Yesterday was a good news day for the rapidly growing algae biofuel industry in San Diego.  Local TV station KPBS produced a comprehensive video segment, 2012 Could Determine Future Of Algae As Fuel.  Click here for the video.  

La Jolla-based Sapphire Energy announced a breakthrough via a white paper, “An exogenous chloroplast genome for complex sequence manipulation in algae.”  

“With this breakthrough, Sapphire Energy has shown that it is possible to make algae–the world’s most efficient photosynthetic organism–even more efficient,” said Jason Pyle, Sapphire Energy founder and CEO.  “This work represents the first steps toward a novel approach for creating genetic diversity in any or all regions of a chloroplast genome, and may have applications in other plants.”  

Click here for the full report.   

Grants for up to $7,000 are available for biofuels training for 55 students.  Classes will be held at UCSD Extension and Mira Costa College starting in March 2012.  Details here.

If algae is to be the solution for America’s pain at the gas pump, trained workers are needed to make that a reality.  Applications are now available for continuing education grants at the University of California San Diego to retrain workers as general science technicians in the rapidly expanding biofuels industry in the San Diego and Imperial County region.

Approximately 55 students will begin classes in March of 2012, with each student receiving the equivalent of a $7,000 grant from the State of California. Prospective students from across California interested in applying for next year’s EDGE program and biofuels and industrial biotechnology companies interested in hiring interns from the program should contact Karen Overklift at the BIOCOM Institute (858) 455-0300, extension 104 or koverklift@biocom.org or go to http://tinyurl.com/4d9m93g

Algae, the substance known to many as “pond scum,” may one day be the fuel that powers U.S. automobiles.

“That’s what petroleum is – it’s ancient algae,” said Dr. Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB). “Algae already makes oil that looks like crude oil. The oil we extract from algae goes directly into a refinery and gets converted into diesel or gasoline.”

The students, who will attend classes at UC San Diego Extension and Mira Costa College, are the second cohort of students in a program funded by a two-year, $4-million grant from California’s Department of Labor under the Green Innovation Challenge.

“Nationwide there is a need for skilled workers to participate in the development and commercialization of new technologies, as we can see in the field of alternative energies,” said Hugo Villar, director of science and technology at UC San Diego Extension. “The university has been a leader in helping adult learners acquire new knowledge and skills that allow them to transition out of stagnant areas of the job market and participate into more vibrant areas as we are doing now with biofuels.”

“This program is not only training workers for new jobs in the local economy, it will eventually help our nation become less dependent on foreign oil,” said Mayfield, “The bioenergy sector will eventually be creating millions of jobs nationwide. Our biggest challenge will be to keep those jobs in California.”

The grant involves the work of a number of local partners, which include UC San Diego, San Diego State University, Mira Costa College EDGE program, SD-CAB, CleanTECH San Diego, BIOCOM Institute, BIOCOM, San Diego Workforce Partnership and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

“With this training, these students are prepared to support the region’s growing biofuels companies and help San Diego continue to be a leader in the biofuels sector,” said Jason Anderson, vice president of CleanTECH San Diego, a non-profit organization that is helping to accelerate San Diego as a world leader in the clean technology economy.

San Diego is widely recognized as one of the world’s leaders in biofuels research and development. A recent analysis, conducted by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), found that for the algal biofuels sector alone, the industry provides the region with 410 direct jobs and $56 million in direct economic activity and $108 million in total economic activity annually.

“It’s critical that we build the research and development infrastructure for the biofuels industry here,” said Mayfield. “Right now, we have a head start on the rest of the world and we can’t afford to lose that.”

Thanks to the $4-million EDGE grant, San Diego has also become a national leader in training biofuels technicians. Mayfield said feedback from the program’s graduates, faculty and local biofuels companies will lead to a redesign of the curriculum for the next class of science biofuels technicians, which will run from March through August of 2012. Once the program is perfected, an online, web-based curriculum will be made available to any California university or college, and through enrollment in UC San Diego Extension to anyone around the world who wants to gain basic science training to enter the biofuels industry.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA has issued a loan guarantee that will allow biofuels firm Sapphire Energy to construct a facility in New Mexico to produce “green crude” oil from algae which can be refined into transportation fuel.  The project is intended to advance American efforts to provide renewable commercial-scale biofuels, increasing energy security and reducing dependence on foreign oil.  The project is expected to create 60 jobs in the community of Columbus, NM.

