If you want to help the biodiesel industry, a California company says you should take health food supplements, particularly Omega-3s.
SmartPlanet.com reports biofuel maker Aurora Algae says the algae it grows for its biodiesel production can also be made into a high-value food supplement:
It intends to use algae to produce high-concentration Omega-3 fatty acids for use in pharmaceutical and health supplement products, use algae protein extracts as a food supplement, and to sell its remaining biomass as fish meal.
“We can be profitable now,” said recently installed CEO Greg Bafalis. Bafalis joins Aurora Algae from Green Earth Fuels, where he oversaw the construction of a 90 million gallon biodiesel facility.
The company intends to expand its business by leverage algae as a commodity like soy to expand its business to enter the biofuel market within the next five to ten years, Bafalis explained. “Having those higher value products gives us the margins we need to go out where the costs and yields are in this industries now, and then build mass facilities and get costs down.”
The shift by the biofuel company to its pharmaceutical line is reflected in its name change last month. It used to be known as Aurora Biofuels.