OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL.OB) today announced it will focus on embedding its technology into industrial algae systems.
The company said it will continue to rely on a few strategic partners to help prove and scale the company’s technology for extracting renewable oil from algae.
"Now that we’ve sharpened our technology focus, it’s time to do the same for our business model," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. "We now plan to embed our technology into the industrial algae systems that others build. We no longer plan to develop our own distribution channels, nor engage in any high-volume manufacturing."
Strategic partners like Australia’s MBD Energy will help the OriginOil scale up its technology, proving its value in the field, the company said. These commercial scale-up programs will avoid the large capital expense of pilot plants for OriginOil while technology agreements protect its intellectual property.
OriginOil will work with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to integrate its extraction technology into their branded systems. The OEM category encompasses manufacturers, distributors, engineering service firms, system integrators and also specialty operators in high-value markets such as nutritionals and beauty products. Certain OEMs will be selected as manufacturers of OriginOil’s proprietary hardware.
On January 12 the company announced that future technology development efforts would concentrate on the ‘midstream’ of algae harvesting and extraction, a key industry challenge addressed by OriginOil’s processes.
"Algae is turning into a global industry that could someday replace petroleum," Eckelberry continued. "Focus is essential – in business as in technology–and you never want to compete with your natural partners."
"Well-funded manufacturing and engineering services firms are gearing up to build out these massive systems. Many already have well-developed sales and distribution networks. By integrating with them, we avoid having to build our own manufacturing and distribution infrastructure. That gets us into markets quickly, which is the key, said Scott Fraser, OriginOil’s Vice President of Operations.
As its first potential OEM relationship, OriginOil has an early-stage partnership with Belgium’s Desmet Ballestra, a leader in oil seed extraction and a pioneer in the implementation and sale of full-scale algae extraction systems, with operations in Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, the United States, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
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