Company Name Bionavitas	Company Web Site http://www.bionavitas.com/	Headquarters Redmond, WA
Latest News February 25, 2009 Seattle-area start-up Bionavitas on Tuesday disclosed a technique, using pencil-shaped rods, to bring more light to algae to stimulate growth and, potentially, improve the economics of algae farming. The Light Immersion Technology uses acrylic rods to bring light deeper into a pool of growing algae to maximize growth. The acrylic rods--called Light Immersion Technology--penetrate the surface of a pool of algae to bring light deeper into the pool. Bionavitas said the rod addresses one of the main barriers to algae as an all-purpose feedstock and boosts productivity 10 times compared to existing methods. The 3-year-old company, which has been funded by angel investors until now, is in the process of negotiating to raise a series A round that CEO and co-founder Michael Weaver anticipates will be tens of millions of dollars. That money will be used to build a biorefinery and a pilot plant for making biofuel from algae, he said. "There are a lot of companies developing processes for growing algae. But there's a fundamental flaw to all those. You quickly become light-constrained, which is why you don't have massive growth," he said. "So it's all well and good to modify genes or find a special strain, but if you can't grow a large mass, you got nothing." For making biofuels in an outdoor pond, the rods float on the surface and bring sunlight in. The rods are shaped so that incoming light is reflected internally until it reaches the bottom and can penetrate out. Bionavitas also intends to make algae oil for nutraceuticals, which offer higher margins than biofuels. Later this year, it's planning to build an indoor closed bioreactor in Redmond, Wash., which will use dozens of light rods on the surface of a vat of algae. Instead of sunlight, the company intends to use red and blue LED lights, which will flicker to save on energy costs, Weaver said. In addition to biofuels and nutraceuticals, Bionavitas intends to sell equipment to use algae for bioremediation, such as removing toxic substances from waste water, Weaver said. Weaver believes that Bionavitas'light rods address a challenge in extracting a high yield from algae strains. But there still remain significant technical and economic challenges to competitively priced algae biofuels. Algae harvesting, which involves drying algae and recycling water, can be manual and expensive. In its first pilot project, algae farmer GreenFuel Technologies found that harvesting added to its costs substantially, leading to a product redesign. Bionativas intends to license technology from other companies that are developing equipment specifically for harvesting. ------------------------ May 12, 2008 In Washington state, algae start-up Bionavitas said that it will take up to four years to reach commercial levels of production, but that its waste water treatment business is developing faster. The company is attempting to develop a bioreactor that overcomes the "shade wall" , in which algae begins to block sunlight and reduce its reproduction rate. The company said it was attempting to design a "passive optical" system to address the issue. However, the company said that it had shown good results with its algae strain's ability to remove selenia, a poison, from water.
Funding No additional funding information.
Technology The amount of algae that can be grown on a acre of land is limited by the amount of energy that area receives from the sun. Algae growth estimates range from 100 to 200 tonnes per acre per year. These estimates, however, are under optimal conditions and should be considered a theoretical maximum and unlikely to be achieved. More realistic values are 3-40 tonnes per acre per year.
Other Info Bionavitas has developed proprietary patent pending technology for the high volume production growth of micro-algae. This technology has placed Bionavitas at the nexus of revolutionary changes in energy production, global warming prevention, production of new pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds, and remediation of our environment. By identifying and focusing on the critical areas of algae production, Bionavitas has developed targeted technology that places the company in the lead of the emergent field of algae production. Bionavitas was founded in February 2006 by Michael Weaver, Dr. Andrei Guschin, Brian Wilkerson, John Pulse and Dr. Jim Chen to solve and capitalize on the looming feedstock issues of biodiesel production, provide high-grade materials for healthy living, and help to clean up the environment we live in.