Welcome to Sunrise Ridge Algae, Inc.
We are a private Texas corporation engaged in research,
development and commercialization of
algae biomass technology for reduction of water and greenhouse gas
pollutants and production of renewable fuel feed stocks and animal feeds.
Sunrise Ridge sponsors research in several areas with the University of Texas
at Austin, the University of Houston and owns and operates a pilot production facility at the Austin Water
Utility's Hornsby Bend plant in Austin, Texas.
Recent News
November 2009 
CTO Dr. Robert Weber published a commentary
regarding yields and energy balances in reference to research published in the
American Chemical Society Energy and Fuels journal.
Test production from the Gen II bioleum pilot scale reactor was initiated
at the University of Houston. The company also completed design and
construction of a Gen III pilot scale reactor.
October 2009
Sunrise Ridge algae was featured on KIAH-39 Houston Fox television.
See some footage from our new Katy algae production facility. SRA
was also reviewed in the Houston Business Journal (subscription required).
Sunrise Ridge presented an updated business plan overview at the
2009 Gulf Coast Innovation Conference in Houston.
Russ Capper of The BusinessMakers Radio Show follows up on progress in the
company. Hear it here.
September 2009
Sunrise Ridge Algae announced completion of production and testing of 1
liter sample of algae-derived bio-crude, which it calls "bioleum."
The bioleum product appears to be suitable for refining in a complex petroleum
refinery. Notably, the material has a high heating value (near diesel),
low sulfur (0.22%) and very low phosphorus (<2 ppm). The company continued
to research optimal operating conditions to reduce the level of oxygen and
nitrogen heteroatoms.
The catalyzed thermolysis process was redesigned to reduce corrosion
product contamination, and is relocated to the University of Houston for joint
research activity. SRA began a program to obtain alternate biomass
samples for testing in the apparatus.
Sunrise Ridge arranged for a second algae production facility near Katy,
Texas. The 2 acre facility will test alternate species and
growing/harvesting techniques.
August 2009
Sunrise Ridge Algae presented an updated business plan
concept to the Houston
Technology Center, reflecting the breakthrough development of its catalyzed
thermolysis process, which produces high yields of oil without requiring high
lipid content in the algae.
March - July 2009
Sunrise Ridge Algae hosted entrepreneur interns from Innovation
Norway. Carolyina Syverstad and Vetle Engesbak completed market and
strategy assessments, and developed a new financial model, before returning to
Norway to complete their masters degrees.
Sunrise Ridge Algae prepared multiple applications for Federal and private
algae research and commercialization grants and programs. In these
applications, SRA partnered with leading Texas universities, including the
University of Texas, the Texas A&M System, and the University of
Houston. Competition for these programs was quite fierce (in
one, SRA competed with 800 other applications while only 15 were selected).
CEO Norman Whitton explains the company's business approach.
The company also made significant progress to develop partnerships with
leading engineering, industrial and energy companies to prepare for siting a
demonstration facility.
Sunrise Ridge Algae provided commercialization inputs to a DARPA algae
consortium, and continued to provide research and development
consulting expertise to private algae clients.
February 2009
Sunrise Ridge Algae has secured several contracts to provide research and
consulting services in the algae and fuels industry, including a long term
contract to evaluate commercialization issues, and shorter contracts to
provide information on petroleum fuel markets and evaluate novel algae-based
fuels for those markets. The Company has unique capability and
expertise, at the intersection of algae processes and petroleum fuels, that
provide superior value to our customers.
Sunrise Ridge Algae received "cover" status in the February issue
of Biocycle Magazine. The magazine caters to the commercial compost,
waste-to-energy and recycling industries. The City of Austin's
Hornsby Bend site has one of the largest composting operations, for wastewater
sludge disposal, in Texas.
CEO Norman Whitton was selected as Co-Chair of the Greater Houston
Partnership's Energy Collaborative Task Force focused on biofuels.
Working together with Co-Chair Dr. Don Cotten, Vice Provost of Lamar
University, the group will focus on attracting investments in biofuels, to
Texas and the Houston region.
January 2009
Sunrise Ridge Algae participated in the Australian-American Chamber
of
Commerce Energy Conference in Houston.
CEO Norman Whitton made a presentation
with reference to algae's "killer app" potential in Australia LNG.
December 2008
DOE sponsored an "Algae Technology Roadmap" exercise in
Washington DC. Sunrise Ridge Algae participated in this conference and
its attendant seminars to assist in planning for research and
commercialization over the next 5 years.
We also began providing more information to our Congressional delegation
regarding the potential of algae in Texas.
Dr. Robert S. Weber joined the Company full-time as Chief Technology
Officer.
November 2008
CEO Norman Whitton participated in the Austin
Cleantex Forum as a
panelist, and made a presentation
regarding algae commercialization. A similar presentation was also
delivered to a group of University of Texas engineering students.
October 2008
The Austin, Texas American Statesman covered developments in Central Texas
algae, with a wide-ranging article that interviewed several University of
Texas researchers, staff at Sunrise Ridge Algae, and the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. Check out their coverage here.
