Ready to Go Commercial Now, Says Algae Start-Up

While every one in the algae biofuels industry is working on bringing down costs, scaling up production, driving more efficiency, and uniformly expecting algae to be a commercially viable fuel only 6-12 years from now, a Georgetown, South Carolina start-up called Renewed World Energies (RWE) says it has achieved a technology breakthrough which allows it to offer a commercially viable solution now.

During the 3rd annual Algae Biomass Summit held in San Diego recently, RWE showcased its patent-pending photo bioreactor system and its co-founder and president Richard Armstrong held a press conference, stating that it had the world's first large scale, fully automated, closed system microalgae production technology.

RWE made its claims at the same conference where more well-known algae companies such as Solazyme, Sapphire Energy, LiveFuels and Kent Bioenergy also presented, stating that while they had made significant progress, they were at least several years away from reaching commercial scale viability.

EnergyBoom spoke with Rick Armstrong, who has a background in the energy industry and owned a previous company called Purgo-Terra before founding RWE with $2.6 million USD in funding from Blackline Energy. 

RWE views the other algal players not as competitors but as potential customers for its photo bioreactor system. "Our focus is on equipment, not on algal strains.  We are able to better control the environment and temperature while others are not doing so. Control is key - the more variables you can control, the better," Armstrong said.

RWE's bioreactor consists of three primary components: a vertical pond, automated process control equipment, and harvesting equipment. The panels are vertically situated in a “rack” design to facilitate quick installation with uniquely designed piping headers.

When pressed for details about the production costs, he said that RWE's costs were in the range of 85 cents to $1.50 per gallon of algal oil. (Others in the field are working on bringing down costs which at this point, through various pilot plants, have been roughly estimated at $5-$6/gallon.) But as it turns out, RWE's estimate does not take capital costs into account, which would drive up that figure several times.

"What we have is economically feasible. I have absolutely no idea about other's yields so far," Armstrong said. He claimed the response he received at the summit, where RWE had a booth alongside other vendors, has been good.

So why aren't venture capitalists chasing RWE? "We just came out of the closet. We wanted to wait till we filed the patent."

Probing the exact details of RWE's technology left this writer more confused than enlightened, because while the company is making tall claims, the exact technology it has developed and its viability is not clear. Armstrong also spoke about having selected a gasification process for a biomass refinery and the fact that his company had two power companies about to sign up as customers.

Algae researchers present at the summit who observed RWE's bioreactor said the equipment looked expensive, which would make affordability on a large scale questionable at this point. While the principal speakers at the summit were algal research scientists and companies involved in developing the best strains of algae and extracting oil from it, the display halls were filled with plenty of exhibitors, who showcased bioreactor equipment, software system solutions for laboratory information systems management and other sponsors. RWE also had a booth and had set up a display of its bioreactor system.

But what set Renewed World Energies apart from other companies were the claims that it was ready to commercialize algae today, which placed it in the company of those working on developing algal biofuel - well-funded entities who stated repeatedly at the summit that it would take several years to improve and perfect their technology.

To view more video clips and profiles of companies at the 2009 Algae Biofuel Summit, check out:

• Solazyme Lands U.S. Navy Contracts for Algae Jet Fuel
  
• LiveFuels: Using Fish to Harvest Oil From Algae
• Sapphire Energy: Challenges with Algae Are an Agricultural Problem