“The Obama Administration is committed to providing support for renewable energy production which will safeguard national security and create jobs in rural America,” said Vilsack. “This project represents another step in the effort to assist the nation’s advanced biofuel industry produce energy in commercial quantities from sustainable rural resources.”

La Jolla-based Sapphire Energy intends to design, build and operate a $135 million integrated algal biorefinery (IABR) in Columbus, N.M., for the production of advanced biofuel that is a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum derived diesel and jet fuel.  The IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least one million gallons per year.  The oil will be shipped to the United States Gulf Coast to be refined by Sapphire’s refinery partner, Dynamic Fuels, located in Geismar, LA.

The funding is provided through USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program. On December 3, 2009, USDA issued a conditional commitment for an 80 percent guarantee on a $54.5 million loan.  The loan closing and issuance of the Loan Note Guarantee for this project took place on October 21, 2011.

Today’s announcement is in concert with the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard, known as RFS2, which reaffirmed the goal of producing, by 2022, 36 billion gallons of biofuels to include 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels.

Producing fuel from algae is seen as one way to provide for domestically produced fuel for commercial and military use.  USDA is partnering with the Department of the Navy as it embraces a biofuel future.  USDA has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help the commercial airline utilize biofuels as jet fuel.  Under the MOU, the USDA and FAA are working together with the airline industry to develop appropriate feed stocks that can be most efficiently processed into jet fuel.  Doing so will decrease the industry’s current dependence on foreign oil and help stabilize fuel costs in the long run.

Sapphire Energy Video

Carl Nettleton, Lee Stein, Elizabeth Dreicer McPhail, Bryce Rhodes

The E2 San Diego Chapter held an EcoSalon on Thursday, October 20, titled, “Energy Security and the Impact on the Economy.”  The event was held at Chapter Co-Director Lee Stein’s home and featured three panelists: Leendert “Len” Hering Sr. RADM, USN (ret.); Stephen Mayfield, UC San Diego Professor of Biology and Director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology; and Marney Cox, Chief Economist for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). E2 San Diego Chapter Co-Director Carl Nettleton moderated the session. 

San Diego is a hub for both the military and alternative fuels development and the panelists discussed the national and local imperatives driving the military’s emphasis on reducing or eliminating fossil fuel use.  According to Chapter Co-Director Elizabeth Dreicer McPhail, the event met the goal of bringing together a small but quality group of business and community leaders to provide visibility for E2 while researching locally important issues and appealing to potential new members.

In August E2 published a 23 page report, Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2011.  Click here for your copy.

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national community of business leaders who promote sound environmental policy that builds economic prosperity.  E2 has seven chapters: Northern California, New England, New York, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

(Updated 11/5/11 with ChloroFill video interview at end of post.)

Yesterday Synthetic Genomics announced the spin-off of Agradis, an agricultural biotech charged with commercializing its advances in plant breeding and genomics.  (See Bruce Bigelow’s Xconomy Coverage) With Series A funding of $20 million, Agradis’ initial focus will be castor, sorghum and other cash crops. 

Sorghum presents Agradis opportunities to build upon a compelling set of plant attributes to create more advanced varieties for an expanded menu of uses including biofuels.  The emphasis is on solutions which can be grown on land unsuitable for food crops. 

San Diego-based ChloroFill is also on the sorghum band-wagon.  Last week they announced two new sorghum-based renewable building material products.

ChlorOSB and ChlorOSB(p) are fiberboards made with sorghum stalks- an agricultural waste product- and a formaldehyde-free binder.  Sorghum stalks have long been used for building materials. Their high cellulose content makes stalks light while remaining pliable and strong.  Sorghum grows in warmer climate and tropical regions of the world. It is a hyper-renewable resource that grows over six-feet high in as little as 110 days. Sorghum is used for food, fodder, alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Stalks have been used throughout the ages for thatch, fences, baskets, brushes, paper and brooms. The supply, however, exceeds demand and the remaining stalks are often considered agricultural waste and disposed of by burning in fields. The environmental impact results in tons of carbon dioxide and nitrogen into the atmosphere every year.

