical companies LCY Chemical Corp., INVISTA, aviation companies Boeing, Virgin Atlantic, the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Co., bioenergy companies Imperium Renewables, Swedish Biofuels AB Global Bioenergies, and many academic partners.

LS9, Inc.
600 Gateway Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
USA

phone: +1 (650) 243-5400
fax: +1 (650) 243-5401
e-mail: info@ls9.com

Further Offices:

url: www.ls9.com

Business model, technology, processes:

direct, one-step fermentation of carbohydrate feedstock (C5 and C6 sugars) by designed bacteria (DesignerMicrobes™) to Ultraclean™ fuels and chemical compounds
claims that genetically modified microbes with their proprietary technology (enzymes and designed metabolic pathways) are the most cost, resource and energy efficient method for fuel replacement products.
fermentation process capable to utilize various feedstocks like sugar cane, corn syrups, waste products such as molasses and glycerin, and emerging feedstocks such as sweet sorghum syrup and the hydrolysates of plant biomass
initially focused on production of fatty alcohols, specialty ester and biodiesel and aviation fuels based on FAME or FAEE (LS Diesel™, LS Kerosene™, LS Jet™)
biodiesel compliant to ASTM D6751 and Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum ANP-7 standard
demonstration facility with a 135,000 l fermentation capability in Okeechobee, FL, USA, expansion option to a capacity of 4 vessels at 750,000 l each, which could produce approximately 10 million gallons per year of product
planned expansion of product portfolio to further specialty chemicals like polymer precursors, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals or flavors and fragances
partnered with Procter & Gamble, Chevron, MAN Latin America and Virdia
venture capital investors (initial and exiting): Flagship Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and CTTV Investments LLC, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures LLC
in January 2014 aquired by Renewable Energy Group

Live Fuels, Inc.
1300 Industrial Road, Suite 16
San Carlos CA 94070
USA

phone: +1 (650) 592-0500
fax: +1 (650) 332-1514

url: www.livefuels.com

Business model, technology, processes:

open water (estuaries, river outlets) algae cultivation, harvesting by utilizing other organisms like fish, from which the lipids eventually are retrieved
45 acres pilot facility in Brownsville, TX, USA consisting of open saltwater ponds

Muradel Pty. Ltd.
239 Magill Rd.
Maylands, Adelaide SA 5069
Australia

e-mail: g.barker@muradel.com

url: www.muradel.com

Business model, technology, processes:

large scale algae cultivation of saline alga for the production of biofuels
expertise in harvesting, dewatering, lipid extraction, design and construction of production plants
proprietary harvesting system employing an electro-flocculation-flotation process
pilot plant with open raceway ponds in Karratha, Western Australia
commercial demonstration plant in Whyalla, South Australia with a 4000 square meters pond and an on-site plant for hydrothermal liquefaction and purification
joint venture of Murdoch University, Adelaide Research and Innovation Pty Ltd. and SQC Pty Ltd.
partnership with Indian energy infrastructure company Aban Infrastructure Pvt Ltd which is also a major shareholder

NOVAgreen Projektmanagement GmbH
Oldenburger Str. 330
49377 Vechta-Langförden
Germany

Dipl. Ing. Rudolf Cordes
phone: +49 (0)4447 1444
mobile: +49 (0)170 8010382
fax: +49 (0)4447 8434
e-mail: rc@novagreen-microalgae.de

url: www.novagreen-microalgae.de

Business model, technology, processes:

development, ditribution and construction of a proprietary, patented, closed and modular photobioreactor system for the production of micro algae (Chlorella, Spirulina, Nannochloropsis, Scenedesmus, Chlamydomonas)
standard module equipped with so-called V-reactors have a capacity of 4600 litres (144 reactors) on 18 m length, an automated regulation of pH and nutrition and automated monitoring of light, temperature, oxygen and phtosynthetic acitivity
scaled for nutrient production or CO₂ sequestration
pilot facility for utilization of CO₂ from methan generating biogas plants in cooperation with the Papenburger Gartenbauzentrale (GBZ)
strategic alliances with international suppliers of nutraceutical and pharma industry
R&D collaborations with RWE, Research Center Jülich and Jacobs University of Bremen

