Comments - 8

• Veronica wrote:
  Tue October 19 2010 10:36:27 PM

  Algenol Biofuels Inc. celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art biofuels and green chemistry lab and R&D facility today in Fort Myers, Fla.
  
  
  The 40,000 square-foot facility houses an advanced algae biology, engineering, carbon dioxide (CO2) and green chemistry laboratory, as part of the larger Lee Integrated Biorefinery. The facility was made possible with a $10 million incentive grant from the Lee County Board of Commissioners.
  
  Speakers at the ribbon cutting event included U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Lee County Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall, Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah and Algenol Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Woods.
  
  
  "Today is a remarkable milestone in our quest to bring algae-based biofuels and bio-based chemicals to commercialization.
  
  
  With the opening of our new biofuels and green chemistry facility, we aim to make Florida a hub for green, clean technology innovation that will create jobs, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon pollution," said Woods. "Our efforts would not have been possible without our talented and dedicated staff and without our partnership with Lee County.
  
  
  We are thankful for the extraordinary efforts of Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall, Commissioner Ray Judah, and the late Commissioner Bob Janes," said Woods.
  
  
  Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) said: "I'm so pleased to welcome Algenol Biofuels research facility to Southwest Florida. This company is a terrific example of how private enterprise can lead the way in alternative energy development. By working together, we can diversify our nation's energy needs and strengthen our economy. This is a win for Southwest Florida and our state."
  Lee County Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall said: "Algenol will be the catalyst that will jump start Lee County's green economy. With a coordinated effort, we will make Florida the national leader of next-generation biofuels. Our vision is not small R & D facilities, but large commercial-scale clean energy production operations bringing new jobs to Lee County and putting Floridians back to work."
  Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah said: "Lee County and Algenol are exerting bold and visionary leadership in bringing the brightest minds and algae-to-ethanol technology together to ensure long term economic prosperity and a healthy environment."
  The facility will house Algenol's advanced biology and engineering laboratories and operations. An adjoining 4-acre outdoor R&D area and 36-acre outdoor commercialization area will hold the company's proprietary photobioreactors?the containers that generate ethanol from algae, saltwater and CO2 using Algenol's patented Direct to Ethanol? technology. In addition to producing low-cost ethanol, Algenol is beginning to work on related projects, such as using its ethanol and other green chemicals as a replacement for petroleum in plastic and chemical building blocks. Furthermore, Algenol has formed a partnership with a local university, Florida Gulf Coast University, to assist in establishing programs for students interested in pursuing careers in the green chemistry and biofuels industries.
  Algenol Biofuels, Inc. is a privately owned company founded in 2006. It recently made a series of announcements including the award of a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in concert with its partner on the Integrated Biorefinery project, The Dow Chemical Company. Algenol also announced a partnership with The Linde Group to develop CO2 capture and management technologies to increase biofuel production from algae, and a joint development agreement with Valero Services, Inc.
  Algenol today possesses the most advanced third generation biofuel technology in the United States. Algenol makes low cost ethanol directly from CO2 and seawater using hybrid algae in sealed, clear plastic photobioreactors through its unique, patented Direct to Ethanol? technology?all powered by the sun. For more information about Algenol Biofuels, please visit www.algenolbiofuels.com.
  
  
  
  http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/algenol-biofuels-opens-state-of-the-art-labs-in-lee-county-florida-105267278.html

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• MiaFranceska wrote:
  Wed October 20 2010 02:33:22 AM

  The company has collected more than 100,000 species of algae. The goal is to identify and produce the strongest and the most adaptable algae.
  
  In growing rooms, the lighting can be simulated for any region on earth, and there?s the ability to adjust the temperature, starting at 45 degrees and going up to 115 degrees.
  
  Enzymes are added to the algae to make them grow faster, turning each cell into an "ethanol production machine," Woods said.
  
  In the new building, there are six highly specialized, brightly lit growing rooms. They are packed with test tubes that contain a bubbling green liquid. The darker the liquid, the more algae there is inside the tube.
  
  "The whole process is driven by light," said Craig Smith, the company?s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
  
  Once the hybrid algae is produced in the test tubes it can be put into the company's proprietary photobioreactor, which spurs photosynthesis and creates ethanol.
  
  more http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/oct/19/green-bio-fuel-company-unveils-south-lee-county-la/

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• MiaFranceska wrote:
  Wed October 20 2010 02:38:07 AM

  The facility will house Algenol's advanced biology and engineering laboratories and operations.
  
  
  An adjoining 4-acre outdoor R&D area and 36-acre outdoor commercialization area will hold the company's proprietary photobioreactors?the containers that generate ethanol from algae, saltwater and CO2 using Algenol's patented Direct to Ethanol? technology.
  
  
  In addition to producing low-cost ethanol, Algenol is beginning to work on related projects, such as using its ethanol and other green chemicals as a replacement for petroleum in plastic and chemical building blocks.
  
  Furthermore, Algenol has formed a partnership with a local university, Florida Gulf Coast University, to assist in establishing programs for students interested in pursuing careers in the green chemistry and biofuels industries.
  
  http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/19/3115604/algenol-biofuels-opens-state-of.html

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• Manohar wrote:
  Wed October 20 2010 04:03:25 PM

  4 acre R & D !!