ChloroFill boards can be used in many of the same nonstructural applications as bamboo, fiberboards, particle boards, plywood and oriented strand boards (OSB). Designer applications include:

Counter tops
Architectural Elements
Wall and Ceiling Coverings
Furniture
Cabinetry
Wainscoting
Doors
Flooring

“We are excited to launch our new superior treeless wood products, and we hope that our products become the carcinogen-free choice in green building materials for the interior design, building and furniture industries,” stated Michael Hurst, CEO of ChloroFill.

Click for video interview of Michael Hurst, ChloroFill CEO at Clean Tech Expo

Cleantech companies in San Diego continue to receive global recognition as innovators.  On Wednesday Cleantech Group LLC (not to be confused with CleanTECH San Diego) announced their 2011 Global Cleantech 100.  From our region the honorees were Genomatica, On-Ramp Wireless and Synthetic Genomics.  There are 58 U.S. companies on the list with California way in front with an impressive 36.  In all, 16 countries were represented.

The rigorous selection process began with a long list of 4,274 nominated companies.  The expert panel was made up of 70 individuals drawn principally from leading cleantech investors from around the world. 

The leading cleantech sub-sector was Energy Efficiency with 19 companies.  This was followed by Solar (14), Water & Wastewater (12), Energy Storage (10) and Biofuels & Biomaterials (9). 

Click here to read the 32 page report. 

Last week I attended Procopio’s Environmental Breakfast Club held on the UC San Diego campus.  Under John Lormon’s direction the speakers began with some comments about the differences between smartgrid and microgrid.  Byron Washom, Director of Strategic Energy Initiatives, UC San Diego gave an update on the status of the sophisticated microgrid being built on the ever-expanding seaside campus.  Much has been accomplished with more to come.  The UC San Diego system demonstrates the advantages of an intelligent energy system designed for increased efficiency, security and sustainability.  Environmental sustainability at UC San Diego is a real-world learning experience serving the dual purposes of advancing the base of knowledge and saving the university millions of dollars in operating expenses. 

About the UCSD microgrid Forbes magazine said, “First light for what the new smart grid architecture will look like is already visible”.  It is an integral part of a much larger campus community effort.  Click to learn about Sustainability 2.0, A Living Laboratory.  Click here for Byron Washom’s presentation, Local Impact, National Influence, Global Reach. 

My favorite educational experience has always been show and tell.  We were treated to a tour of the campus for a first-hand look at the key components of the evolving energy system.  On the very day we were there the largest full cell on any college campus was being activated for the first time.  Manufactured by FuelCell Energy, Inc., the 2.8-megawatt fuel cell will provide about 8% of UC San Diego’s total energy needs.  In conjunction with the City of San Diego and Encinitas-based BioFuels Energy, the renewable-energy project will turn waste methane gas from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant directly into electricity without combustion.

Directly opposite the site of the huge fuel cell are two impressively large solar arrays designed and fabricated by Soitec and installed on the campus for evaluation.  The first solar installation was a progressive step which led to San Diego Gas & Electric signing contracts with Soitec for 125 megawatts of solar power.  The second is the fifth generation of Soitec’s concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system which will generate about five times more electricity with a fractionally larger footprint. 

The new system consists of 12 CPV modules, each generating more than 2 kW of peak power.  For this new product, Soitec has reconfigured its Concentrix modules to reduce the number of parts per CPV system, making installation in the field simpler and faster.  By leveraging the field-proven CPV cells, high concentration ratio and silicone-on-glass Fresnel lens construction used in previous generations of Concentrix products, the new system delivers the same high reliability and life expectancy.

Soitec’s two-axis-tracking CPV systems are well suited for installation sites with high direct solar radiation.  The systems produce a high, constant power output curve throughout the day and are able to match peak-load demands.

