Algae pioneer GreenFuel closes doors, according to reports; closed-system approach led to several pilots, no commercial-scale developments before group ran out of money

In Massachusetts, Greentech Media is reporting that Green Fuel Technologies is closing its doors. The company that won “Emissions Energy Project of the Year” at the Platts Awards, and staged pilot tests in Arizona and Louisiana, will be selling off the company’s intellectual property and other assets, after an unsuccessful capital raising effort over the past months.

The company had laid off half of its staff in January despite a $92 million agreement with Aurantia in Spain to develop an algae-to-energy project at the Holcim cement plant near the Spanish-Gibraltar border town of Jerez de la Frontera.

The company was formed in 2004 and established some of its initial photobioreactor tests on top of a roof at MIT. The company was considered a leader in the field of closed-system photobioreactors, but closed systems have not yet fulfilled hopes for reaching cost competitiveness. In recent months, advances made by companies such as Aurora Biofuels and PetroAlgae have centered on open-pond systems that have far lower capital costs.

The company’s celebrated pilot test with Arizona Public Service in 2007 was a kick-starter for increased interest in the algae-to-energy space, but ultimately the company shut down the APS project over cost concerns and algae blooms. The company said that it had abandoned glass tube and plastic bag photobioreactors over cost concerns and would introduce a new set of designs for its closed production process.

The company’s most recent CEO, Dow Chemical veteran Simon Upfiill-Brown, pronounced on his appointment last June that “algae has come of age”, but the algae age does not appear to be including GreenFuel in its plans.

A GreenFuel Technologies timeline:

October 21, 2008
GreenFuel Algae CO2 Recycling Project with Aurantia enters second phase at Spanish cement plant

June 17, 2008
Simon Upfill-Brown Joins GreenFuel as CEO and Director

May 14, 2008
GreenFuel Raises $13.9M for Development and Scaling Projects

April 14, 2008
Iowa Power Fund Announces Preliminary Approval for $2.3M R&D Grant

July 25, 2007
GreenFuel Secures $5.5 Million in Bridge Financing

July 17, 2007
Testing of Coal-Based Algae-to-Biofuels System Begins at Sunflower Integrated Bioenergy Center

April 13, 2007
NRG Energy Testing GreenFuel Technologies Algae Bioreactor System to Recycle Carbon Dioxide Emissions into Renewable Biofuels at Louisiana Power Plant

December 6, 2006
GreenFuel and Arizona Public Service Company Win “Emissions Energy Project of the Year” at 2006 Platts Global Energy Awards

November 30, 2006
Arizona Public Service and GreenFuel Technologies Successfully Recycle Power Plant Flue Gases into Transportation-Grade Biodiesel and Ethanol

November 09, 2006
GreenFuel Technologies Honored Second Year Running For Energy Competitiveness

September 12, 2006
GreenFuel Technologies Receives 2006 Frost & Sullivan “Technology Innovation of the Year” Award

April 11, 2006
GreenFuel Receives $6.8M from Polaris – Completes $18M B-Round Funding

January 30, 2006
GreenFuel Establishes New Headquarters

November 7, 2005
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation Honored for Energy Competitiveness

September 27, 2005
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation Signs Agreement With Industrial Technology Firm IST

September 13, 2005
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation Delivers Field Trial System to First Commercial Customer

July 11, 2005
GreenFuel Secures $2.38 Million in Bridge Financing

June 13, 2005
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation Selected to Receive City of Cambridge GoGreen Business Award

February 23, 2005
GreenFuel Featured in PBS Scientific American Frontiers Episode, Titled “Hydrogen Hopes”

July 19, 2004
GreenFuel Technologies Corp. Announces Beta Site Installation at MIT Cogen

April 12, 2004
Payload Systems Inc. Announces Launch of GreenFuel Technologies Corporation

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