OriginOil, Inc.
5645 West Adams Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016

phone: +1 (323) 939-OOIL (6645)
toll free: +1 (877) 999-OOIL (6645)

url: www.originoil.com

Business model, technology, processes:

proprietary Electro Water Separation™ technology for chemical-free cleanup of water
technology focused on fracking water cleanup, algae harvesting, aquaculture water cleaning or organic waste remediation
several models with throughput capabilities of 2 to 200 litres per minute
patent pending Quantum Fracturing™ technology for better supply of nutrients to cultivated algae by utilizing kind of micro-bubbles which do not stir the water of the medium
patent pending closed system Helix BioReactor ™ and artificial illumination for in-house, clock-round cultivation of algae
cascading production system which allows harvest of algae batches without the need of re-seeding the algae culture, thus creating a 'permanent' batch
patent pending Single-Step Extraction™ of algae lipids by ultrasonication and pH modification
patent pending Live Extraction™ technology for extraction of lipids from alive algae by electro manipulation
partnerships with the US Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory (INL), PACE Advanced Water Technology, Clean Water Technology Inc., Research Institute of Tsukuba Bio-tech Corporation (RITB) and Algasol
joint venture Ennesys with UK-based incubator PJC
publicly traded company, quoted on the OTCBB under the stock symbol OOIL

PanAlgaea Swiss GmbH
Oberzelglistrasse 18
5413 Birmenstorf AG
Switzerland

phone: +41 56 22518 52
e-mail: info@panalgaea.eu

url: www.panalgaea.eu

Business model, technology, processes:

employs AlgePro, a proprietary, patent-pending vertical-meander technology
planned 2.5 acres algae production facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA
as of 15.07.15, domain seems to be shut down

Parabel Inc.
1901 S. Harbor City Blvd., 6th Floor
Melbourne, FL 32901
USA

phone: +1 (321) 409-7970
e-mail:
General Inquiries and Sales: pasales@parabel.com

Asia Office:

url: www.parabel.com

Business model, technology, processes:

patent pending modular open bioreactor system designed for growth of naturally occurring, indigenous micro-crops (the water plant Lemna)
the utilized micro-crops are not genetically modified (non-GMO)
proprietary Smart Harvesting system
production of protein concentrate which can be utilized as fish-meal or alfalfa meal replacement
master framework agreement with CECEP - Chongqing Industry Co., Ltd., a holding subsidiary of China Energy Conservation and Environment Protection Group (CECEP) for construction of 5,000 hectares commercial units in China and world-wide, starting with a research facility in Hainan Province, China
master license agreement with FertiGreen, a subsidiary of Probac S.A. for construction of 5,000 hectares commercial units in Ecuador, staring in its first phase with 300 hectares
master license agreement with Lemna Asia SDN BHD for the construction of 5,000 hectares commercial units in Malaysia
master license agreement with Worldwide Strategic Investments Company, a subsidiary of Worldwide Group, for the construction of 5,000 hectares commercial units in Colombia
publicly traded company, quoted on the OTCBB under the stock symbol PABL

Phycal Inc.
51 Alpha Park
Highland Heights, OH 44143
USA

phone: +1 (440) 460-2477
fax: +1 (440) 460-2478
e-mail: info@phycal.com

Further Offices:

url: www.phycal.com

Business model, technology, processes:

cassava derived sugar and ethanol production
cassava sugar used as feedstock for algae derived biofuels
proprietary Heteroboost™ process for conversion of sugars into oil
Hawaii based R&D with a planned 30 acres pilot facility in Wahiawa, Oahu, capable of producing 150,000 gallons of oil per year
received a $51.5 million R&D contract from the US Department of Energy (DoE)
part of Logos Energy Group

Phyco Biosciences
P.O. Box 11009
Chandler, AZ 85248
USA

phone: +1 (480) 522-1002
fax: +1 (480) 522-1014
e-mail:
General inquiries: info@phycobiosciences.com

url: www.phycobiosciences.com

Business model, technology, processes:

proprietary Super Trough cultivation system, proprietary harvesting system
production of BioNutrients, providing a N-P-K source and utilizable as crop fertilizer and animal feed supplement
BioNutrients product availability is planned for 2013