Soitec has begun shipping demonstration units to project sites.  Plans call for volume production to ramp in the first quarter of 2012 at the company’s manufacturing facility in Freiburg, Germany, and later at Soitec’s planned new factory in San Diego.

The last photo is of the partially completed, fifth generation Soitec CPV system on the UC San Diego campus as of October 12, 2011.

The road to affordable alternative fuel for your car may be at 36,000 feet.  Aviation fuel from non-petroleum feed-stocks will be the first big win for alternative transportation fuel.  This success will bring a wealth of tech experience, concept proofs and scale which will jump start the introduction of new fuels for ground and water transportation.  Here are the five top reasons why jet fuel will be biofuels’ first big win.

Motivated buyers with concentrated demand

Of the more than ¾ billion vehicles on this planet the vast majority are owned by individuals or small businesses.  Most share my annoyance with the ever elevating price at the pump, but my annual expenditure for fuel is a small portion of my total budget.  In contrast, jet fuel is consumed by a limited number of commercial carriers and militaries.  Their fuel costs are a significant portion of their operating budgets. 

In the last decade over 25 airlines have ceased operation strangled by an ever tightening fuel hose.  For the survivors the risk of fuel price increase is greater than the opportunity to increase revenue.  Passenger-carrying flights with jet biofuel from a variety of non-petroleum feed-stocks have been flown by Continental, Quantas, United, Iberia, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Northwest, KLM, Japan Air Lines and a host of others.  American Airlines signed with 14 other carriers to purchase alternative fuels.  This week Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic announced the development of a world-first low carbon aviation fuel with just half the carbon footprint of the standard fossil fuel alternative.  The technology from New Zealand-based LanzaTech represents a breakthrough in aviation fuel technology that will see waste gases from industrial steel production being captured, fermented and chemically converted using Swedish Biofuels technology for use as a jet fuel. The revolutionary fuel production process recycles waste gases that would otherwise be burnt into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.  Boeing is supporting the effort.  A $3.5 million Series A funding was led by billionaire Vinod Khosla.  In June an award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was made to LanzaTech to perform research focusing on novel, low cost routes for the production of jet fuel (JP-8) from carbon monoxide (CO) rich sources.   Click here for Branson’s video presentation.  And here for the release. 

Concentrated distribution infrastructure 

Ground transportation is characterized by over 300,000 filing stations world-wide.  There are only 1700 airports (excluding military) of which about half are international.  Access to just 500 of the top airports represents a significant portion of jet fuel consumption. 

No competing innovations for foreseeable future

Boeing does not have an electric plane on the drawing board.  There is no Airbus Leaf or Volt.  No CNG, nuclear, solar or long-life batteries.  Biofuels are the drop-in alternatives to the dead dinosaur derivative. 

The scale is doable and significant

Boeing says the world’s airlines burn 60 billion gallons of petroleum based jet fuels each year.  If alternative fuels were to capture 15% or 20% of this market the industry would achieve a scale which would spill over onto other fuel markets. 

An effective military trumps a dysfunctional government

Twenty years ago it would have been difficult to foresee a future in which treehuggers would be obstructionists to alternative energy projects and career militarists would be the driving force for prioritizing our society’s clean energy goals.  A Congress which cannot pass a budget and an administration which cannot articulate a national energy policy are impotent to nurture innovation.  Fortunately the military is responsive and undeterred by the dearth of leadership from our elected officials.

The U.S. military consumes more energy than any other consumer in our country.  About 84% goes for aviation fuel.   Dollars wasted on rising fuel costs are at the expense of other critical needs.  The threat of supply interruptions increases with our growing dependence on oil shipped from half a world away.  The military’s response is clear and unequivocal.  Clean energy is a matter of national security.  All services branches are moving forward on plans with specific goals and time targets.  Click here to read the commitment of four retired top ranking officers to our military’s clean energy objectives. 

