16 Years Providing Weekly Foresight

 

The most accurate predictive letter in computing and telecommunications,
read by industry leaders worldwide.

 

 

 

In This Issue     Feature: Special Letter: CO2 As Cash Crop: A Second Look at Algae   Algae As a Solution Why Now? The Origins of an  Algae Technology Group Efficiency Needed: Price, Fuel, and Nutrition Innovating and Integrating Scale and Commercialization Looking Forward  About Dan Simon     Upcoming SNS Events & Media Links   In Other House News   How to Subscribe May I Share This Newsletter? About SNS About the Publisher Where's Mark?

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By Dan Simon

 

 

 

Register now for the SNS Future in Review Conference. Now in its 10th year, FiRe will again be held at the beautiful Montage Laguna Beach Hotel, May 22-25:

 

www.futureinreview.com

 

 

See "Upcoming SNS Events" below for details on all SNS programs and registrations.

 

 

 

 

Publisher's Note: The world has seen its first wave of solutions to the problems of global warming, of cleantech, of alternative sources for food and fuel. Many have been tried, and many have failed, not only on technical grounds, but also through pricing issues, scaling problems, or overall failures in business models. 

 

Next week, at FiRe X, we will be showcasing many new ideas and companies, but one of the more important will be the idea of "Twinning" the fossil-fuel energy plants of the world with plants that justify CO2 as an economic good, rather than a threat.

 

Heliae qualifies on all of the above counts: the company has been there, done that, lasted through the initial wave of algal startups, perfected the efficiency of its technology, achieved the kind of strategic and deep-pocketed funding necessary for this kind of race, honed its business model through a pivot or two, and is in a second or third phase of scaling.

 

Whether your interest is purely in alternative energy, food, cosmetics, fertilizer, or chemicals, or whether you recognize the near-inevitability of the Twinning idea, I think you'll find Heliae an exciting story from top to bottom. As it moves into Indonesian operations and scales once again, we think it is one of the most important companies to watch, today and tomorrow. Which is why we have picked it as one of this year's FiReStarter Companies. mra.