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• Veronica wrote:
  Thu October 21 2010 07:26:57 AM

  'We can grow our own energy and we can consume greenhouse gases,' Woods said. 'We can change the course of the world.' said Paul Woods says this article.
  
  http://www.news-press.com/article/20101020/BUSINESS/10200379/Algenol-to-change-SW-Fla-the-world

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• Natalia wrote:
  Fri October 22 2010 12:36:37 AM

  http://www.brighterenergy.org/18020/news/bioenergy/algae-biofuels-research-center-opens-in-florida/

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• Natalia wrote:
  Fri October 22 2010 12:42:56 AM

  An article re Algenols R & D centre from Domesticfuel.
  
  http://domesticfuel.com/2010/10/20/algenol-opens-new-rd-algae-lab/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: DomesticFuel (Domestic Fuel)

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• Natalia wrote:
  Fri October 22 2010 07:52:55 AM
  Wearing a green tie, Paul Woods cut a green ribbon on a state-of-the-art green laboratory in south Lee County.
  
  
  On Tuesday, he showed off biofuels and green chemistry labs that he?s dreamed about for more than 25 years, made possible by a $10 million grant from Lee County.
  
  
  The research and development labs ? stretching about 40,000 square feet ? were unveiled to dozens of business, government, community and academic leaders during a grand opening ceremony at his company?s headquarters off Lee Road, just north of Alico Road.
  
  
  ?We have a real opportunity here ? a very important opportunity here,? said Woods, CEO of Algenol Biofuels Inc. ?We can grow our own energy here.?
  
  
  What the company is growing is algae that can make ethanol to power cars and produce other green chemicals, such as polyethylene, which can be used to make hundreds of products, from plastic wrap to shoes.
  
  
  In January, Lee County commissioners narrowly voted 3-2 in favor of giving Algenol a multimillion-dollar grant from a $25 million economic development fund designed to create jobs and diversify the local economy. It sparked controversy because the grant request was so large, and it was being used to help pay for construction.
  
  
  ?Algenol is doing everything it can to expand its presence here in Lee County,? Woods said.
  
  
  
  
  Woods called the opening of the laboratory a ?significant milestone.? There are plans to build a biorefinery at the headquarters too, so that everything can be done at the one location in south Lee County, from the research to making the final product.
  
  
  ?We are going to try to make history on this site,? Woods said.
  
  
  The company now has more than 100 employees. About 65 of them are in south Lee County. More are coming from West Palm Beach, where there?s a research operation that will be consolidated into the new laboratory.
  
  
  By 2025, Algenol plans to produce more than 20 billion gallons of ethanol a year for the U.S. market at multiple locations, including south Lee County.
  
  
  Last year, the company received a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a pilot biorefinery in Texas.
  
  
  Woods first came up with the idea of using algae directly to produce ethanol in 1984, while he was studying genetics at the University of Western Ontario. During a tour of the new laboratory in south Lee County, he described himself as the slowest overnight success ever.
  
  
  ?It?s been a long time in the making,? he said.
  
  
  The new research and development labs in south Lee County took more than 50,000 man hours to build, generating many local jobs.
  
  
  The labs are the most advanced and unique of their kind, using the company?s patented technology, which forces algae to undergo photosynthesis, to absorb carbon dioxide and ultimately to produce ethanol.
  
  
  The algae comes from seawater that has been collected from around the world.
  
  
  At the lab, hybrid algae is grown in seawater with the help of sunlight and added nutrients. No fresh water is required in the process of making the ethanol or any of the green chemicals.
  
  
  The company has collected more than 100,000 species of algae. The goal is to identify and produce the strongest and the most adaptable algae.
  
  
  In growing rooms, the lighting can be simulated for any region on earth, and there?s the ability to adjust the temperature, starting at 45 degrees and going up to 115 degrees.
  
  
  Enzymes are added to the algae to make them grow faster, turning each cell into an ?ethanol production machine,? Woods said.
  
  
  In the new building, there are six highly specialized, brightly lit growing rooms. They are packed with test tubes that contain a bubbling green liquid. The darker the liquid, the more algae there is inside the tube.
  
  
  ?The whole process is driven by light,? said Craig Smith, the company?s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
  
  
  Once the hybrid algae is produced in the test tubes it can be put into the company?s proprietary photobioreactor, which spurs photosynthesis and creates ethanol.
  
  
  The grand opening ceremony was attended by Lee County Commissioners Tammy Hall and Ray Judah, who voted in favor of the $10 million grant for Algenol. Former commissioner Bob Janes, who died earlier this year, cast the other yes vote.
  
  
  Hall said Algenol is the type of company that?s needed to help turn things around, to help diversify the local economy.
  
  
  Judah agreed.
  
  
  ?They are going to be the catalyst. They are going to bring in like-minded businesses,? he said.
  
  
  He called the opening of the laboratory a defining moment, not just for Lee County, but for the world.
  
  
  He said if Algenol does what it plans to do, Woods will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. The ethanol produced from algae, he said, could help stabilize oil prices and the global financial markets.
  
  
  U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, applauded county commissioners for taking charge and putting money behind such a project, rather than looking to the federal government for help. ?Your leadership is outstanding,? he said.
  
  
  Algenol is working closely with Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero and has hired some of its graduates already to work in the labs.
  
  
  Tara Caruso, 22, who lives in Bonita Springs and graduated from FGCU with a degree in environmental studies in May, attended the grand opening and passed out her resume. She was impressed with the company after learning how the algae is grown during a tour.
  
  
  ?I would love the opportunity to work there, if they give it to me,? she said.
  
  
  Video
   http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/oct/19/green-bio-fuel-company-unveils-south-lee-county-la/?comments_id=861082

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