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has directed the Navy and Marine Corps to generate half of their energy needs from renewable sources, including biofuels, by 2020.  San Diego’s rapidly growing cluster of biofuel companies and research institutions is an integral part of the response to the opportunity.  General Atomics and SAIC have been awarded contracts by DARPA to develop the technical capability and affordable production of military JP-8 surrogate fuel from algae feed-stocks.  Sapphire Energy, Synthetic Genomics, S.G. Biofuels and other San Diego-based biofuels companies are all a part of this important transformation of our energy driven economy. 

Biofuels Digest provides additional insight on the role of aviation biofuels, Quick Win: aviation biofuels offers breakout for clean energy.

To learn more about the local burgeoning biofuels cluster go to the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB).  SD-CAB along with UCSD, SDSU, CleanTECH San Diego, and BioCOM collaborated to launch Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy (EDGE) focused on educating a next-generation workforce in green technology.

Since 1987, the CONNECT Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards have been San Diego’s “Oscars” for local technology innovation.  The 2011 finalists in the Clean Technology category include Genomatica for Process for High-Volume Chemicals from Renewable Feedstocks, Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation for ECOR and Wildcat Discovery Technologies for 5V Cathode (CM1) and Electrolyte (EM1).  Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9th before an audience of more than 800 of San Diego’s top executives, entrepreneurs, VCs and academics.  Click here to register for the MIP exhibition and awards luncheon. 

San Diego’s 18th Annual TechAmerica High Tech Awards finalists in the Clean Technology category include EcoATM, Hadronex, Juice Technologies and Sapphire Energy.  Click here to register for the October 28th event. 

The regional cleantech cluster in San Diego continues to receive national recognition.  On Wednesday the Global Cleantech Cluster Association announced the semifinalists for the 2011 Later Stage Award competition.  This best-of-the-best recognition includes four San Diego cleantech companies, Genomatica, PowerGenix, Achates Power and EcoATM.  In another forum Sapphire Energy was honored as a “Game Changer of the Year 2011” in Clean Technology by Grow-California for their impact on California’s green industry.

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Bharat Renewable Energy Ltd (BREL), a joint-venture of Bharat Petroleum, India’s second largest petroleum company, has initiated a program with SG Biofuels (SGB) to develop and deploy elite hybrids of Jatropha for the production of biodiesel in India.

The program’s first phase includes a crop development effort to produce high performing hybrid varieties of Jatropha adapted to unique growing conditions across the country.  Additional phases include the deployment of more than 86,000 acres of Jatropha using SGB’s JMax™ hybrid seeds.

“With the genetic diversity of their Jatropha hybrid material combined with ability to produce large volumes of hybrid seed, SG Biofuels is an ideal partner to work with to successfully develop, validate and scale Jatropha as the primary source for biodiesel in India,” said Mr. M.V. Radhakrishnan, chief executive officer of Bharat Renewable Energy Ltd.

SGB will draw from the advancements of its global JMax™ crop development centers where the company is optimizing elite hybrid varieties of Jatropha through a combination of molecular breeding and biotechnology.  The centers feature (more…)

I am reading Mark Stevenson’s book, An Optimist’s Tour of the Future.  He quotes Ray Kurzweil, “Our intuition is linear and I believe it’s hardwired into our brains.”  This linear bias bangs hard against the “Law of Accelerating Returns”.  Technological innovation feeds upon itself.  Innovative growth is not 1+1+1+1, but rather 1+2+4+8.  Although the ubiquitous iPhone is a reminder of the how explosive innovation can be, we look to the future dreading that positive change will be too little, too late.  Our linear bias leads to judgments influenced by static inputs rather than future values which will be determined by innovation replicating exponentially.  The commercialization of algae biofuels is an important example.

The algae business is basically farming.  The output of the algae agricultural system will be used to produce “drop-in” biofuels as well as animal feed and a myriad of other products.  If all technological innovation were frozen at this moment, the algae biofuel business would most likely not be commercially viable.  However, just like corn and pigs, improvements are being made over time. 

In my lifetime the yield per acre of corn has tripled due to improved genetics and production technology.  What took years and decades to happen with grains and livestock is happening over weeks and months with algae.  The algae industry is not only benefiting from the explosive technological innovation of the past decade, but also from the huge universe of algae being screened to identify commercially viable strains.

