Algae.Tec spurred on with $6m La Jolla Cove Investors backing

Friday, December 09, 2011 by Angela Kean

Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB) will fast track a number of its projects in Asia and Europe with the A$6 million financial backing of La Jolla Cove Investors.

The convertible note facility, which can be drawn down over a three year period, will be used for projects such as the recently announced Holcim Lanka biofuels and carbon capture facility in Asia.

Algae.Tec announced earlier this month it has signed a collaboration agreement with Holcim Lanka Limited to build its first algae biofuels production facility in Asia that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cement manufacturing.

Holcim Lanka, a cement and building materials company, has agreed to build the facility in Sri Lanka in conjuction with Algae.Tec as its technology is in line with Holcim's desire to be environmentally sustainable.

Executive chairman Roger Stroud welcomed the La Jolla Cove Investors funding deal saying the money will also be used to expand the company’s technical engineering team with experts specifically in the fuel industry.

Milestone Achievements

Algae.Tec has reached a number of significant milestones in 2011 besides the Holcim Lanka Limited deal.

In October, Algae.Tec announced that its demonstration facility Shoalhaven One had been granted development approval under the Shoalhaven City Council Environment Planning and Assessment Act.

The demonstration facility will be located next to the nation’s largest ethanol producer Manildra Group’s industrial facility.

Funds raised in the 2011 ASX float will be used to build the Shoalhaven One biofuels production and carbon capture facility at Nowra, south of Sydney.

Last month the company shipped its first photo-bioreactor module from the Algae Development and Manufacturing Centre in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States bound for Australia.

The enclosed modular technology captures carbon dioxide waste from power stations and manufacturing facilities, which feeds into the algae growth system.

This shipment is one of five that will be delivered over the next month to Shoalhaven One.

The company continues to gain momentum, particularly with news of the Australian Government’s price on carbon, which should spur on carbon dioxide emitters to seek out clean energy and carbon capture solutions.

Algae.Tec is one of few advanced biofuels companies globally with an enclosed modular engineered technology designed to grow algae on an industrial scale and produce biofuels that replace predominantly imported fossil fuels for transportation use.

The Algae.Tec solution is less than one tenth the land footprint of pond growth options, while its enclosed module system is designed to produce algae biomass in virtually any environment.

The system is designed to deliver the highest yield of algae per hectare and, importantly, does not require the use of food producing land for biofuel production.

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