Manta Biofuel grows and harvests algae in manmade ponds and converts it to oil using hydrothermal liquefaction, a high-pressure, high-temperature process. Its system includes solar-powered harvesters that skim algae and a licensed conversion technology from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The company operates a roughly 15-acre pilot production site and says that capacity is sufficient for pilot-scale production. Manta is a nine-person team based in IMET’s Harbor Launch incubator and uses the funding to build prototypes and pay staff and contract engineers. In the short term it plans to sell its oil as a drop-in replacement for No. 6 fuel oil for boiler heating; the long-term goal is to tune its oil for refineries as a direct replacement for fossil crude. The startup also highlights environmental benefits from harvesting algae blooms, such as improving water quality and marine oxygen levels. Manta Biofuel produces renewable, carbon-neutral crude oil from algae using a proprietary harvesting technique licensed from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The company converts collected algal biomass into crude oil via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). It recently established a large pilot production facility in Thurmont, Md. The company intends to use the new funds to develop a prototype of a portable, solar-powered, floating algae harvester that autonomously navigates waters and collects algae. Manta’s harvesting technology was invented by co-founder Ryan Powell. To date it has received over $530,000 in funding from various government and state programs.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Jul 2016