There are over 800 breeds of cattle.  The gestation period for cattle is about the same as humans.  Heifers can be bred at about 12 to 14 months.  Now imagine a breeding program with cattle drawn from over 5,000,000 different species which can produce a new generation every 30 days.  With existing technology, genome engineering and capital, the accelerating refinement of super strains is rapidly advancing the algae industry.  The algae of the very near future will be as dramatically improved as the pig of 2011 compared to his scrawny ancestor of the 1950s. 

La Jolla is at the center of the global algae Petri dish.  Greg Mitchell, director of the Photobiology Group at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has a global reputation as an algae pioneer.  The San Diego Union Tribune wrote about his exciting life, “Algae visionary imagines a future that’s green — literally”.   Click here to read.

The two largest equity fundings for algae biofuel development were done in the La Jolla zip code (Synthetic Genomics and Sapphire Energy).  On Wednesday I attended a press conference for California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher who was named chair of a new committee that will focus on creating a climate for jobs.  Sapphire Energy was selected as the site for the event to showcase the importance of innovation for job creation.  After the remarks we toured Sapphire’s labs.  Their time line is clearly stated.  “We expect to be at demonstration scale in three years and at commercial scale by 2018.”  Sapphire Energy has received $54.5 million in loan guarantees from the USDA Biorefinery Assistance Program to build a plant to turn algal oil into jet fuel.

The challenge for most disruptive technologies is finding a deep-pockets customer that is sufficiently convinced to make a meaningful buying commitment.  The algae biofuels business has that in the U.S. military.  The military’s motivation is both financial and strategic.  They know that their greatest vulnerability is dependence on imported oil.  Their bill for fuel and electricity last year was $20 billion. The prospect of growing fuel in Hawaii and Southern California versus shipping oil half way around the world has a strong appeal.  Of greatest importance to the algae biofuel industry is a military making their decisions based on future economic and strategic plans unimpeded by the wrong-headed influence of politicians. 

The military’s impact on accelerating the growth of the algae biofuels industry will be enhanced if legislation is passed allowing the Pentagon to sign long-term contracts for up to fifteen years as opposed to the current five-year limit.  A long-term commitment from a highly-rated buyer makes deal financing substantially more doable.  Members of the aviation industry testified at a Senate Aviation operations, safety and security subcommittee hearing requesting legislation enabling the Defense Department to enter into long-term contracts for fuels.

To learn more about the local burgeoning biofuels cluster go to the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB).  Greg Mitchell was one of the founders.  SD-CAB along with UCSD, SDSU, CleanTECH San Diego, and BioCOM collaborated to launch Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy (EDGE) focused on educating a next-generation workforce in green technology.

On Thursday, August 11th, award-winning author and filmmaker Josh Tickell will join leading biofuels producers and retailers at “Biodiesel and Flex Fuel for Fleets – Just the Facts” – an interactive workshop for regional businesses to address common misconceptions about domestic biofuels.  During the workshop, hosted by Propel Fuels, New Leaf Biodiesel, CleanTECH San Diego, the San Diego Regional Clean Fuel Coalition, the California Center for Sustainable Energy, and Pearson Fuels, Tickell and other speakers will discuss the performance benefits, cost advantages, incentives and availability of renewable fuels in Southern California with fleet managers, fuel distributors and other decision makers.   

WHO:            

Josh Tickell, Award-Winning Filmmaker of FUEL and FREEDOM
Jake Millan, Fleet Sales Manager, Propel Fuels
Brendan Reed, Environmental Resource Manager, City of Chula Vista
Lisa McGhee, San Diego Airport Parking

WHAT:          

A free, interactive workshop for fleet managers, fuel distributors and other decision makers interested in learning about the performance benefits, cost advantages, incentives and availability of renewable fuels in Southern California.