Phytolutions GmbH
Campus Ring 1
28759 Bremen
Germany

phone: +49 (0)421 566 272 0
fax: +49 (0)421 566 272 27
e-mail: info@phytolutions.com

url: www.phytolutions.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and distribution of algae production systems for industrial applications
PhytoBag photobioreactor system, consisting of vertically arranged, multi-layered plastic bags, micro bubble airlift system and an automated monitoring system
proprietary, patent pending phytoharvester system for concentration and dewatering of algae suspensions
600 square meters pilot plant for CO₂ sequestration Niederaussem, Cologne, Germany fed by the flue gases of the adjacent coal-fired power plant operated by the German energy provider RWE Power AG
feasibility study operated in partnership with the German energy provider E.ON, utilizing piped waste gas for algae biomass production
partnerships with the Jacobs University of Bremen, RWE Power AG, E.ON, AIMES GmbH, BREWA Umwelt-Service GmbH, Volkswagen AG

Renewed World Energies
225 Industrial Dr.
Georgetown, SC 29440
USA

phone: +1 (843) 527-0810
fax: +1 (910) 222-3160
e-mail: sales@rwenergies.com

url: www.rwenergies.com

Business model, technology, processes:

biofuel production from algae via patent pending, vertical closed system photobioreactor
cost reducing process automation via proprietary software and hardware controls
5 acre plant located in Georgetown, South Carolina, producing 95-125 tons of dried biomass per acre per year. The biomass is combusted and used for producing electricity in two 800 kW generators
partnerships with bio JP-8 (jet fuel burned by US Air Force) developer Envara Fuels, FC Stone and Emerald Biofuels
purchase-power agreement with Santee-Cooper Electric
sale of algae cultures (Botryococcus, Chlorella, Dunaliella)
in March 2010 a majority of the comapny was aquired by Aventura Equities, Inc. (OTC Pink: AVNE)

Sapphire Energy Headquarters
San Diego, CA
USA

phone: +1 (858) 768-4700
e-mail: info@sapphireenergy.com

url: www.sapphireenergy.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of ASTM conforming gasoline (not ethanol, not biodiesel) from CO₂ absorbing algae by utilizing non-potable water and non-arable land
patent portfolio of 300 issued and pending patents
R&D facility at headquarters in San Diego, CA, USA
22 acres demonstration and test facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA with more than 70 active ponds, varying in size from 14-foot test ponds to 300-foot production units. The Plant aims at evaluating feasibility and economic performance of components and technology.
$135 mio., 300 acres commercial demonstration plant with an integrated algal biorefinery (IABR) in Columbus, New Mexico, USA. Phase 1 of this project was completed in 2012 with construction of 100 acres of algae producing ponds.
first barrels of green crude produced, planned capacity for the demonstration plant are 100 barrels per day or approximately 1 mio. gallons of fuel per year. Biorefinery projected to start in 2015
partnerships with industrial gas company Linde, nutraceutical algae producer Earthrise, bioagricultural company Monsanto, and the Institute for Systems Biology
off-take agreement with oil refiner Tesoro
venture capital investors (initial and existing): ARCH Venture Partners, The Wellcome Trust, Cascade Investment LLC and Venrock, Monsanto

Seambiotic Ltd.
1 Azrieli Tower,
132 Menachem Begin Blvd.
Tel Aviv 67021
Israel

phone: +972 3-6911688
fax: +972 3-6911686
e-mail: info@seambiotic.com

USA Office:

url: seambiotic.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and production of microalgae for the purpose of production of food additives (omega-3 fatty acids) and biofuels
patents for methods of refining and processing algae
pilot plant sequestering CO₂ from a coal power plant of the Israeli Electric Corporation located in Ashkelon, Israel
license and joint venture agreement with Yantai Hairong Electricity Technology Ltd. and Penglai Weiyuan Science & Trading Ltd., companies associated with China Guodian Corporation for construction of a 12 heactares, $10 mio. microalgae cultivation farm in Penglai, China utilizing CO₂ from flue gas of a nearby power station
license agreement with Smabe for construction of a algae plant in Japan

