Dr. Isaac Berzin, founder of Greenfuel Technologies, was recently profiled in Ha’aretz. Berzin, a Ben-Gurion University and MIT-trained chemical engineer, and Boston-based Greenfuel Technologies have developed a revolutionary technology to produce biofuels from algae that are bred on gases emitted by power plants.
Time Magazine included Berzin in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008, and Fortune Magazine also published a flattering article about the company, which has raised tens of millions of dollars in venture capital. Just last week the company raised another $13.9 million from Access Private Equity, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Polaris Venture Partners.
Now back in Israel and a senior faculty member at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Berzin is busy establishing an Israel-based international institute to formulate an alternative energy policy.
With the thriving market for growing algae as a source of energy – more than 250 companies and universities are engaged in this sphere – Berzin has decided to focus on setting policy:
“I want Israel to become an international center of knowledge in the realm of alternative energy. The world is looking for solutions in this sphere, and in my view Israel is in a very special position. The toolbox that is needed to create solutions of this kind is here.”
For more clean technology see: Israel’s 12th Annual Cleantech Expo Israel Cleantech Ventures Exceeds Its Own Expectations New “Cleantech Israel” Group Meets in Herzliya
I have put forward a statement in support of your Coal -CO2 -Algae -Oil.
There is a new 78 Megawatt boiler at the DeYoung plant that the Board of Public Works is working on for a CO2 sequestering underground. PraxAir, Battelle Memorial Institute, and Black and Veatch are working on the feasibility of burying the CO2. There is an Energy Department Clean Coal Initiative grant. This is a $250 million expansion of the DeYoung plant. Do you get involved in grant writing and implementation of your ideas? If not, do you know of someone who would?
You folks might want to take a look at the breakthru patent on a hydrogen electrolyzer that was just published at the US Patent Office. Patent # US 20080202942. I want to be sure that Israel gets its hands on this breakthrough early. Previous hydrogen generators always took more energy in to produce the hydrogen from water than they put out. This one claims to overcome that longstanding barrier.
Good news
Dr. Isaac Berzin’s works with algae fuel will help most people not depend on OPEC’s oil anymore. Please speedup the process or finding the partners all over the world.