Algae Fuel Producers Look Beyond Fuel to Stay Afloat

Just about every start up has to face the dreaded “Valley of Death,” the time that comes after they have demonstrated their idea and before they are producing it at significant scale and generating revenue. Generally speaking, money has been borrowed, payments are due on rent, employee salaries, commercial licenses and various other expenses. If the borrowed money runs out before significant revenue starts coming in, then it’s usually game over.

Furthermore, when the product you are hoping to replace, is not only mature, with a massive infrastructure and active investment that has, despite soaring demand, brought prices down to levels not seen in years—that makes it even harder. Add to that the fact that your technology is taking quite a bit longer to reach scale than was originally expected, and you find yourself in the position of advanced biofuel producers.

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Image credit: Proyecto Agua on Flickr Creative Commons

RP Siegel, author and inventor, shines a powerful light on numerous environmental and technological topics. He has been published in business and technical journals and has written three books. His third, co-authored with Roger Saillant, is Vapor Trails, an eco-thriller that is being adapted for the big screen. RP is a professional engineer – and a prolific inventor, with 50 patents, numerous awards, and several commercial products. He is president of Rain Mountain LLC and is an active environmental advocate in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. In addition to Justmeans, he writes for Triple Pundit, ThomasNet News, and Energy Viewpoints, occasionally contributing to Mechanical Engineering, Strategy + Business, and Huffington Post.