SGI Biopower
1000 Potomac Avenue suite 301
Washington, DC 20007
USA

phone: +1 (202) 682 2405
fax: +1 (202) 682 1843
e-mail: info@solenagroup.com

url: www.sgibiopower.com

Business model, technology, processes:

patented plasma gasification technology (IPGCC) for biomass conversion to syngas (consisting of CO and H₂), which is cleaned and used to produce electricity
joint venture with Bio Fuel Systems to utilize algae as biomass feedstock for gasification
research in fuel cell technology coupled with plasma gasification, syngas producing system for small power plant units (1 MW)
plans for five 40 MW energy plants in California
plan for a waste to energy conversion plant in Europe
plans for two 90 MW renewable energy plants in two European cities
partnership with Rentech Inc. in a planned jet-fuel production plant, located in Gilroy, California, based on Solena's syngas reactor technology and Rentech's Fischer-Tropsch technology.
the plant's construction is planned for 2009 and should be capable of producing 1800 barrels of biofuel a day from waste streams.
partnerships (initial and existing) with engineering firms MPR and Integrity, technology provider ABSi, Deutsche Bank AG, Acciona, Bio Fuel Systems S.A. and Marsh Inc.

Solix Biosystems, Inc.
430B N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
USA

phone: +1 (970) 692-5600

url: solixbiosystems.com

Business model, technology, processes:

from the US DoE ASP (Aquatic Species Programme) derived AGS™ technology for cultivation of oil-rich microalgae.
proprietary Lumian™ technology, a closed photobioreactor for outdoor deployment in algae cultivation plants
focus on growing, harvesting, extracting and processing microalgae
demonstration plant located in Coyote Gulch, Colorado, USA
land requirements for industrial applications: minimum of 125 acres
partnerships (initial and existing) with National Instruments, CEMEX, Targeted Growth Inc., CNOOC, Colorado State University, Hazen, Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd., Valero, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Southern Ute Alternative Energy

Subitec GmbH
Julius-Hölder-Str. 36
70597 Stuttgart
Germany

phone: +49 (0)711 / 365 40 29-0
fax: +49 (0)711 / 365 40 29-10
e-mail: info@subitec.com

url: www.subitec.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development, manufacturing and distribution of patented Flat Panel-Airlift-Photobioreactor (FPA reactor) for production algal biomass on a industrial scale
production of algae biomass is aimed at nutraceutical and pharmacological industry, e.g. astaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids
development of integrated closed circuits, which cycle algal biomass between cultivation and bio gas generation
Spin-Off of the German Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (Fraunhofer IGB)
pilot plants fed by flue gases of nearby located power stations in Eutingen-Weitingen, Germany (in cooperation with EnBW) and Hamburg Reitbrook, Germany (in cooperation with E.ON Hanse
cooperation projects with the Institute of space science (IRS) and the Institute for Interfacial Engineering (IGTV) of the University Stuttgart and KD Pharma, DBU and ETAMAX project.
additional partnerships with High Tech Gruenderfonds, Hombach Kunststofftechnik, GMB GmbH (a Vattenfall company) and Ebner, Stolz, Mönning & Bachem

Associated Companies

BDI BioEnergy International AG
Parkring 18
8074 Grambach/Graz
Austria

phone: +43 (316) 4009-100
e-mail: bdi@bdi-bioenergy.com

url: www.bdi-bioenergy.com

Business model, technology, processes:

development and distribution of complete bio-diesel plant solutions with proprietary, patented multi-feedstock technology, which is able to make use of vegetable oils, used cooking oils, animal fats and other resources
development and distribution of complete bio gas plant solutions
optimization of existing bio-diesel plants
plant solutions for processing fishoil to omega-3 fatty acidsand biofuel
waste to biofuels system by combining bio-diesel and biogas solutions
R&D in waste management and renewable energy sources

Biofuel Systems Group Limited
"Beech Croft"
51 Ruff Lane
Ormskirk, Lancashire
England, L39 4UL

Registered Office:

