Comments on: Sapphire Energy: The Gorilla of Algae Fuel?

By: Nancy Pham

Nancy Pham — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:19:58 +0000

Sapphire blows a great story but the management in experienced and there are many problems with the infrastructure. There is great initial investments but chaos internally – weak management, wrong/inexperienced people in key positions, high burn rate. Specifically, key technology personnel do not have verified credentials and company is immature from ground up. Impressive backgrounds do not equate to start-up success and concerns with Sapphire abound locally – especially considering local complaints, high turnover, inexperienced and immature management, and questionable science.

By: Craig Venter: Without Scale, Algae Fuel Companies “Playing”

Craig Venter: Without Scale, Algae Fuel Companies “Playing” — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:37:41 +0000

[...] fuel player Sapphire Energy has said that it is ramping up its production estimates to 1 million gallons of algae-based diesel and jet [...]

By: The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups

The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:07:48 +0000

[...] garnered a “wait-and-see” rank, as did ZeaChem, Coskata, Ze-gen, Solix Biofuels and algae gorilla Sapphire Energy – reflecting “significant unknowns” about the companies’ [...]

By: Feds Hand Out $600M for Next-Gen Biofuel Plants

Feds Hand Out $600M for Next-Gen Biofuel Plants — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:52:36 +0000

[...] firms like Archer Daniels Midland and ICM, as well startups we’ve covered like algae fuel makers Sapphire Energy and Solazyme, cellulosic ethanol makers ZeaChem, and synthetic fuel maker Amyris [...]

By: Energy Guy

Energy Guy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:05:06 +0000

Sapphire is a paper monkey not a Gorrilla... They never produced any oil. Just bought some algae from a place I know. Gave it to someone to extract some small qty of oil.. Gave the oil to someone to convert that oil into jet fuel ( Known art for at least 50 years ). Blended that small qty of Jet Fuel in a Large qty of actual jetfuel and ran one engine for few minutes....

They made a lot of noise and paid a lot of money to publicists to get false story out...

They can barely grow tiny bit of algae and little else...

Their investors are sure to loose all the money and make the Managers of Sapphire rich

By: Algae Fuel Startup Solix Ups Funds to Start Production, Eyes Asia

Algae Fuel Startup Solix Ups Funds to Start Production, Eyes Asia — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:02:09 +0000

[...] A hardly matches the scale of last year’s record breaking boom, when a $50 million round for Sapphire Energy helped bump the total investment in algae startups to $84 million during the second quarter. But it [...]

By: Algae-based Biofuels Moving Ever So Slowly to Market

Algae-based Biofuels Moving Ever So Slowly to Market — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:35:01 +0000

[...] Sapphire Energy, which has raised more than $100 million in venture funding, has said it’s ramping up production estimates to 1 million gallons of algae-based diesel and jet fuel per year by .... The company’s technology uses photosynthetic microorganisms, such as algae, to produce what it [...]

By: Algae Fuel Funding: Solazyme Hits $76M, Still Not Commercial

Algae Fuel Funding: Solazyme Hits $76M, Still Not Commercial — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:18:04 +0000

[...] for Testing and Materials for its algae-based jet fuel. But a particularly tough competitor is algae gorilla Sapphire Energy, which was just founded in 2007, and says it is ramping up its production estimates to 1 million [...]

By: Member Agal Biomass Organization

Member Agal Biomass Organization — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:01:43 +0000

I hate articles like this. The reporter continues to propagate a well known lie. Not one single ounce of oil produced by Sapphire was used in either the JAL or Continental flights. Oil was provided by Cyanotech in Hawaii.

By: J S

J S — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:00:23 +0000

As soon as the recession ends the fuel prices will shoot back up.

Lay the base now and get ready.

By: Trade Jim News » Green Ink: Slow Drivers, Fast Rail, and the Other Pirates

Trade Jim News » Green Ink: Slow Drivers, Fast Rail, and the Other Pirates — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:37:34 +0000

[...] of carbon dioxide, at Greentech Media. Stop me if you’ve heard this before—Algae biofuel maker Sapphire Energy is very bullish on its prospects for large-scale production, at [...]

By: Green Ink: Slow Drivers, Fast Rail, and the Other Pirates - Environmental Capital - WSJ

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:25:10 +0000

[...] out of carbon dioxide, at Greentech Media. Stop me if youve heard this beforeAlgae biofuel maker Sapphire Energy is very bullish on its prospects for large-scale production, at [...]