“We call it pollution, they call it gourmet food,” so says algae-for-fuel missionary Isaac Berzin, who sent Green Prophet a new video, an advertisement touting the benefits of this alternative energy source for our planet.
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.
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, you can read a background story on Berzin and his algae for biofuel vision here.
[…] for the nutraceutical and fish farming market. I’ve personally interviewed most of them (like Isaac Berzin), including leaders at research universities. If a little more professional guidance and investment […]
[…] of key traits in plants and algae. The company claims that its micro RNA genes that improve the oil content from algae and can make crops more resilient in times of […]
[…] Either the threat of increased international sanctions is finally convincing the Iranians that so much emphasis in “going nuclear” is not good for them in the long run. Or, perhaps, the mullahs there are realizing that there are feasible alternatives to using enriched uranium to provide fuel, as well as for using their petroleum reserves which someday will be depleted. Using algae as a biofuel does not seem to be something that one hears about the Islamic Republic being involved in; although converting this common aquatic plant substance into a good quality biofuel is the focus of several projects underway in Israel, including joint projects with NASA to fuel spaceships sending astronauts into space; and with the Chinese by utilizing “flue gasses” from power plants. And of course the country is home to the godfather of algae for biofuel, Isaac Berzin. […]