8 Leighton Road
Neston, Cheshire
England, CH64 3SD

phone: +44 (0)20 32393907
e-mails:
general inquiries: info@biofuelsystems.com
shop: shop@biofuelsystems.com
consultancy:consultancy@biofuelsystems.com
biodiesel additives: wintron@biofuelsystems.com

url: www.biofuelsystems.com

Business model, technology, processes:

design and manufacturing of biodiesel processing systems
online shop for biofuel additives and processing utilities
consultancy services in the field of biofuel processing and engineering

BioVantage Resources, Inc.
700 Corporate Circle, Suite H
Golden, Colorado 80401
USA

phone: +1 (303) 470-8000
e-mails:
General Information: info@biovantageresources.com
Employment: careers@biovantageresources.com
Sales: sales@biovantageresources.com

url: www.biovantageresources.com

Business model, technology, processes:

providing algae and microorganism based solutions and technologies for bioremediation and waste water treatment
proprietary library of pollutaphiles™, which are microorganisms feeding on pollutants
sales of column, tank and raceway bioreactors with patent pending lighting system
partnerships with Stewart Environmental Consultants, Inc., BiO₂ and Evolutionary Genomics

Genomatica Inc. Headquarters
10520 Wateridge Circle
San Diego, CA 92121
USA

phone: +1 (858) 824-1771
fax: +1 (858) 824-1772
e-mail: info@genomatica.com

url: www.genomatica.com

Business model, technology, processes:

integrated bioprocess engineering platform consisting of computational and experimental technologies for the design and optimization of microorganisms
optimization of metabolic pathways of microorganisms for production of hydrocarbons including biofuels from low-cost feedstocks
in-silico laboratory: proprietary metabolic modeling and simulation system SimPheny™; metabolic pathway predictior; OptKnock Strain design based on proprietary algorithms
wet laboratory: enhanced evolutionary design; high throughput cloning, screening and fermentation, ¹³C Flux analysis
process development for the production of butanediol from sugar and mek (methyl ethyl ketone or propanone) from biomass commonly used for ethanol production
current yearly production of butanediol exceed 2.5 billion pounds and production of mek is around 3 billion pounds a year, mainly derived from fossil fuels
venture capital investors: Iceland Genomic Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV), Alloy Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Haldor Topsøe A/S
Nymøllevej 55
2800 Kgs. Lyngby
Denmark

phone: +45 4527 2000
fax: +45 4527 2999
e-mail: topsoe@topsoe.com

url: www.haldor-topsoe.com

Business model, technology, processes:

R&D and production of catalysts, including enzymes and treatments for renewable fuels

Kimica Corporation
2-4-1 Yaesu, Chuo-ku
Tokio, 104-0028
Japan

phone: +81 3 3548-1941
fax: +81 3 3548-1942
e-mail: tokyo-office@kimica.jp

url: www.kimica-alginate.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of algae derived alginate and caragenans

Kuraray Co., Ltd.
Ote Center Building,1-1-3
Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8115
Japan

url: www.kuraray.co.jp

Business model, technology, processes:

established producer of chemicals and resins, fibers and textiles, high performance material, medical products and others

Novozymes A/S
World Headquarters
Krogshoejvej 36
2880 Bagsvaerd
Denmark

phone: +45 44 46 00 00
fax: +45 44 46 99 99

url: Novozymes

Business model, technology, processes:

enzyme development and production for cellulosic ethanol production (glucoamylases)
products: Spirizyme ™, Liquozyme ™
subsidiary of Novo Nordisk
publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange under the symbol NZYM B

Segetis, Inc.
680 Mendelssohn Avenue N.
Golden Valley, MN 55427
USA

phone: +1 (763) 7957200
e-mail: info@segetis.com

url: www.segetis.com

Business model, technology, processes:

production of carbohydrate monomers from biomass by proprietary chemical methods and sucessive synthesis of various chemical compounds
venture capital investors: Khosla Ventures

Critical considerations:

Compared to the production methods of fuels derived from other kinds of biomass, the production of biofuels from algae appears to be superior and more advantageous. Nevertheless, there are some important adverse aspects of this technology, which are often neglected.
These crucial points do not necessarily have a technological and economical dimension, as it can be assumed, that techno-economic problems, like cost efficiency or technical solutions of production methods, will be resolved by the industry itself and once solutions are found, these will add to the advantages of the industry. Instead, the contrary arguments are of a socio-economic or ecologic nature, intermingling with the technological aspects.

