Sapphire Energy launches algae-powered hybrid
Sapphire Energy, maker of an algae-based replacement for gasoline and jet fuel, unveiled its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle today in front of San Francisco’s city hall — combining several promising technologies aimed at slashing carbon emissions.
The car, aptly dubbed the “Algaeus” — built into the shell of a Toyota Prius — will take off today on a 10-day nationwide tour, stopping first in Sacramento, where governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is planned to pour a vial of… Continue Reading
Sapphire Energy getting the green for its algal biofuel
Well-known but still young biofuel company Sapphire Energy has more than doubled its funding to more than $100 million for its “green crude,” a fuel it says will mimic the best characteristics of the oil we drill for today.
Sapphire’s plan, which I covered in depth back in May, is to grow tailored strains of algae on waste water. Algae is criticized because it often uses open pools of water, which evaporate quickly in hot climes,… Continue Reading
SequesCO combines CO2 sequestration with biofuel production
Sequesco joins a growing list of startups that are using synthetic biology to custom-produce advanced biofuels. But unlike competitors LS9 and Amyris, which are engineering microbes to make hydrocarbon-based fuels from various plant biomass sources, it uses waste carbon dioxide as its primary feedstock.
The idea is to pump CO2 from large emitters like coal plants or biorefineries into the firm’s bioreactors, in which large colonies of bacteria would use the greenhouse gas and a nutrient… Continue Reading
EdeniQ quietly raises $33 million for cellulosic ethanol
updated
EdeniQ, an Encino, Calif.-based cellulosic ethanol startup, has quietly wrapped up a $33 million round of funding as part of its spinoff from parent company Altra Biofuels. PE Hub reports that Advanced Equities Investments and Draper Fisher Jurvetson were the lead investors; other backers include Element Partners, Angeleno Group, The Westly Group, Omninet, DAG Ventures and Northgate Capital.
EdeniQ claims its processes for converting non-food biomass sources into cellulosic ethanol can be implemented for “a fraction… Continue Reading
Sapphire Energy gets “open checkbook” from investors for algae-based gasoline
Another algal biofuel company has emerged from stealth mode, and this one has the biggest story yet, at least according to the estimation of its investors.
Only a year old, Sapphire Energy is a San Diego startup that has lab-developed an algae that it says can create a substance akin to crude oil that can be processed by existing refineries, transported through existing infrastructure and burned without difficulty by today’s vehicles.
Sapphire has raised over $50 million… Continue Reading