WHEN:               

Thursday, August 11th, 2011,
Media Availability: 3:00 p.m.
Workshop: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Pearson Fuels
4067 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92105

TO REGISTER:     www.energycenter.org/flexfuel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to cut foreign oil imports, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced up to $36 million to fund six small-scale projects in California, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, that will advance the technology improvements and process integration needed to produce drop-in advanced biofuels and other valuable bio-based chemicals. The projects aim to improve the economics and efficiency of biological and chemical processes that convert non-food biomass feedstocks into replacements for petroleum-based feedstocks, products, and fuels. These selections further the Obama Administration’s strategy for accelerating research and development that will lead the way toward affordable, clean alternatives to fossil fuels and diversify our nation’s energy portfolio.

“Projects such as these are helping us to diversify our energy portfolio and decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” said Secretary Chu.  “Together with our partners, the Department is working hard to expand the clean energy economy, creating jobs in America and providing sustainable replacements for the fuels and products now provided primarily by petroleum.”  

The funding announced today will help diversify DOE’s Biomass Program portfolio to include a breadth of fuels and chemicals beyond cellulosic ethanol and ensure that the Department’s research and development on biofuels remains integrated and strategic.

The following projects were selected:

General Atomics (up to $2.0 million, San Diego, California): The proposed project aims to reduce energy, capital, and operational cost for algal fermentation processes. This will increase production of algal oils, which can be further refined into advanced biofuels.

Genomatica, Inc. (up to $5.0 million, San Diego, California): This project will deliver an engineered organism and optimized fermentation process to enable the conversion of cellulosic sugars to the valuable industrial chemical, 1,4-butanediol (BDO). Such technology will enhance the commercial profitability of integrated biorefineries by enabling co-production of high-volume fuels and the higher-margin commodity chemical, BDO.  (more…)

The SG Biofuels’ announcement on Tuesday of their completion of a $9.4 Million Series A financing was even more impressive than what the headline revealed.  It is always a plus when an offering is oversubscribed.  A bigger plus is what comes with the money which was invested by Flint Hill Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc. and by Carlsbad-based Life Technologies.

Starting this year, SG Biofuels and Life Technologies have worked together to accelerate the development of jatropha through use of Life Technologies’ biotechnology and synthetic biology tools.  Native to Central America, jatropha is (more…)

There is no place in the world where more people are working to advance the science and commercialization of algae biofuel than in San Diego.  Three announcements this week underscore the region’s standing in the quest to develop practical alternatives to fossil fuels. 

On Tuesday the California Department of Labor awarded the San Diego region a $4 million grant to implement new workforce training programs for jobs in the emerging biofuels industry.  The San Diego Biofuels Initiative, a collaborative effort including CleanTECH San Diego, BIOCOM, San Diego Regional EDC, San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB) and the (more…)

WEB 2.0 Summit, the by-invitation-only conclave of the internet intelligentsia was expanded this year to focus on “demonstrating proofs: showing how the founding principles of Web 2.0 have been put into practice to address the world’s most pressing problems”.  Cynthia Warner, president of Sapphire Energy, presented “High Order Bit: Burning Algae: The Green Crude Revolution”.  Her four bullet points for algae are: scalable, drop in fuel, low carbon and sustainable.  Click here for the 13 minute video of her presentation.

On the opening night of the 3rd Annual Algae Biomass Summit, I attended a roof-top soiree hosted by the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology.  In addition to hob-knobbing with the Shaquille O’Neal’s of algae, I also had the opportunity to compliment the founders of SD-CAB on the high quality of their website.  Getting up to speed in clean tech is like learning a new language.  Lesson one for algae begins at SD-CAB’s website.   This frequently-updated website serves a broad audience from the lay person who seeks introductory information to the industry insider who seeks direction.  I found the Q&A to be particularly useful.  You will want to become a SD-CAB Associate Member.  Click here to join for $100.

Now that you have committed yourself to becoming proficient in algae-speak, you will want to tap into other resources.  This month, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) published The Promise of Algae Biofuels.  It is everything you need to know in 72 pages. 

Another timely resource is provided by Stoel Rives LLP Attorneys at Law.  In nine chapters, the Law of Algae covers IP, licensing, financing, the specifics of Renewable Fuel Standard and much more.  It’s the green pathway to gold. 

To prepare for the vocabulary section of your algae SATs you can refer to the following glossaries:  U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and BiobasedNews.com.  

