You are at: Oilgae Blog. Air New Zealand has tested a passenger jet powered partially with oil from jatropha, in efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its fuel bill.Along with investing in new technology to replace outdated fleets and new designs that reduce weight and air resistance, the International Air Transport Association says […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. As the co-founder of Kai BioEnergy, Larach has been tracking a nationwide surge of interest in algae-to-biofuel technology as he seeks venture funding for his company. Larach says growing a particular species of algae in open ponds poses other problems. One is the challenge of eliminating “weed algae” that seems […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. In an unassuming converted warehouse in Los Angeles, the 10 employees of OriginOil are working to perfect the way microscopic algae is grown and refined.They hope that within a few years the methods they use to make small batches of greenish-colored algae mixtures in the laboratory will be imitated in […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has signed legislation that will advance the state’s efforts to expand the production and use of renewable fuels in Michigan. The eleven bills were part of a series of recommendations from the state’s Renewable Fuels Commission, established in 2006. The legislation includes five additional renewable energy […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Khosla Ventures and Hawaiian Electric Co. have agreed to collaborate on evaluation and early deployment of green-energy technologies. The companies will work with entrepreneurs and start-up companies developing clean technology with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of promising new products and services. Hawaiian Electric is partnering in an algae […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. PetroAlgae Inc., a leading developer of systems to derive biodiesel fuels from algae, announced on Dec 26 that it has closed on a $10 million capital raise through the sale of approximately 3.2 million of newly-issued shares of common stock to two existing investors. “The proceeds from this offering are […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Indian Institute of Science will soon be 100 and enter its second century. Its founders wanted it to be the John Hopkins of India.There are three commitments of IISc. The first is to carry out research in frontier areas of science (includes technology) in the pursuit of excellence. The second […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Senator-elect Mark Begich’s talked with mayors across the state about how local and state governments might best spend Alaska’s share of a multibillion-dollar economic recovery proposal drawing whispers in Congress. The Fairbanks North Star Borough suggested such help, if it came, could help launch a complex energy project that would […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Metcalfe believes that the set of skills that helped drive the infotech revolution can do the same for renewable energy, energy efficiency and eco-friendly materials. Green Fuel, for example, is a company where Metcalfe worked for a time as CEO and is now board chairman. Its goal is to harvest […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. The San Juan Bioenergy plant — which is grinding sunflower seeds to make food oil instead of automotive fuel as originally planned — could become an international model of entrepreneurial endeavor. “There is a lot of interest in renewable-source energy,” said Nathan Morris, the plant’s chief technology officer. San Juan […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies Nov. 12-13, showed 85 percent of Nevada Republicans, 89 percent of state Democrats and 94 percent of Silver State Independents see renewable energy as an investment that will create good jobs. The survey of 600 state residents, which had a plus-or-minus error range […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. According to Sapphire Energy, Warner will help the company to scale up its green crude technology, which produces a fuel it says is similar to light sweet crude that can be refined into gasoline, jet fuel and diesel replacements. The company is in the midst of a three-year pilot process […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. India’s premier defence research agency, DRDO, will develop a medium-range and long- endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in association with an Indian industry partner. Defence Minister A K Antony said the Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur is working on fresh water algae to use them as source for bio-diesel. […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. The Internal Revenue Service issued in late November Notice 2008-110, providing guidance regarding the income and excise tax credits for biodiesel and cellulosic biofuels under sections 40A, 6426 and 6427(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Regarding biodiesel, the notice details changes made to the biodiesel and biodiesel mixture tax incentives […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Solazyme announced that it has received the Biofuels Digest Award for Achievement in Advanced Biofuels and Feedstocks for pioneering the production of algal-based aviation fuel and motor transport renewable diesel and biodiesel. In addition, Solazyme has been named sixth overall on Biofuels Digest’s “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” list. The […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Gerwick’s team is working on methods to rapidly identify algae species to address situations in which algal biofuel ponds of one species are contaminated with another. They are also using an imaging technique called mass spectrometry to explore the inner workings of organisms at the molecular level. The tool is […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Biofuel Digest, an online news site in Miami, ranked the biofuel companies based on innovations and how far along the companies are in commercializing their technologies.Algal biofuel startup Sapphire Energy in San Diego took the No. 2 spot on the biofuel ranking, followed by Madison, Wis.-based Virent Energy Systems, which […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. A kerosene-based aviation fuel called Jet Propellant 8 made up more than 90 percent of the fuel used by the Department of Defense in 2006, at a cost of $6 billion, according to Cleantech Group.But startups that have launched in the last 10 years, including the five fast-moving ventures below, […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. 5. Biodiesel Of all the alternative fuels, biodiesel is the most susceptible to the cold. In fact, even petroleum diesel is susceptible to the cold — anti-gel additives are common in the winter, as well as blending with kerosene or even gasoline when it gets really cold. 4. Ethanol In […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. PetroAlgae Inc. announced Dec. 22 that it has retained Los Angeles-based Investor Relations International to develop and lead its shareholder communications program. “Our company is at a pivotal point in its history as we move out of the R&D phase, and into the widespread production and marketing of our biodiesel […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. The ‘eco-friendly´ algae cultivation technology pioneered by Bhavnagar based Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) is emerging as a booster dose to enhance sugarcane yield. “Using the thicking agent derived from this unique algae (Kappaphycus alvarezi) cultivation technology, sugarcane yield in a 1000 acre field shot up by […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. ARCH Venture Partners announced the promotion of former Principals Kristina Burow and Paul Thurk to Partners of the firm.Kristina Burow joined ARCH in 2002 and works out of ARCH’s San Francisco, CA office. Burow is a co-founder and director of Sapphire Energy and has participated in the development of several […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil supplier, will today voice its support for the development of alternative energy to complement fossil fuels. Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, is expected to tell a meeting of energy ministers hosted by Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, that an oil price of $75 […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. The company announced today that its wild algae has been successfully refined to produce the world’s first sample of synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) converted from compounds derived from Aquaflow’s wild algae. SPK, when blended with petroleum-based kerosene, can be used to power commercial and military aircraft. Gerritsen says the sample […]

You are at: Oilgae Blog. Irving Backman, a Newton Centre, Mass., resident who graduated from Thornton in 1943, has given a science class financial support to provide him with data on algae as he researches the likelihood of using the plant to make biodiesel. The Thornton Academy Environmental Research Collaborative is a science elective with […]