Sapphire Energy
Encyclopedia
Sapphire Energy is a San Diego-based energy company that produces oil made from algae
.
reported that Sapphire expects to introduce its first fuels based on green crude. Sapphire Energy announced a second round investment, including the Microsoft chairman Bill Gates
, that boosts the company’s total funding north of $100 million. In 2008, Sapphire Energy was ranked second on the Biofuels Digest list of the hottest 50 companies in bioenergy.
Sapphire employs around 140 employees, most of whom work in the San Diego office. A facility to grow and produce biofuel is located near Las Cruces, New Mexico
.
The company using Syntroleum Inc (SYNM) technology provided fifty gallons of gasoline for the Algaeus, a plugin-hybrid Toyota Prius
that drove across the United States in September 2009. The tour is being done to show that gasoline made by algae is viable. In 2009, Continental Airlines tested one of Sapphire Energy's biodiesel blends.
The seed financing to launch Sapphire was provided by ARCH Ventures and Larry Bock
rating while meeting fuel quality standards.
Sapphire does not release values for volume of fuel produced. A 2009 Los Angeles Times profile of company CEO Jason Pyle said Sapphire hopes to produce 1 million USgals (3,785.4 m³) of algae diesel and jet fuel each year in the next two years and 1 billion USgals (3,785,412 m³) of fuel a year by 2025. More recently, however, in a January 2011 interview Pyle avoids stating precise production goals and advises to "never quantify productivity in terms of gallons per acre per year."
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
.
History
On May 29, 2008 the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported that Sapphire expects to introduce its first fuels based on green crude. Sapphire Energy announced a second round investment, including the Microsoft chairman Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, that boosts the company’s total funding north of $100 million. In 2008, Sapphire Energy was ranked second on the Biofuels Digest list of the hottest 50 companies in bioenergy.
Sapphire employs around 140 employees, most of whom work in the San Diego office. A facility to grow and produce biofuel is located near Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
.
The company using Syntroleum Inc (SYNM) technology provided fifty gallons of gasoline for the Algaeus, a plugin-hybrid Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation...
that drove across the United States in September 2009. The tour is being done to show that gasoline made by algae is viable. In 2009, Continental Airlines tested one of Sapphire Energy's biodiesel blends.
The seed financing to launch Sapphire was provided by ARCH Ventures and Larry Bock
Products
It has produced "green" gasoline from a synthetic crude oil made from algae. The algae yield a crude oil replacement that is literally green, and according to the company, the "green crude" meets fuel quality standards and is completely compatible with the existing petroleum infrastructure, from refinement through distribution to retail suppliers. Gasoline produced from the green crude achieved a 91 octaneOctane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH36CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain...
rating while meeting fuel quality standards.
Sapphire does not release values for volume of fuel produced. A 2009 Los Angeles Times profile of company CEO Jason Pyle said Sapphire hopes to produce 1 million USgals (3,785.4 m³) of algae diesel and jet fuel each year in the next two years and 1 billion USgals (3,785,412 m³) of fuel a year by 2025. More recently, however, in a January 2011 interview Pyle avoids stating precise production goals and advises to "never quantify productivity in terms of gallons per acre per year."