Agreement for cooperation in the amount of millions of dollars between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the American company Prima-Fuel for the production of fuel from algae
An agreement for wide-scale cooperation and the granting of a license for technology development with the Prima-Fiol company was recently signed by Ben-Gurion University. The multi-year collaboration, amounting to several million dollars, focuses on the development of algae extraction technologies for the production of renewable fuels as well as the production of high-value ancillary products.
The development will be done by the Algae Biotechnology Laboratory named after the Landau family at the Yaakov Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, on the Ben-Gurion University campus in Sde Boker. The laboratory team combines expertise gained over 30 years with unique production technologies of Prima-Fuel. The commercial agreement was signed between Prima-Fuel and BG Negev Technologies, the technology commercialization company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The Algae Biotechnology Laboratory is managed by Prof. Sami Bousiba, a world-renowned expert in algae research. The laboratory has been involved in this field for over three decades and has successful experience in the production of algae on a commercial scale for the food and health supplement markets. This commercial application includes one of the photo systems - The largest bureaucracies in the world.
"This collaboration entails an extraordinary opportunity" says Prof. Busiva, who was recently appointed as the president of the World Society for Applied Phycology of Algae (ISAP). "Algae research was considered marginal in the past, but the world is finally aware of its enormous potential," emphasizes Prof. Bosiva.
Prima-Fuel has gained global recognition as a pioneering company in this field thanks to its technology, and even recently won the prestigious "Biofuels Digest Achievement" award for 2008. The company, which is privately owned in California, owns technology development infrastructures in California and Europe, and manages offices in New York City.
According to Dr. Ora Horowitz, VP of BG Negev Technologies, Prima-Fiol and BG Negev Technologies signed an exclusive rights contract, which makes use of the technology and photo-bioreactors developed in the Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, as well as the selection of strains made on By the group: "This agreement utilizes the special capabilities of the laboratory for the benefit of commercial uses of various algae products."
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It's fun to hear about the "initial production" at the Desert Research Institute at the Ben Gurion Midrash in the Negev. I've been passing by the Algae Research Institute every day for the past year and I didn't know someone in there was making millions. Great fun to know and discover. Go forth and succeed.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
This is how I think higher education should be financed. Not by collecting money from other people.