OriginOil Introduces Evaluation-Size Algae Appliance Model 4 to Speed Adoption of New Harvesting Technology
Breakthrough design and lower price point intended to shorten evaluations, open up algae harvesting to broader base of customers
Los Angeles, California – 23 March, 2012 – OriginOil, Inc. (OTC/BB: OOIL), developer of a breakthrough technology to convert algae into renewable crude oil, announced today the release of a new entry-level, low-cost algae harvester that it believes will make it easier, faster and cheaper for producers and researchers to try and buy OriginOil’s proprietary harvesting technology.
Driven by a major design breakthrough, the new price point of the Algae Appliance™ Model 4 is expected to greatly accelerate adoption of OriginOil’s chemical-free, continuous-flow, very low-energy system. The company intends to make it easy for Model 4 users to upgrade to industrial scale models of the Algae Appliance.
“Algae producers know they don’t have the right technology for sustainable harvesting, but they aren’t sure the new technology will work for them. This leads to wasteful and lengthy evaluation periods,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil’s CEO. “This new trial-size model cuts through that process by letting producers evaluate very quickly and make a decision to move up to full scale. Meanwhile, we expect the Model 4 to find a permanent place in research labs.”
OriginOil’s French joint venture partner Ennesys will receive the first Model 4. “Given the very tight space constraints in our urban test program, we needed a super compact, integrated algae harvester,” said Pierre Tauzinat, President of Ennesys. “The new design is perfect, as is the price point. We know numerous researchers and producers who are waiting for such an affordable and simple algae harvester. It’s a revolution!”
Designated the Algae Appliance™ Model 4 for its rated capacity of four liters (about a gallon) per minute, the new unit will operate either continuously or intermittently for testing purposes on a wide variety of microalgae strains.
“We’ve vastly simplified the process by doing everything at once in the same vessel: dewatering, cell rupture, and the final concentration stage,” said Nicholas Eckelberry, OriginOil’s co-founder and the inventor of the new design. “We think the design breakthrough will transform the cost of our larger models too, helping many more companies go into algae production in a big way.”
The new model carries a manufacturer’s suggested price of $50,000, with credits for strategic partners who sign a multi-phase collaboration agreement with OriginOil. Additional credits will be available for upgrading or trading in the Model 4 to larger systems. OriginOil will also offer training and certification in high-speed algae production and harvesting at its Los Angeles headquarters.
The company recently filed for patent protection of the new harvesting technology, its 30th patent application, entitled “Systems and Methods For Harvesting and Dewatering Algae.”
