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.

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.

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.

In our country’s spirited debate over energy, innovation and the economy, perhaps no phrase has been uttered more often than “green jobs.” While the precise meaning of “green job” continues to be a topic of debate, I would submit that jobs in the algae industry are indeed at least a little shade of green. Or maybe blue-green.

In today’s biofuels industry, most of the growth has centered on jobs for those workers who have already been trained in the fields of construction; engineering; chemistry and biology; sales and marketing; legal and administrative, and others. The industry now supports tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the country and up and down the value chain – from Ph.D-level microbiologists to plant personnel to legal counsel to metal fabricators and truckers; from the labs of San Diego to the ethanol plants of Iowa to the offices of Silicon Valley.

That is something we rightly celebrate as an industry. It also something policymakers in Washington D.C. would be wise to recognize as they continue to seek ways to create jobs and spur economic growth.

The next generation of green jobs

Much less has been said, however, about the tremendous need to develop the next generation of biofuels innovators. Regardless of technology, feedstock or business plan, this is something that is a concern of the industry as a whole. Because a new generation of experts will be required to help today’s companies continue to prosper and innovate; it will also be necessary to ensuring that tomorrow’s advanced biofuels companies have access to a highly-trained workforce. As an industry, we have the responsibility to help foster the creation of that new generation of biofuels innovators.

It’s no secret that the United States has lagged behind other countries in recent years in the field of science, engineering and math. Both the public and the private sector have gone to great lengths to try to encourage and inspire today’s youth to choose careers in these fields. I believe that the biofuels industry has the unique ability to drive today’s youth into careers into these disciplines. Why?

The sex appeal of sustainability

Today’s youth are more concerned about global sustainability than any other generation before it. Recent studies of the so-called millennials – those born from 1981 to 2000 – point to a generation that is more open to changing habits and behaviors to reduce environmental impact. They are more interested in authenticity than spin. And they are more interested in making a positive impact in the world than material gain. As The New York Times reported in a recent story on this generation’s interest in sustainability and clean technology, “Suddenly, ‘sustainability’ seems to resonate with the sex appeal of ‘dot com’ or ‘start-up,’ appealing to droves of ambitious young innovators.”

But in order for our industry to continue to attract these ambitious young innovators, we need two things. First, we must have continued federal investments in research at all levels.  Second, we need public-private partnerships between leading biofuels companies and research institutions to provide internships, bench experience and other opportunities for students at every level.  Such practical experience often converts interns to employees. Employees become advocates, experts and innovators, creating further demand for these skill sets. And when that happens, we can energize existing and next generation scientists and researchers to devote their careers to our industry.

How partnerships for education work

What might such a partnership look like? Fortunately for us, there are already some exciting examples of collaborations happening today that are creating a biofuels workforce for the future.

In San Diego, one of the country’s centers for the development of algae-to-biofuels technologies , a program called the Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy (EDGE) Initiative is helping to ensure that the region’s burgeoning biofuels industry has access to a highly trained, world-class workforce. Funded through the state of California and the Federal Workforce Investment Act, the training program is being developed by the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, with CleanTECH San Diego helping to integrate the program with the region’s commercial biofuels sector.  The program is training the next generation of advanced biofuels leaders, including technicians, Ph.D.-level researchers and scientists, and engineers.

I look at this opportunity through a few lenses. As the executive director of the trade association for the US algae industry, I know we must find ways to populate today’s and tomorrow’s algae companies with the best and the brightest minds our country can offer.

As a concerned citizen, I know we must find ways to develop new domestic sources of energy while preserving our existing transportation infrastructure. And last, as a parent, my hope is that my own children will not only be inspired to pursue opportunities in clean energy, but will also find plentiful options awaiting them in the future.

Mary Rosenthal is the Executive Director of the Algal Biomass Organization.

Q&A

Algae lesson number two is the Algal Biofuels Symposium 2010 “The Science to Support Algal Biofuel Commercialization” to be held this Friday April 23rd at the Salk Institute in La Jolla.  This all day event features a dozen of the top experts in the field of what many believe will be the leading alternative fuel for transportation, algae biofuel.  Just $25 covers the event including lunch and a hosted reception.  Click here for details. 

You will want to become a SD-CAB Associate Member.  Click here to join for $100.

For five more useful algae resources see Algae spoken here which was posted below on October 21, 2009

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.

CleanTECH San Diego will hold a VIP Algae Reception on the USS Midway starting at 6:30 PM on October 6^th.  This is your chance to get face to face with the leaders in the fastest emerging clean tech sector.  Click here to make your reservation.

I had to break out the dictionary to find out the difference between “algae” and “algal”.  Algae is the plural of alga.  Algal is an adjective.  If you come to the VIP Reception on the 6^th you can probably find someone who can tell you why it is the Algae Biomass Summit by the Algal Biomass Organization.

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. 

San Diego’s algae-intellect is big, broad and been around for decades.  There is no place in the world where more people are working to advance the commercialization of algae than in San Diego.  The substantial tech community of universities and research institutions provides a local pool of minds to grow the industry.  These San Diego brains have more algae companies to work for than any other city in the world.  Our local algae companies, research institutes and scientists are number one in patents relating to the development of algae as a source of fuel.  San Diego’s rich history of success in biotechnology provides lessons-learned for the emerging industrial biotechnologies.  For 25 years, San Diego’s business accelerator, CONNECT, has nurtured a collaborative spirit in the tech community so successfully that they have been the model for a score of CONNECT-like organizations around the world.  This spirit of working together is a founding tenet of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, a consortium of about 20 research institutes, universities and private companies focused on algae solutions.

The two biggest financial deals in algae have been with San Diego based companies.  In July, Exxon Mobil ear-marked $600 million for Synthetic Genomic’s algae work.  Last year, Sapphire Energy was bankrolled for $100 million by VC’s.  Because algae is much later to the alternative-energy game than solar or wind, it has yet to receive fair fiscal recognition from the feds.  This will come in time.  In the meantime, local companies SAIC and General Atomics have garnered over $31 million of military research contracts for algae biofuel.

The concentration of minds and money puts San Diego right at the tipping point of claiming the title of the dominant algae biotechnology cluster.  Two things are needed to earn the crown.  The mass of the algae nucleus must pull algae players to our region.  Sapphire energy was a San Francisco brainstorm that came to San Diego.  More such moves are needed.  And lastly, to be headline-worthy, a dynamite name is needed.  If I had something catchy, I’d tell you.  I don’t.  Send me your brilliant idea.  I’ll make sure you get full credit for naming the next great technology cluster in the world.

Innovation Clusters Create Competitive Communities

Read what Jonathan Sallet and Ed Paisley have to say about Federal funding to support the innovative effort of organizations like CONNECT.  (Link to story).