Today, the things we were envisioning are here
When Walter G Rakitsky, PhD, SVP emerging business, joined Solazyme in 2007, the business had been through a couple of “significant course changes” since 2003 when co-founders Jonathan Wolfson and Harrison Dillon first started dreaming about algae and clean energy in a garage in Palo Alto, he recalls.
“Back then they were still talking about making hydrogen in ponds," recalls Rakitsky. "So by 2007, a lot had changed, but what we had [to show investors] was still powerpoint. Today, the things we were just envisioning then are here."
And while Solazyme is “still just scratching the surface” when it comes to exploiting the potential of microalgae, it’s now producing oils from commercial scale manufacturing facilities in Orindiuva, Brazil (a JV with Bunge); Clinton, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois; that are used in everything from surfactants, detergents, cosmetics, and industrial lubricants, to tires, soap and carpets, for customers from Unilever to Mitsui.
Meanwhile, its cosmetic products under the super-premium Algenist brand - which contain microalgae-derived alguronic acid, claimed to minimize the appearance of wrinkles - are now for sale in 20 countries, and partnerships have been established with brands including Sephora and Nordstrom.
And while it’s still loss-making - Solazyme is starting to generate sizable revenues ($15.9m in Q2 with losses of $42.9m) - and is now a public company listed on NASDAQ.
Ironically perhaps, given this is where Wolfson and Dillon originally envisaged they would be making the biggest splash, alternative energy is proving to be the toughest nut to crack from a commercial perspective, says Rakitsky, while food and posh skin creams currently look like a much better bet, in the short term at least.
“The technical challenges [around using microalgae as a biofuel] are still significant.”