August 18, 2009

Solix Christens Large-Scale Algal-Oil Plant In Colorado

BY JOHNATHAN RICKMAN

Solix Biofuels Inc., a fledgling Fort Collins, Colo.-based company focused on developing and commercializing microalgae-based “green diesel” and other products, announced last month the completion of its demonstration plant in southwest Colorado, which by the end of 2009 is expected to begin producing annually the equivalent of 3,000 gallons per acre of algal oil.

The announcement follows on the heels of an algal oil foray by ExxonMobil Corp.—at one time adverse to alternative energy—and the release of the Department of Energy’s first tranche of funding—some $85 million—for algae-based and other advanced biofuels.

Three-year-old Solix, which calls itself as an “intellectual descendent” of DOE’s Aquatic Species program, which began exploring ways to produce transportation biofuels from algae as far back as 1978, is a favorite of venture capitalists keen on investing in green technology. Solix expects to begin producing returns by year’s end in the form of thick biofuel feedstocks and new job opportunities for nearby Colorado communities.

Bio-crude production at the company’s Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility on a two-acre tract of land outside of Ignacio, Colo., provided at no charge by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe—Solix’s partner and key investor—began in earnest on July 16 following its inoculation with microalgae, which are composed of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins.

Using the company’s proprietary “closed-growth” photo-bioreactor technology, Solix says it intends to ramp up cultivation and harvesting of algae every five to 10 days with the intention of mass-producing algae-based transportation biofuel, or “green diesel.”

The Solix system at Coyote Gulch, which is fully integrated with an industrial plant potentially capable of producing ethanol as well as methane, hydrogen and other waste products, consists of growth chambers made of material the company says allows for five times the surface level exposure to sunlight compared with open-pond systems.

The company also owns and operates a pilot research and development plant near its Fort Collins headquarters.

Solix, founded in 2006 by Bryan Willson, a professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State University, and Doug Henston, a former renewable energy consultant to Fortune 500 firms with Domani Sustainability Consulting LLC, joins a fast-growing crop of startups working to develop commercial-scale algae-based biofuel production plants.

Algae has shown promise for use in the alternative fuel sector because it can produce far more biofuel per cultivated acre than other feedstocks, such as corn or switchgrass. However, production methods for algal biofuel are not nearly as far advanced as some cellulosic ethanol technologies, which use wood and other non-food biomass feedstocks.

DOE announced last month the availability of $85 million in federal grants and economic stimulus money for algae-based and other advanced biofuels for developers to use for their projects in lieu of federal tax credits previously provided.

The federal funding preceded ExxonMobil Corp.’s July 14 announcement of a much larger $600-million investment in algae-based biofuels through a venture with Synthetic Genomics Inc., the company founded by human genome scientist Craig Venter.

Solix, by contrast, has relied on the goodwill of the Southern Ute native peoples and repeat investments by oil refining giant Valero Energy Corp., Infield Capital, I2BF Venture Capital and Bohemian Investments.

The company’s latest round of funding, completed June 30 and totaling $16.8 million, included its first international investment from China’s Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd.

Flush with fresh funds, Solix announced July 23 the construction of Coyote Gulch and says it plans to produce the equivalent of 3,000 gallons per acre, per year of bio-crude by late 2009 and expand per-acre production at the plant in the near future.

Besides priding itself on using non-food sources for its biofuel production processes, Solix says microalgae’s naturally occurring photosynthesis—as enhanced by its own “AGS” technology—reduces global warming by consuming carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other greenhouse gases.

“Algae is an ideal feedstock to produce biofuel because it can be grown in diverse climates, uses little water and does not compete with food crops for land,” said Henston, Solix’s CEO, in a recent press release.

“These factors combined allow for the global adoption of Solix’s AGS technology.”

The company is currently soliciting qualified customers interested in purchasing the technology to transform coal- and natural gas-fired power plants into production facilities like Coyote Gulch. It says it has identified some 300 such plants in the United States.

Advanced Biofuels : What are the Commerical Possiblities? Why All the Interest In Algae?