Norm Whitton and Dr. Jerry Brand describe their efforts to develop an
algae-to-biofuels business in Austin. A video prepared by the Austin
American Statesman, here.
The Company was awarded $250,000 from the State of Texas Emerging
Technology Fund. Under the terms of the award, the State of Texas will
become a strategic investor in the Company. Read a detailed press release
here.
The Company and the City of Austin's Water Utility extended the duration of
the agreement governing the operation of the Algae Test Farm pilot for an
additional 18 months. The time will allow Sunrise Ridge Algae to conduct
further optimization and scale-up testing of its algae production process.
September 2008
Sunrise Ridge Algae was selected to present its business plan at the
prestigious Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. View the
presentation here.
The Company conducted a successful lab-scale test of its "dry"
product separation process.
August 2008
Sunrise Ridge Algae Inc was formally accepted as a Client of the Houston
Technology Center, an incubator for high-tech startups.
May/June/July 2008
Sunrise Ridge Algae achieved targeted wastewater pollutant reductions and
achieved intermediate level targets for algae production.
Additional growth protocol optimization is under way to increase yields.
March 2008
CEO Norman Whitton was interviewed by Russ Capper, host for the Business
Makers radio show. The interview discussed the role of algae in
renewable energy, some challenges to successful algae-to-oil production and
the status of the Company's plans. Listen to the interview here.
Sunrise Ridge Algae's CEO Norman Whitton made a presentation to potential
investors at the Houston Technology
Center's March 2008 conference for Energy Technology and Venture
Capital. Dave Griffith, EVP Ventures & Licensing, provided
details at the Company's booth at the convention.
Our Mission
To develop and commercialize algae production systems that are
economically successful at commodity scale.
We are targeting large potential markets, including bio-diesel and
ethanol feed stocks, animal feed supplements, waste water cleanup
(nitrogen, phosphorus) and greenhouse gas emission reduction. Our
strategy is to focus on production system scaling and cost
issues while harnessing the superior productivity and yields of select
algae strains.
Company Profile
Research Activities
Sunrise Ridge focuses its research activities in four major areas:
- Obtaining algae species with attractive growth and yield characteristics
- Reducing the capital and operating costs of algae greenhouse facilities
- Optimizing growth and harvesting protocols to increase value of commodity
products
- Reducing the capital and operating costs of algae concentration and
separation
The Company has collaborated extensively with the world-class capabilities of
various departments of the University of Texas at Austin since 2006, and continues to
sponsor research there.
Pilot Plant Operations
Sunrise Ridge and the City of Austin, Texas agreed in May 2007 to
collaborate in the installation of an algae test production facility at the City
of Austin's Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management
Plant. Sunrise Ridge will fund and
operate the facility, and will demonstrate its proprietary patent pending
greenhouse technology. The City provides space, utilities and feed stocks,
including waste water and carbon dioxide.
The pilot plant facility was physically completed in November 2007.
The Company started up the facility in 1Q2008. We continue to adjust the
plant equipment as required to meet our design objectives. We are also
assessing reaction and growth rates in various component processes.
Principals
 Mr. Norman Whitton is the
CEO of Sunrise Ridge Algae
Inc. His 26 year career includes more than a decade of
experience in the downstream petroleum and chemical industry while at Conoco
Inc. and EI Du Pont, followed by more than a decade of experience at management
consultancy Arthur D. Little, where he led the Energy Industry practice in
Asia. In recent years, Mr. Whitton has collaborated with a major Malaysian
investor to develop startups in bitumen refining, oil and gas production, and
palm-based biofuels. Mr. Whitton's extensive experience in strategy and operations in the oil industry has
provided unique insights for research in key
elements required for commercial production of commodity fuels.
 Dr. Robert Weber is the Chief Technology Officer of Sunrise Ridge Algae
Inc. Previously, Dr. Weber was a director at TIAX LLC, before which he was
a principal at Arthur D. Little, Inc. and a member of the chemical
engineering faculties at the
University
of
Delaware
and at Yale
University. At Yale he also served for two years as the Associate Dean for Natural
Sciences of the Graduate
School. Dr. Weber received a BA from
Cornell
University
and a PhD from Stanford
University.
 Dr. Jerry Brand is Technical Advisor to Sunrise Ridge Algae Inc. His
32
year career includes extensive research into photosynthesis, culturing and
characterization of algae. Currently, Dr. Brand is Director of the UTEX
algae culture collection at the University of Texas at Austin. The
collection is one of the largest in the world, with more than 3,000 species under
continuous cultivation or cryo-preserved.
Dr. Brand supervises ongoing research sponsored by Sunrise Ridge for algae
species selection in his laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin.
 Mr.
David Griffith is EVP, Ventures and Licensing, for Sunrise Ridge Algae
Inc. In his 35 year career at ConocoPhillips, Mr. Griffith was responsible for
major project development and negotiation. He concluded landmark project
deals, including the world's first major petroleum coke to electricity venture;
one of the major Orinoco tar upgrader projects in Venezuela; and a 400,000 bpd
joint venture refinery in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Griffith also managed Conoco
Inc.'s technology licensing program, and was responsible for marketing the
company's gasification technology suite.
Contact Information
Please click here to contact
us. | 
