Sapphire Energy: Challenges with Algae Are an Agricultural Problem

Sapphire Energy views the challenges with mass cultivation and production of algae as an agricultural problem, in terms of yield, water availability and cost, its CEO Jason Pyle said at a recent algae biomass summit.

Backed by ARCH Venture Partners, the Wellcome Trust, Bill Gates' Cascade Investments and Venrock, this San Diego based company is a well-known player in the algae to biofuel field.

Pyle moderated a panel comprising several other algae company executives, including Kent Bioenergy, LiveFuels and Solazyme, who spoke about the challenges relating to commercialization of algae as a biofuel and how collaborations with academic, investor and end user partners have helped them in their progress.

Stakeholders across the industry noted that while converting algae into feed, food or fuel has been demonstrated, the challenge lies in doing so at large scale with economical viability.

Here is Pyle, speaking about how long it took for his company to get to the current stage.

Sapphire collaborated with Continental Airlines in a test flight using a 50-50 ratio of algae biofuel and conventional jet fuel, with the goal of evaluating the impact of biofuels on the plane's mechanical systems and its performance.

It also collaborates with multiple academic and development partners, including Praxair, Dynamic Fuels, Amec, the Harris Group and others. Among its founders are several scientists with the University of California, San Diego, such as Steven Briggs and Steven Mayfield, who have been involved in algal research for many years.

Speaking to an audience of algae researchers, biotech scientists, investors and industry stakeholders, Pyle emphasized that it is essential for companies to focus not just on extracting oil from algae but also on the engineering behind the equipment used.

"Engineering is very important. We spent a lot of time putting together a good engineering team," he said. Equipment plays a big role in the efficiency with which oil is extracted from algae. Sapphire uses the open pond method for algae cultivation, some others pursue the photo bioreactor method.

Maintaining demand is the key critical success factor for Sapphire as well as for the industry, according to Pyle. "If we as a society maintain demand for new energy products, then all other things will happen. As long as there is demand for what we are doing, money will flow to our companies."

His company is building a 300-acre demonstration Integrated Algal Biorefinery, with the aim of evaluating the technical and economical feasibility of the project and its components. The demonstration plant is integrating ideas about production, water management, algal oil and water separation, and the refining of products—some of the major cost barriers to the nascent algal fuels and chemical industry.

"Issues of agricultural production, (such as) yield, crop protection, harvestability, are the same problems that every single agricultural system in the world deals with. What this project does is bring the three ideas together, and demonstrates means of agricultural production and commercialization that is suitable for this kind of very low cost, very high volume production scheme," Pyle said, explaining why Sapphire views the challenges with algae as an agricultural problem, rather than oil production.

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
• Ready to Go Commercial Now Says Algae Start-Up

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