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We were just preparing a story for the Mercury News today about how clean-technology is very hot right now.
It is a cliche to jump to the word “bubble” anytime a sector heats up, but this is an area that is seeing special excitement for various reasons — oil prices, middle east conflict, the recent heat-wave on Sand Hill Road, and the accompanying power outages, to name a few. Energy investments reached record levels during the second quarter.
We’ll have more details on the frenzy over SolFocus, the Palo Alto solar firm tomorrow — and we think you may agree that the bubbly is now flowing. But right now, it is Altra’s 15 minutes of fame. The Los Angeles biofuel company has raised $120 million in a second round of funding, one of the largest rounds of funding ever raised by a renewable fuel company.
We will wait to see how things go from here. Right now, there are real economic fundamental supporting many of these investments — but there is also enormous pressure for private equity firms these days to put their treasure troves to work, which can distort things.
Silicon Valley firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures are two the leading investors. Others include Omninet Private Equity, Sage Capital Partners, Angeleno Group, Duff Ackerman and Advanced Equities.
The company has now raised $250 million in equity and debt financing. It seeks to build 500 million gallons per year of biofuel production capacity across the nation “through the acquisition of existing operating assets as well as the development of strategically located and permitted sites with state-of-the-art biofuel refining technology,” the company said in a statement.
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DR GANAPATHY ARUMUGAM said:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OVERVIEW
Enhanced Biofuels and Technologies Limited (EBT) have established a presence in the field of processing technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, microbiology and phycology. The company has undertaken research and development into each of these various fields, for the purpose of applying scientific methodology to the design, development, processing and distribution of alternative biofuels, the generation/distribution of bio-energy and the processing of bi-products.
HISTORY
EBT’s focus has been geared towards funding research and development for alternative energy resources, inclusive of the execution pilot projects.
COMPETENCIES
EBT has evolved a highly integrated complimentary operational profile that embraces a team of scientific and technical skills drawn from some of the world’s foremost academic, industrial, policy and financial sectors. While our company’s core physical assets centre on the scientific work that has been performed at our laboratory in Coimbatore, India, the virtual assets of the company span all four continents; EBT possesses a modern day global footprint.
STRATEGY
EBT’s is to continue to improve upon microbiology, biotechnology and processing techniques associated with the cultivation of Jatropha Curcas Linn and Micro Algae as a viable feedstock’s for the production of bio energy. To date, the company has established cultivation benchmarks that enhance feedstock quality, productivity and yields that are accredited worldwide.
PRODUCTS
• JATROPHA CURCAS LINN
As a result of research into the plant’s genetic characteristics, fertilization, pesticide and physical management requirements EBT possesses a holistic agronomy data base for the complete cultivation of Jatropha Curcas as an economically viable energy crop/feedstock for the production of bio fuels.
EBT has established significant technology advances for the processing of Jatropha Curcas bio mass into high value commodities. These include: bio lubricants, pharmaceutical supplies, bio ethanol, bio energy and insect repellents, adding value and feasibility for the cultivation of Jatropha Curcas as a primary crop for undeveloped land throughout Southern Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
EBT has recognised the socio-economic value cultivation of Jatropha Curcas has for the highly decentralised rural communities of developing economic regions throughout the Middle East, Asian, African and Pacific islands. In support of commercial pro-poverty reduction policy, EBT’s executive has designed and engineered an agricultural extension system for Jatropha Curcas specifically to address international policy initiatives that seek to include sub tropical agricultural activity as a factor of national fuel security.
• MICRO ALGAE
EBT’s science executive is currently engaged with the design of industrial gas capture – photobioreactor - open pond and lipid extraction technology related to the massive cultivation and processing of Micro Algae.
Recognising immediate requirement for supplying feedstock to meet exceptional demand for biofuels, EBT has conducted extensive research into the cultivation of Algae biomass; to produce lipids.
EBT’s research has resulted in the isolation of Algae cultures capable of producing up to 81% hydrocarbon extraction values.• RENEWABLE EMUSIFIED DIESEL (RED)
An important aspect of our business strategy is to increase the Biofixation of atmospheric CO2 (and other GHG’s) developing carbon neutral alternative energy and fuel solutions that address the objectives of the Kyoto protocols.
EBT has successfully produced an alternative fuel type that incorporates the blending of crude vegetable oil (or biodiesel), water, additives and light fossil diesel. The outcome is a net reduction of CO2 emissions (when compared to biodiesel or emulsified heavy oils) and a significant reduction in NOx and other harmful gases generated from the burning process.
Renewable Emulsified Diesel (RED) is the first alternative fuel type to be designed and tested by EBT, independent results have proven high reduction levels of Co2, NOx, and other harmful gases when used in large scale diesel engines. Furthermore, the effect of blending water and crude vegetable oil combined with the efficiency of blending (created from the emulsification technology), has proven an energy efficiency savings of between 2.5-5% upon burning the fuel. The loss of torque has not shown more than 6%, of which does not negatively impact targeted industries.
Our execution plan centres upon producing RED in partnership with a major fossil fuel supplier, preferably located in the Middle East. Marketing is focused on Power Generation plants in the Middle East and Africa, with Eskom, Anglo American and Lafarge being prime targets for this type if energy source. Since 77% of this fuel type will be supplied by the fossil supplier, the product represents a valuable acquisition and retention tool for competing in the oil and gas industry. The potential for the massive cultivation of micro algae, as a resource for crude lipid, in the Middle East; using waste water treatment and photobioreactor technologies is exceptional. Various national socio-economic policy objectives are addressed while the opportunity to establish primary intellectual property for the processes is evident.
