On Becoming an Algae Entrepreneur in Australia

Algae/Other Aquatic Organisms/Seaweed, Australia, BioRefineries, Feedstock, R & D Focus

April 27, 2011

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by Stephen Bedford Clark (Algae Industry Magazine) My introduction to algaculture began as a young Mining Engineer in Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. It was fueled by my hobby and passion for raising aquarium fish, the delicate larvae requiring cultured spirulina to survive.
By 1990, the British Government closed the majority of their coal mines due to atmospheric pollution concerns. Out of necessity we became environmental engineers, rehabilitating the coal spoil mounds; and from the once damaged land rose a centre for sustainability called “The Earth Centre,” where we trialed our first algae photo-bioreactor “Biofence” in 1995.
…Community values are infused into a clustered “cottage Industry manufacturing model,” first advocated by the UN Zero Emissions Research Initiative, where regional waste is perceived more as a resource. If this is to be seen as a model of future sustainability, then the community should also be integrated into business development and the opportunities of downstream processing. This suggests a transparent new age company that integrates within the community and our environment.
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From a personal and family perspective, it is also challenging to juggle life’s everyday responsibilities, particularly in sacrificial income for the passion of believing and proving a concept. It is a lifestyle choice of a more simple existence; not relying on over-consumption, being resource friendly, working with nature – not against it, and then practicing what we preach.
A few final words for others on this path: Be prepared to suffer negative blows, but celebrate every step forward in your business development. Question established methods and do not accept that it has “always been done that way.” It is an entrepreneur’s determination that wins the day. READ MORE

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