Please chime in with your comments about any useful sources of algae wisdom.

In my post of September 1^st, Car dealer runs moonshine?, I noted that locally owned Pearson Fuels was teamed with AE Biofuels of Cupertino to build and supply 55 public E85 ethanol-fueling stations across California over the next 42 months backed by a $6.9 million Federal grant.  The State of California has upped the ante with an additional award of $4.0 million. 

The Pearson Fuels’ business model can be explained in a dozen words.  A massive government mandate flows through the pipes.  Spigot owners win.  The Renewable Fuel Standard mandates a blending of transportation fuels from renewable sources increasing annually to a target of 36 billion gallons in 2022.  California could account for 20% of the mandated amount.  Obviously, renewable fuels represent a longer list (more…)

This morning I participated in the latest CleanTECH San Diego SCRUB session.  SCRUB is an opportunity for early stage clean tech companies to present their business story to a group of CleanTECH San Diego members.  Three local emerging clean tech ventures made their case this morning to a panel of 28 CleanTECH San Diego members representing a mix of venture capitalists, engineers, marketing specialists, intellectual property attorneys as well as local leaders from industry, research and government.  The objective of SCRUB is to provide immediate feedback and assistance to take each company to the next stage. 

Today’s SCRUB showcased three distinctly different clean tech businesses.  Marine Power Partners has developed a patent pending waterwheel that generates continuous base-load electricity from flowing water at lower capital and operating costs than either solar or wind systems.  A Smart Grid innovator, On-Ramp Wireless, is a systems provider for low-power wide-area scalable sensor networking and location tracking.  New Leaf Biofuel collects waste cooking oil (more…)

Today was huge for the slimy green stuff in San Diego.  The United States’ two largest city newspapers, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, did in-depth reports about the burgeoning algae business in San Diego.  (See “Interest in algae’s oil prospects is growing” and “Algae as Fuel of the Future Faces Great Expectations — and Obstacles”).  Speculations about the commercial viability of algae as fuel, like any other scientific/business development, are purely speculative.  All the expert opinions on ESPN about the next Chargers game have no impact on the outcome of the game.  What we do know for certain about the Chargers and about algae is that the games will be played.  The question is will the championship game be played in San Diego?

Could it be that San Diego is approaching a tipping point (oozing point?) in its quest to become the world’s dominant algae biotechnology center?  At what state of maturation do we say, “now you are a cluster”? 

Minds and money work best when concentrated.  Concentrated brains and bucks are common attributes of all technology clusters.  (more…)

Not really. Pearson Fuels opened in 2003 as the nation’s first Alternative Fuel Station. You know their owners as the folks who operate Pearson Ford on El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego. Their menu offers flavors you don’t usually see at your corner gas station, including ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, propane, ultra low sulphur diesel and even electricity.

The boom and bust that represents the ethanol business in our nation’s corn belt is being challenged by alternatives which are not disruptive to the food chain. Today, AE Biofuels Inc. of Cupertino and Pearson Fuels said they have been awarded a $6.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through its Clean Cities program. The two companies will build and supply 55 public E85 ethanol-fueling stations across California over the next 42 months.

Pearson Fuels will establish the stations. AE Biofuels Inc. will supply the product. The technological focus of the project will be the production of cellulosic ethanol from crop wastes such as corn stover and wheat straw, or energy crops such as switchgrass, sugar cane bagasse and miscanthus. The fuel produced will be identical to the ethanol derived from corn. It’s a win-win. Drivers get their fuel and bourbon distillers get their corn. As near as I can determine, nobody is making whiskey out of switchgrass.

Link to Pearson Fuels

Link to AE Biofuels Inc.

San Diego-based General Atomics is working with the U.S. military to study how battlefield-derived waste plastic dissolved in biodiesel performs in generators for military encampments. “The system includes a grinder that chews up waste plastics and dissolves it in biodiesel, which is kept at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit as the fuel is fed to the genset warm.” The generator system “is similar to those being used in Afghanistan today…”

Link to article on www.biodieselmagazine.com