OriginOil to Present First-Ever Algae Productivity Model at National Algae Association’s Quarterly Conference
CEO Riggs Eckelberry to Present at “Algae: The New Oil” on September 18, 2009
Los Angeles, CA September 2, 2009 – 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, has announced that the company’s President and CEO, Riggs Eckelberry, will present the industry’s first-ever comprehensive algae productivity model to industry leaders and fellow members at the National Algae Association’s (NAA) quarterly conference, entitled “Algae: The New Oil,” in Houston on September 18, 2009.
“A good baseline model for productivity of industrialized algae is critical to the billions being invested in the algae segment,” said Eckelberry. “It is our intention to share as much of this as we can to foster collaboration and help quantify industry productivity, raw material requirements including energy, capital requirements and potential ROI.”
OriginOil Chief Scientist Dr. Vikram Pattarkine will join Riggs Eckelberry in making the presentation and will address the science and engineering aspects. He will also speak to the core productivity numbers in the model, which are based on OriginOil’s own extensive laboratory experimentation.
“Our industry is crying out for a good baseline. It doesn’t matter if the numbers are great, but we need a logical place to start,” said Barry Cohen, executive director of the National Algae Association. He added, “We’ve come to expect this kind of courageous thinking from the folks at OriginOil and I can’t wait to see the results!”
OriginOil’s interactive model defines the raw material inputs, quantifies the efficiency of the production and extraction system, and converts the feedstock into various fuels and co-products. It estimates the real estate footprint for an industrial algae operation, capital requirements and operating expenses, and the time required to recapture the initial investment. General elements of the model will be published as a beta release in the weeks to come, encouraging feedback and contribution. The detailed model will be shared with select OriginOil partners.
About the Conference
The conference will be held on September 17-18, 2009 at the Sheraton North Houston in Houston, TX. In support of its recent response to The Department of Energy’s National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap, “Algae: The New Oil” will cover a full range of subjects focusing on the commercialization of the algae production industry, including research, growing, harvesting, extraction and by-products, as well as project financing issues and grant-writing techniques. Among those presenting will be industry peers from LiveFuels, Inc., Alfa Laval Group, Phycal and Algaeventure Systems, Inc. For more information or to attend the seminar, visit www.nationalalgaeassociation.com.
