MIPS Project Detail:

Manta Biofuel Inc.

Harvest of algal blooms for crude oil production:

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Company

Manta Biofuel Inc.

Reisterstown

Baltimore

County

, Maryland

Founded:

2014

Website:

https://mantabiofuel.com/

Company Description:

Manta Biofuel is a producer of renewable algal crude oil that is cost-competitive with traditional crude oil. The company employs technological advantages in a three-step process to produce crude oil from algae. The first is growing algae. Manta can convert algae from any source, leaving options open from farming to collecting natural blooms. For the second step, harvesting the algae, Manta uses a proprietary magnetic harvester that efficiently collects and concentrates algae. The company then converts the algae to crude oil through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL).

MIPS Project

Harvest of algal blooms for crude oil production:

Project #

5506.27

|

MIPS Round

57 |

Starting Date:

Feb 2016

MIPS Project Challenge:
For Manta’s first MIPS project (two-phases), the goal was to determine the quality of oil produced from algae blooms with different species compositions.

Project Scope:
For the first MIPS project, researchers harvested 1 kg of algal biomass from 4-6 blooms, characterized the algae present in the blooms by molecular methods, and converted the algae to crude oil to be sent for contract oil analysis. During Phase 2, researchers initiated blooms in open-pond systems under different conditions and followed the blooms over the course of a growth season.

MIPS helped my company perform research that would otherwise be impossible for our small startup to accomplish. The partnership with University of Maryland provided access to highly trained personnel and well-equipped laboratories.

Ryan Powell, Co-Founder, Manta Biofuel

Results:

For the first MIPS project, Manta reported obtaining detailed insights into the bacterial and microalga communities present in the company’s ponds. The composition of oil obtained from hydrothermal liquefaction of algal biomass was determined.

In 2014, Manta was awarded a $40,000 Phase I grant through the TEDCO Technology Validation Program (and a subsequent Phase II award in 2015). In 2015, the company received a $150,000 SBIR Phase I award through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Also in 2015, Manta was selected for a $150,000 investment from the Mtech-managed Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund, which is supported by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In 2016, the company was awarded $100,000 through the TEDCO Technology Commercialization Fund. Also in 2016, Manta acquired a $1 million SBIR Phase II award through the DOE. Manta currently has five full-time employees and two part-time employees.

Powell invented the algae-harvesting technology employed by Manta while earning his Ph.D. at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, in the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). Manta licensed the technology from UMCES.