Algae Oil Biodiesel

Solix Biofuels, Inc. (“Solix”), an alternative energy technology
company for the large-scale commercialization of microalgae-based fuels
and co-products, announced today the completion of construction and
start of algal oil production at its Coyote Gulch Demonstration
Facility. Algal oil production began on July 16, 2009 following the
inoculation of the facility with microalgae. The Coyote Gulch
Demonstration Facility will be in full-scale commercial operation by
late summer 2009.

The Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility is expected to be producing
the equivalent of 3,000 gallons per acre, per year of algal oil by late
2009. During the peak growth season, microalgae can be harvested every
5-7 days. The total facility is located on a two-acre site in
southwestern Colorado, on land provided by Solix’s partner, the
Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and is fully integrated with an industrial
plant producing CO2 and water as waste products. Solix has plans to
expand to more acres of production at the Coyote Gulch location in the
near future. In addition, as the site expands, the Coyote Gulch
Demonstration Facility will provide new jobs to the Durango area in
southwestern Colorado.

Rich Schoonover, Solix’s chief operating officer, oversaw Thursday’s
inoculation: “Today’s inoculation was an exciting moment for Solix, the
state of Colorado and our country. We are ready to prove to the world
the viability of algae as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels.”

“The inoculation of the Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility marks a
major milestone for the algal fuel industry,” said Doug Henston, chief
executive officer of Solix. “We are proud to contribute to this new era
of algal fuel production, making Solix an alternative energy industry
leader,” he continued. Solix’s technology responds to the strategic
imperatives of the new energy economy, namely renewable sources of
energy, diversification from petroleum-based fossil fuels and job
creation. We are excited to be creating a viable alternative energy
source to petroleum-based fuels and new jobs in the process,” said Rich
Schoonover.

Solix Press Release

A company based in Los Angeles, California, claims to have developed a single-step process to transform algae into a true competitor to petroleum.

In addition to integrating this process into its own production system, OriginOil plans to commercialise the patent-pending process for use by others in the algae industry.

Initial testing indicates that the new algae oil extraction process is simpler and more efficient than current systems, without requiring chemicals or significant capital expenditure for heavy machinery.

A time-lapse video posted here on the company’s website begins with a batch of algae that has just gone through OriginOil’s process. In less than an hour, the oil, water and biomass separate by gravity alone.

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Additional Emission Testing Demonstrates Solazyme’s Algal-Biofuels Shown to Significantly Lower Tailpipe Emissions When Compared to Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A study undertaken by Life Cycle Associates, LLC, using the Argonne National Laboratories GREET model, concluded that full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from field-to-wheels for Solazyme’s algal biofuel, SoladieselTM, are 85 to 93 percent lower than standard petroleum based ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The analysis also reveals that Solazyme’s advanced biofuels result in a significantly lower carbon footprint than any currently available first-generation biofuels.

“Solazyme’s advanced biofuels substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions per mile driven over petroleum-based fuels and result in much lower carbon emissions than currently available first generation biofuels. Lower process energy inputs combined with the production of algae derived feed results in much lower GHG emissions than currently available first-generation biofuels,” said Stefan Unnasch, President of Life Cycle Associates, LLC. “With findings like these, we are confident that algal-biofuels have the potential to play a significant role in alternative fuels and are excited that such a promising technology is in commercial development.”

Additionally, testing undertaken by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) ReFUEL laboratory shows that Solazyme, Inc.’s SoladieselBDTM significantly outperforms ULSD in total Hydrocarbons (THC), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter tailpipe emissions. This includes an approximately 30 percent reduction in particulates, an approximately 20 percent reduction in CO and an approximately 10 percent reduction in THC.

“Solazyme is committed to working with the most rigorous and well-respected external experts to independently validate the real-world environmental benefits of our technologies. Part of our mandate is to ensure we are producing products that will meet our growing energy needs in an effective, green and highly-sustainable way,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme. “Solazyme’s SoladieselTM can exploit a wide variety of non-food feedstocks including cellulosics to achieve up to a 93 percent reduction in GHG emissions. We are very pleased with the findings by both NREL and Life Cycle Associates and look forward to playing a significant role in providing the clean, renewable fuels of the future.”

About Solazyme:

Solazyme, Inc. is a renewable oil production company that harnesses the power of microalgae to produce clean and scalable high performance biofuels, “green” chemicals and health products. The company was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.solazyme.com.

Algae come in all sizes and shapes: from single-celled microbes in pond scum to 100-foot-long seaweeds in kelp forests. They can live in salty, fresh and even waste water.

The speed at which algae grow can overwhelm marine habitats and fish tanks, but that same productivity could make these organisms the best choice for supplying biofuels. Attracted by this potential, researchers and entrepreneurs are trying to reduce the costs of current harvesting methods.

The relation between algae and fuel actually goes back millions of years. The remains of ancient algae are generally thought to have mulched into the petroleum we now pump up from underground.

“We’re sort of going ‘back to the future’ in making biofuels with living algae,” said Thomas Byrne, a Minnesota-based renewable energy consultant and secretary of the Algal Biomass Organization.

Despite there being no big algae farms to lobby for it, algae-based biofuels have been getting a fair amount of support. The airline industry, in particular, is considering algae biofuels as a way to reduce its carbon footprint. This past January, Continental Airlines flew the first commercial test flight with algae-derived jet fuel.

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Ever imagine filling up the fuel tanks on a military aircraft with french fry grease? It’s no April Fools’ Day joke — that’s exactly what the Air Force could do someday if a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research program proves successful.

DARPA is the Defense Department’s scientific agency that pushes the envelope toward what Anthony J. Tether, its long-time previous director, described as “the far side” of science and technology development to support military requirements.

So in an effort to reduce the military’s huge reliance on imported oil, DARPA is on the fast track exploring ways to convert so-called “yellow grease oil” or plant-based “cellulosic and algae sources” into JP8 jet fuel.

The goal, explained Barbara McQuiston, director of the Strategic Technology Office and program manager for biofuels, is to come up with nonpetroleum sources to power military aircraft, ground vehicles and non-nuclear ships. Two side benefits, she said, will be lower fuel costs and fewer environmentally unfriendly carbon emissions.

The DARPA-funded biofuels program has the scientific community looking into some seemingly unlikely petroleum alternatives: algae, seeds and corn husks among them. These crops produce a type of oil that can be converted through a complicated process into biofuel, McQuiston said.

Opposing Views

Testifying at a House of Representatives hearing on the potential of biofuels in civil aviation, Boeing Commercial Airplanes MD-Environmental Strategy Billy Glover said the manufacturer has identified four plant-derived oils that “have a very strong potential” to produce sustainable biofuel: Jatropha, camelina and halophytes “in the near term” and algae “in the longer term.” Jatropha and camelina were the primary sources for the biofuel tested on 747s and a 737-800 in December and January (ATWOnline, Feb. 2).

“Biofuels derived from these sustainable energy crop sources show significant improvements in terms of yield and environmental impacts when compared to traditional food crop sources currently being used to make ethanol and biodiesel fuels,” Glover said, adding that studies “show greenhouse gas reductions of 60% or more” using jatropha and camelina-derived fuels to power flights compared to traditional jet fuel.

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