Sapphire Energy

About Sapphire Energy

The Sapphire Energy Story
Sapphire Energy has produced renewable 91-octane gasoline that conforms to ASTM certification, made from a breakthrough process that produces crude oil directly from algae. The end result — high-value hydrocarbons chemically identical to those in gasoline — will be entirely compatible with the current energy infrastructure from cars to refineries and pipelines. Not biodiesel, not ethanol. And no crops or farm land required. Company scientists have built a platform that uses sunlight, CO2, photosynthetic microorganisms and non-arable land to produce carbon-neutral alternatives to petrochemical-based processes and products. First up: renewable gasoline. Critically important, in light of recent studies that prove the inefficiencies and costs of crop-based biofuels, there is no ‘food vs. fuel’ tradeoff. The process is not dependent on food crops or valuable farmland, and is highly water efficient.
Paul Dickerson, Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, notes “It's hard not to get excited about algae's potential. Its basic requirements are few: CO2, sun, and water. Algae can flourish in non-arable land or in dirty water, and when it does flourish, its potential oil yield per acre is unmatched by any other terrestrial feedstock." Sapphire’s scalable production facilities can grow easily and economically because production is modular, transportable, and fueled by sunlight – not constrained by land, crops, or other natural resources.
A new domestic energy platform based on sunlight and CO2 has the economic potential to herald a tectonic market shift as well as make the country more secure. Last year, the U.S. imported over $200 billion of foreign oil, and, with oil prices reaching record heights every week, that number is expected to increase dramatically. Protecting these strategic overseas interests is an increasingly expensive proposition.
Sapphire’s final products meet ASTM standards and are completely compatible with the existing petroleum infrastructure, from refinement through distribution and the retail supply chain.
About Sapphire Energy
Sapphire Energy was founded in 2007 to address the overwhelming inadequacies of current biofuel approaches and the profound costs of American dependence on foreign oil. Sapphire is led by an interdisciplinary team of entrepreneurs and experts in cell biology, plant genomics and algal production, as well as investors with long histories of taking innovative technology to market, including co-founder ARCH Venture Partners, along with the Wellcome Trust and Venrock. Sapphire’s scientific supporters include Scripps Research Institute; University of California, San Diego; the University of Tulsa, and the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Project. The company is located in San Diego.
For more information, visit www.sapphireenergy.com and www.greencrudeproduction.com.
Key Management:
Jason Pyle Mike Mendez Brian Goodall Peter Attia Kulinda Davis Alex Aravanis Peter Domaille Tim Zenk