The availability of Co2 sources within the Middle East combined with the volume of sunlight and heat generated, offers ideal conditions for the mass cultivation of Algae. Additional benefits can also be gained from the high concentration of fish farms and wastewater facilities located throughout the Middle Eastern countries, which provide immediate infrastructure to support the cultivation of Micro Algae through direct open pond methodologies.
• SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, TECHNICAL-IP
EBT is able to supply a comprehensive suite of technology applications engineered to compliment the production of multiple feedstocks. Scalable, commercially viable technologies designed to support the production of bio fuels and extract a range of high value products from biomass.
These include Micro economic zoning for:
Turnkey DBOT of JCL Bio Diesel processing factory
Turnkey DBOT of Micro Algae – Bio Fuel complex
Turnkey Bio Mass Cogeneration-Bio Fuel complex
PHILOSOPHY
EBT’s philosophy has been to take cognisance of the advanced socio-economic policies promoted by the United Nations, G8 and world economic forums dedicated to the promotion of pro poverty reduction, anthropogenic green house gas capture, environmental conservation, and the globalisation of “fair†world trade; from a commercially viable stand point. As such, EBT has emerged as a research and development organisation possessed of collaborative abilities for facilitating highly integrated complimentary commercial responses that add value and synergy to numerous scientific endeavours, national/international government and corporate development policy as well as financial markets. EBT is constantly reviewing opportunities to facilitate the promotion of first class investment into agriculture, technology and research for the production of carbon reduced or neutral energy.
MANAGEMENT
The EBT executive has assembled a world class Board of Scientific Advisors, along with a group of established technology and process engineering companies that have entered into strategic partnerships for the design, development, operation and underwriting of a range of technologies identified to support the production of biofuels and processing of high value bi-products extracted from the biomass.
EBT is currently 50% owned by the Consensus Business Group, a company with net assets exceeding £5 billion.
EBT’s directors include senior executives drawn from the scientific, commercial, financial sectors of the Oil and Gas industry, international development policy organisations, government steering committees and world banking organisations.
Directors:
Dr. Mark Quinn - Managing Director; Founder.
Dr. G Arumugam - CEO & Group Science Director, Founder.
Dr. Clive Richardson - Vice President Operations, Founder.
Edwin Philpott - Marketing & Communications Director.
Chris Quinn - General Manager & Director
Robert Spriddell - Director, Business Development Manager, Consensus Business Group
Mike Starkie - Non Executive Director, Chief Accountant of BP
Guerry L. Grune - Non Executive Director, P.A , Principle of CPS Biofuels, USA
Scientific Advisory Board:
Dr. Jag Sankar - Professor at North Carolina State University and White House millennium researcher
Dr. Joel L. Cuello - Associate Professor of The University of Arizona
Robert Manurang - Professor Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Dr Karan Singh Panwar - Professor, Choudhry Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
Dr. C. Surendran - Director, Tamilnadu Agricultural University
Dr. A. Regupathy - Former dean, Tamilnadu Agricultural University
Dr. V. Murugappan - Former Director, Tamilnadu Agricultural UniversityVISION
In summary, EBT’s business is the delivery of end to end solutions for bio energy, designed to support all segments of the supply chain associated with the production of biodiesel, bio ethanol, bio energy, bio lubricants, bio pesticides, bio fertilizers and other high value commodities derived from the processing of various biomass resources.
EBT will extend its current research and development operations to introduce biotechnological feedstock supplies suitable for the production of biofuels, embracing a platform of complimentary technologies associated with the processing and production of high value bi-products. Application of tissue culture and methodologies for implementing multi-tier intercropping programs to existing coconut and palm tree plantations are ongoing projects which we expect to deliver significant value for the company over the next 2 years.
EBT has invested considerable time and money into researching the cultivation of Rapeseed from Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine as a short term solution for supplying vegetable oil for the production of biodiesel and RED. Recent feasibility studies proved that up to a 30% cost savings could be achieved from the engagement of contract farming arrangements
FINANCING
Our intention is to formalize a separate operational Company divisions that would continue to capitalize on the assets being transferred adopting EBT’s current strategy, philosophy and vision while benefiting from the structured offset financing techniques perfected by our partners, the Consensus Business Group.
The inclusion of offset financial services as an integral facet of EBT’s portfolio of products and services delivers a valuable tool for negotiating public contracts in many parts of the world where offsets are currently recognized and adhered to.
Consensus maintains an impressive portfolio of investments into SME as well as long term established blue chip trans national companies; frequently those companies holding strategic relationships with defence manufacturers and international Government agencies where the emphasis is upon the delivery of national security and high value socio-economic priorities. The competitive edge that offset presents, as well as the benefits of funding and incremental revenue, justifies inclusion of this service in many industrial sectors of developing economic region. -
Kent Wolfe said:
We do biogas into natural gas in amounts that one plant can provide energy to 200,000 homes. This is our company and were looking to put our second plant in Minnesota. This could be the largest in the world if you choose to get involved. If you will email me I can return a attached is a brief summary dealing with the methane (natural gas) production we do off bio waste products. Our design and biology is above and more advanced than anything existing in the world.
Thank you,
Kent Wolfe
Bison Energy
651.757.4848
