Algae companie GreenFuel Technologies shuts down
GreenFuel Technologies, one of the pioneer companies in the algae-based biofuel business, is closing down because it was unable to secure new funding to finance its growth.
The company, which had raised about $70 million since its inception in 2001, had recently landed a contract to sell algae-growing greenhouses to a cement maker in Spain. However, it was unable to raise funds to finance constructions of these greenhouses. In January the company laid off about half of its workers.
“We are closing doors. We are a victim of the economy,” Duncan McIntyre at Polaris Venture Partners, told Greentech Media, which first reported on the closing. Polaris was one of GreenFuel Technologies financial backers.
GreenFuel developed a specialty strain of algae that consumed large amounts of carbon dioxide. The algae were later harvested by GreenFuel to be turned into oil for biodiesel.
On paper the process was attractive and helped foster investor and media interest, but the company failed to transition from the lab into a full fledged commercial operation. One issue it encountered was the high cost of production involved in making these energy-rich algae.
While the biofuel sector as a whole is in a bind, algae and its rich oil content and ability to grow on marginal land continues to be seen as a promising biofuel feedstock over the long term.