To begin with, a minor, but often neglected issue is the fact, that large-scale open pond algae cultivations could emit an uncomfortable odor, which could potentially be regarded as a public nuisance, especially when such cultivation plants will be erected in the vicinity of populated areas. (Simply: Algae stink, especially when occurring in masses !). This issue was regarded here as a minor problem, as actually any large-scale industrial plant, like chemical plants or refineries, but in particular wastewater treatment plants, have to cope with similar problems. It can be assumed that in these cases of already established industries the acceptance of an odor nuisance in the public is greater than that of a new technology, where the affected people don't know exactly what the outcome of such technologies will be.
Anyhow, such emission related issues will certainly impose limits on possible plant locations and enforce a more careful location planning for the erection of algae cultivating farms. Notably, the use of closed reactor systems (e.g. photobioreactors) would diminish, if not completely eliminate these problems.

Other, more severe problems arise on the supply side of large-scale algae cultivation, which need, when zooming out to a global scale, enormous amounts of freshwater and - often notoriously overlooked - considerable amounts of phosphate, which is needed for proper algae growth. These demands compete with other applications of these resources, which are mostly driven by agricultural use, especially phosphate based fertilizers, which enable the modern agriculture to harvest the yields needed for the mouths of 7 billion people.
So, the original advantage of algae derived fuels in the fuel vs. food debate in terms of land use efficiency, could be challenged by turning this advantage into a resource competing argument. According to a rough estimation made by Prof. Chris Rhodes (found in an article at Oilprice.com and as an updated version at Resilience.org), the erection of algae cultivation facilities on a scale that will supply the world's fuel demands needs about 216 billion cubic metres of freshwater and about 200 million tonnes of phosphate, the latter a commodity of which the peak production era has with a high probability already passed by. Other calculations, like those found in an article by Eamon Keane at Seeking Alpha, which is based on a paper of Cordella et. al. (2009) ^[1], project, that a bottleneck in phosphorous production will most likely occur in the 2020-2030 time frame. The authors of this article come furthermore to the conclusion, that it would be quite difficult to satisfiy the world fuel demand with algae derived biofuels, because of the restrictions the limited phosphorous deposits impose.
Such considerations make clear, that not the single biofuel plant is likely to produce any unmanageable problems, but the technology as a whole and applied on a very large scale may direct humankind into a deadlock situation, where competition on scarce resources will prevent the appropriate development of fuel alternatives.
Again, a key to resolving these problems seems to lie in the careful selection of the right locations and the proper allocation of resources. Also, certain technologies are capable to prevent possible deadlocks, stemming from the scarcity of resources and the resulting competition for them. For example, the recycling of the algae sludge, after extraction of the lipid content, could re-supply the phosphate for ongoing cultivation batches. The use of wastewaster instead of freshwater could not only satisfy the water requirements, but also help to convert and clean the wastewater and moreover supply the necessary nutrients, like nitrate, phosphate and potassium (NPK) for algae growth. Another approach to circumvent the dependence on freshwater and mineral nutrients is the cultivation of marine algae species in ocean waters, thus utilizing seawater instead of valuable freshwater. One example of such an approach is the NASA developed Omega project, which utilizes offshore located, membrane enclosured algae cultivation facilities fed with sewage (see also Algae Systems). Other companies, organisations or initiatives, like Cellana, Bioalgostral or BioOils are also seeking solutions by deploying marine algae species and resources.
Anyhow, it will certainly take a while until algae derived fuel production reaches a capacity, relevant enough to be set in a relation to the production of conventional, fossil fuels. Hopefully, this time of the developmental stage will tell, if the technologies are capable to cope with the global challenges of limited resources and growing demand.

