University of Washington spins off first biofuels startup

An East Coast investment firm is betting on University of Washington technology to create fast-growing strains of algae, an organism that could hold the key to the future of the biofuel industry.

The result: Startup company AXI, with biology professor Rose Ann Cattolico and Allied Minds, a Boston-area private investment firm that specializes in licensing university research. The seed deal, for an undisclosed amount, is UW’s first biofuels spinoff.

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THE SEATTLE AREA has become a hub for those seeking to turn algae into the fuel of the future. Here are some of the local contenders.

AXI: First biofuel startup coming out of UW aims to make algae grow faster and yield more oil.

Bionavitas: Redmond startup has developed a patent-pending method to grow micro-algae in bulk quantities.

Indenture: Seattle firm works on the chemical process of converting algae into fuel.

Blue Marble Energy: Seattle startup focuses on growing algae in wastewater, as well as collecting algae that would be considered waste. It also extracts biomass, natural gas and other biochemical products from the seaweed.

By Ángel González

Seattle Times business reporter

Full Story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008109888_algae13.html