By Kate R.
Posted on Nov. 17, 2009. Listed in:
The Blenheim-based company Aquaflow has been discussed on previous Celsias posts here and here. Yesterday they announced new plans to work with Chinese group Greenleaf Environmental in an attempt to find a suitable place for an Aquaflow site in the Sichuan Province.
Director Nick Gerritsen said: “This is a significant breakthrough as Sichuan is a leading clean technology centre and we believe Aquaflow is the first company of its kind to move into the region."
Greenleaf Environmental also recognises the new relationship as a milestone move for this innovative technology.
“This technology can, potentially, remediate contaminated water, and produce green crude oil found within these algae-infested waters,” commented Greenleaf’s director of engineering, William Gormley.
Over the last few months Aquaflow has had an increse in interest and is now evaluating over 40 projects over four continents.
“The level of interest is ‘mind boggling’. We believe it’s because Aquaflow sits slap-dab on the cusp of two of the most fundamental issues that the world faces – fresh water and renewable fuels and chemicals.
“With the global water market currently sitting at USD $522 billion and forecast to double in the next five years, it’s no wonder other companies are looking at us,” said Gerritsen.
Aquaflow started in 2005, harvesting micro-algae from waste water discharge flows. The company focuses on wild or naturally-occurring algae, and this direction means that the inherent low cost of this biomass feedstock places Aquaflow’s fuels and chemicals’ economics ahead of other companies who need to introduce other elements, such as CO2, to make their propositions viable.
In addition, Aquaflow’s system plugs into an existing infrastructure removing the upfront capital and time expense associated with building high rate ponds and intensive bio-reactor systems.
The move over to China solidifies the practice of harvesting of algal biofuel as an important emerging industry and Aquaflow is placing itself well as experts in the field.
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