Another source for arguments opposing the wide-spread deployment of algae cultivation is the use of genetically modified organims (GMO) for the production of biofuels. Such transgenic algae are developed by many laboratories and companies in order to increase yield, e.g. by accelerating growth rate or increasing lipid content. Other genetic modifications are aimed to facilitate handling, e.g. by elimination of unwanted by-products or introducing new traits that add value in the cost/yield relation. Also, the creation of greater resistance against harmful or competing species might be a target of genetic engineering efforts, thereby allowing a more efficient realization of algae monocultures.
For many individuals, epecially the very technological oriented, genetic modification of species does not impose any real threat, and is thus regarded a risk not even worth to be discussed. For others, transgenic organisms, especially when exposed to the open natural environment, impose serious risks to the ecologic and evolutionary well-being of nature. Thus, there's often a clear demarcation line encountered between the proponents and opponents of such technology. Independent of one's position in the questions circling around the appliance and usage of GMO's, it seems, that ongoing scientific research and already evaluated data, assessing the possible risks of these technologies on a thorough base and a wider scale is insufficient. Such inappropiate state of knowledge about the ecological implications of 'escaped' genetically engineered algae is for example claimed by a paper of Snow and Smith (2012) ^[2].
These authors claim that much too less attention (and funding) is paid to the evaluation of ecological risks imposed by released, genetically modified microbes, even those equipped with 'suicide genes', a technology which should ensure that those species cannot survive in the open nature.
Unfortunately, it seems that risk unawareness of new technologies is an intricate human trait, so that risk assessments are only worked out if severe accidents and damages occur. As an example for this collective behaviour might serve the beloved and long established automobile technology, where major safety improvements (like ABS, airbags etc.) were introduced only quite recently and were not thought of and implemented from the beginning.
On the other hand, there is no venture without taking risks and so it certainly would have been more wise to have assessed potential hazards of algal biofuel technology before the race for the best solutions had started and not inbetween the very developmental stage, where patents have already been filed and billions of dollars have been spent on the development of proprietary technology. Thus, any company working with GMO's might claim it quite unfair to come up with risk assessments at a stage they have attained a technological advantage against competitors.

Despite these arguments brought up against an algae derived biofuels industry, it seems that the advantages of the technology will outweigh the possible disadvantages, given that possible bottlenecks will be addressed by appropriate technological development.
The question, if algae produced fuels will ever be capable to meet the whole world's fuel demands might be left unanswered until a matured experience of commercially produced algae fuels is available. But it seems to be unwise, to close doors to viable alternative fuel production methods, even if global-scale economics seems to predict a possible deadlock on phosphate resources. When taking the argument of global scale economics serious, it would be a major priority to scrutinize existing technologies first: For example, one might ask, if it does make sense to produce more cars, when fossil fuels are limited ?
Such questions can be extended to other technologies as well and show, that nearly every modern industry will be affected more or less by limited resources now or in the near future. So, the development of economically and ecologically viable biofuels seems to be one of the only real alternatives to fossil fuel depletion, and the further development has to prove, if resource limits will keep this technology only on a supplementary scale or lift it to broader application. Even if only "island" solutions will be available, this would not speak against further progression into algae technology, as those little villages, which gain a level of energy independence by deployment of biogas facilities, clearly demonstrate. Thus, even small scale solutions might be beneficial to any community employing such technologies.
It seems also to be a misconception, that by reaching any resource peak, the supply of such resource will stop abruptly. Instead, on any peak follows a slope of further production and supply. It's the steepness of this slope, which will actually define the time left until the resource is ultimately depleted.
Anyhow, the formulation of greater scale aims and proper resource planning by governmental administrations will certainly be affected if not impaired, when leaving the development of alternative biofuels open to a free-running market. Also, the interests and the visions of major energy producing entities, often enough densely interwoven with governmental adminstrations, might collide with the aims and visions of the biofuel producing industry. If no administratively planned economy is imposed, only time, the markets and communal behaviour will tell, what stage algae derived biofuels will enter in the upcoming years...

