Algae-to-fuels developer Algenol LLC, the parent company of Algenol Biofuels Inc., has acquired Berlin, Germany-based biotech outfit Cyano Biofuels GmbH. Algenol previously held an indirect minority stake in Cyano Biofuels, working closely with the German company for the past three years.
According to Algenol co-founder and CEO Paul Woods, Algenol&rsquo;s acquisition of Cyano Biofuels is expected to increase Algenol&rsquo;s research and development capacity and strengthen its reach into the European biotechnology community in the areas of algal growth development.
&ldquo;We had owned a significant part of the company for quite some time and we thought it was time to finish the acquisition and to make it just one big family,&rdquo; Woods told Biorefining Magazine. &ldquo;These are people that we&rsquo;ve worked with exceptionally closely and have participated with us from the very beginning.&rdquo;
Woods said that Cyano Biofuels was created in 2007 as a result of a research and development partnership Algenol had initially launched with Cyano Biotech, the parent company of Cyano Biofuels, back in 2006. &ldquo;At that time, Cyano Biotech was using cyanobacteria and the toxins they produce to search for novel cancer drugs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Cyano Biofuels had three people when we started. It&rsquo;s nearly 50 today.&rdquo;
In November, Algenol opened its new biofuels and green chemistry lab and research and development facility in Fort Myers, Fla. The 40,000 square-foot facility houses an advanced algae biology, engineering, carbon dioxide and green chemistry laboratory, as part of its larger Lee Integrated Biorefinery currently under development. Algenol received a $10 million incentive grant from the Lee County Board of Commissioners to build the lab. The facility will house Algenol&rsquo;s advanced biology and engineering laboratories and operations. An adjoining 4-acre outdoor R&amp;D area and 36-acre outdoor commercialization area will hold the company&rsquo;s proprietary seals, clear plastic photobioreactors, containers that generate ethanol from blue-green microalgae, saltwater and carbon dioxide using Algenol&rsquo;s patented &ldquo;Direct to Ethanol&rdquo; process technology.
According to Woods, Algenol recently achieved a significant milestone as part of its commercialization efforts when the Florida Department of Aquaculture issued the company an enhanced or hybrid algae permit for outdoor deployment of its process development unit.
&ldquo;This is really an important step because now we can move all the work that we&rsquo;ve done outdoors,&rdquo; Woods said. &ldquo;[Florida Department of Aquaculture officials] came and toured the facilities and asked questions, and we followed up with their questions.&rdquo;
While ethanol will be Algenol&rsquo;s primary product offering derived from blue-green microalgae, Woods said that the company will produce ethylene from ethanol and other biochemicals. &ldquo;We also have three or four other green chemistry products that we would consider to be the second-gen pipeline products we&rsquo;re working on,&rdquo; he said.
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Algae-to-fuels developer Algenol LLC, the parent company of Algenol Biofuels Inc., has acquired Berlin, Germany-based biotech outfit Cyano Biofuels GmbH. Algenol previously held an indirect minority stake in Cyano Biofuels. 

Algenol acquires Berlin-based Cyano Biofuels

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