OriginOil Launches First Mobile Extraction Lab to Potential Customers
MAX ONE will visit algae producers to test their strains, demonstrate effectiveness
Los Angeles, CA May 20, 2010 – OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, announced today that it recently launched MAX ONE, its first mobile algae extraction laboratory. A private party of investors and supporters celebrated the unveiling at the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles.
The trailer-based system will visit algae producing companies in the US to demonstrate how OriginOil’s Single Step Extraction™ process can help them harvest their algae efficiently and cost-effectively. The system is capable of extracting oil from algae at a rate of five gallons per minute, enough to demonstrate feasibility to potential customers.
“Algae can’t succeed as a biofuel without an economical and energy-efficient way to harvest it,” said Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of OriginOil. “That’s why algae companies are eager to test our process as soon as possible. Now we can pull up in the trailer, process their algae, and analyze it for them on the spot.”
MAX ONE was launched on May 17th in front of an audience of invited investors and supporters who toured the mobile system and applauded the OriginOil technology team. Photos and video of the unveiling can be found on the MAX ONE event page.
This is more than just a strategy to sell more extraction systems, said Eckelberry. “Every algae strain out there has its own extraction profile, and there are thousands of strains,” he said. “This is a great chance to document all the different strains which will help us roll out through partners worldwide.”
While it is currently working with pioneering producers, OriginOil plans to work in the future through country and regional partners, as well as specialized manufacturers and service organizations worldwide.
On May 18th, Eckelberry participated in an industry panel at the sold-out Algae World Summit, a conference that is focused on the algae value chain and which OriginOil helped to create. He reported on the launch of MAX ONE and on the effort to document algae strains. He called for closer industry collaboration, focusing less on the differences between companies than on their shared need to get algae production scaled up quickly to meet fast-expanding demand.