[1]: Cordella, Dana, Drangerta, Jan-Olof, White, Stuart (2009) 'The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought.' Global Environmental Change, 19(2), 292-305
[2]: Snow, Allison A., Smith, Val H. (2012) 'Genetically Engineered Algae for Biofuels: A Key Role for Ecologists.' BioScience, 62(8), 765-768

Special Terms and abbreviations

ALA: - α-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid
ARRA: - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
ASTM: - American Society of Testing and Materials
B&I: - Business and Industry, a development program of the USDA
BPD, bpd: - Barrels Per Day
BtL: - Biomass to Liquid, an application of the Fischer Tropsch process, where biomass is used as input material for the fuel synthesis
CAA: - Clean Air Act
CCU: - Carbon Capture and Utilization
CHP: - Combined Heat and Power
CNG: - Compressed Natural Gas
CtL: - Coal to Liquid, an application of the Fischer Tropsch process, where coal is used as input material for the fuel synthesis
DDG: - Dried Distiller Grain
DHA: - Docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid
DOE, DoE: - Department of Energy
EISA: - Energy Independence and Security Act
EERE: - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EPA: - Eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid and also Environmental Protection Agency
EPC: - Engineering, Procurement and Construction
FT: - Fischer-Tropsch, a chemical process for the conversion of coal to gaseous and liquid carbohydrates which can be utilized as fuels. The basic reaction is the hydration of carbonmonoxide with hydrogen gas under high pressure and via a catalyst, yielding a mixture of different carbohydrates like aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, carbon acids and their respective esters. This mixture is used to synthesize alkanes and alkenes, which can be utilized as fuels (gas or diesel). As input material for the FT synthesis, coal or natural gas can be used, resulting in different applications which are termed CtL (Coal to Liquid) and GtL (Gas to Liquid), respectively. Biomass can be utilized for the fuel synthesis as well, resulting in a process termed BtL (Biomass to Liquid).
FAEE: - Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester, resulting product(s) from transesterfication of vegetable oil and ethanol
FAME: - Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, resulting product(s) from transesterfication of vegetable oil and methanol
FCC: - Fluid Catalytic Cracking, refinery process for conversion of heavy crude oil to high octane gasoline, olefinic crack gas components and residue cycle oil. The process can also applied on purified and hydrogenated biooils
GHG: - Green House Gases
GtL: - Gas to Liquid, an application of the Fischer Tropsch process, where natural gas is used as input material for the fuel synthesis
IH2, IH²: - Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion
LCA: - Life Cycle Assessment/Analysis
LNG: - Liquified Natural Gas
mboe: - million barrels of oil equivalent
MSW: - Municipal Solid Waste
NPDES: - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NPK: - nitrate, phosphate, potassium, the three major minerals required for proper plant and algae growth
NPRM: - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, a process in the U.S. legal system, which enables the public to comment on proposed rules or policies
NRDC: - Natural Resources Defense Council
PAR: - Photosynthetically Active Radiation
PBR: - PhotoBioReactor
PET: - Polyethylene
Pyrolysis: - process for the thermo-chemical cracking of large organic molecules into smaller ones by the use of heat (500-900° C) but in distinction to conventional burning without the use of additional oxygen
R&D: - Research and Development
RD&D: - Research, Development and Deployment
REAP: - Rural Development Energy Program, a development program of the USDA
RIN: - Renewable Identification Number, unique numbers assigned to qualifying renewable fuels under the RFS program
RFS: - Renewable Fuel Standards
RVP: - Reid Vapor Pressure, a measure for gasoline volatility
Syngas: - The gas produced by various applications like BtL, CtL or GtL. Syngas consists mostly of carbon monoxide and can be used for the synthesis of carbohydrates
TAG: - TriAcylGlycerols
TSS: - Total Suspended Solids, usually expressed in percentage of volume
USDA: - U.S. Department of Agriculture
VOP: - Volatile Organic Compounds
VGO: - Vacuum Gas Oil

WWW resources:

Magazines & Journals:

The Algae Industry Magazine
The Biofuel Digest
The Green Optimistic
Biodiesel Magazine
E&E Publishing

Institutions & Organizations:

Algae Biomass Organization
All about algae
European Algae Biomass Association

Science and R&D:

San Diego Center for Algal Biotechnology
Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation
Santa Fe Community Center Biofuels Training & Courses
Wageningen University microalgae research
ALGADISK project

Legal Notice & Disclaimer
last updated: 05.11.23