OriginOil Announces Initiative to Make Jet Fuel from Waste Using Algae
Industry working group will focus on meeting aviation industry demand for algae-based fuel
Los Angeles, CA March 24, 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, today announced the formation of an industry working group to develop jet fuel from algae using waste streams. The group will start by developing integrated process models to identify the critical technologies needed.
The working group is co-sponsored by OriginOil and the non-profit consortium Electricore.
The first industry partners are biodigester builder Biogas Energy and ionic technology developer Ceramatec. More partner announcements are expected in the weeks to come.
The initiative is a result of OriginOil’s ongoing effort to develop cost-effective algae production. The company previously reported on the promise of using waste streams as a feedstock for algae cultivation.
“The aviation industry has been an early adopter of algae-based jet fuel, and KLM has announced it will fly commercial biofuels flights in 2011,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. “Wastewater is a winner for algae and will lead to the scale that we need to service this massive opportunity.”
The first partners will provide some of the key technologies needed, such as anaerobic digestion and fuel cells. OriginOil’s own Helix Bioreactor™ and Single Step Extraction™ systems provide a daily harvest of algae oil and biomass, which can be tailored to meet the ASTM standards for jet fuel.
Biogas Energy Founder and President, Brian Gannon, stated: “We are excited about the potential of working with OriginOil and the other group members to create a turnkey system to convert waste products into energy. We are particularly interested in the utilization of CO2 for algae production, because it reduces the environmental impacts of anaerobic digestion.”
Ceramatec President and CEO, Ashok Joshi, commented: “We look forward to investigating the possibilities of using algae oil and biomass as a feedstock for jet fuel reformulation. We are encouraged by the collaborative nature of the working group and hope to contribute to the success of our partners.”
