8th December, 2010
Drug therapy developer Viral Genetics, Inc., has formed a new subsidiary to take forward its technology in the algae biofuels arena.
The California-based company said VG Energy, Inc., would market technologies that increase the yield of oil production from algae “by as much as 300%”.
“The new brand will help open doors with energy companies,” said Viral Genetics’ CEO Haig Keledjian, who will serve as CEO of the new subsidiary. “We also believe it will help us attract investors interested in cost-effective, green energy solutions.”
VG Energy lead researcher Dr M Karen Newell-Rogers has a $750,000 grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to study and develop the technology at laboratories within the Texas AgriLife Research Blacklands campus.
“Holy Grail”
Rather than developing a whole new strain of algae that might produce more oil, the technology seeks to trigger cells to increase their fat stores in order to increase oil production.
Dr Newell-Rogers said: “We can manipulate plant cells so that they store oil and eventually release those reserves instead of burning the fat for fuel when glucose stores are low. The end result is more oil is available for processing into a biofuel.”
Identifying and controlling the trigger for lipid production in algae is seen as a “Holy Grail” in algal biofuels technology, with a number of big players working in the field.
VG Energy, Inc., has been set up as majority-owned by Viral Genetics, which has its offices in San Marino, California.
”We believe our approach to biofuels can change the economics of green energy by simply increasing the oil yield in certain plants,” said Mr Keledjian. “Many competitive technologies focus on genetically-modifying algae strains, and developing expensive new growing methods.”
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