With facilities in California and in Hawaii, Global Algae Innovations is an established player in the Algae arena having - before any SBIR involvement - received substantial awards in 2015 and 2016 from DOE for related projects in partnership with well known players - academic, research lans and major coprorations. With the focus on acceleration the commercialization of algal biofuels through development of an integrated, photosynthetic, open raceway pond system to produce algal oil, the firm's approach is to combine best-in-class cultivation and pre-processing technologies with some of the worlds leading strain development laboratories. The Global Algae Innovations consortia is a big one with several institutions and other companies. GAI was in a prominent spot earlier with Algae Biomass Summits, noting that carbon utilization was now a real business opportunity, and costly carbon sequestration options would not be competitive as the algae technology platform goes to commercial-scale. The company had earlier also been funded by DOE for a project aimed at increasing algal biomass yield by deploying an innovative system to absorb carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a nearby power plant. The firm defines its role as designing innovative technology to make algae production more efficient and consistent, harnessing the unparalleled productivity of algae to provide food and fuel for the world, while also dramatically improving the environment, economy, and quality of life for all people. In addition to SBIR involvement, the firm has successfuly achieved funding ($1M) from X-Prize and the Musk Foundation, and as part of a team, involving University of California-San Diego, TSD Management Associates, Texas A&M University, General Electric, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, another $5M from DOE
