Earlier this week we covered the announcement that OriginOil had created a Live Extraction process for converting algae to oil coined, ‘milking’. This is just one of several big breakthroughs the company has had during the past year so I decided to catch up with CEO Riggs Eckelberry to get his take on algae to fuel.

Q: Due to this breakthrough technology (Live Extraction) and some of the others you’ve recently announced, how soon do you think you’ll be able to use this technology to produce algal fuels at a commercial scale?

A: Due to the lag in actually building large scale projects, the ability will come long before the fact. Also, we won’t build or produce ourselves, but instead we will provide technology and devices, and help design, build and maintain these sites. The next step is a pilot plant which could occur as early as next year.

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Quick: what do cows and algae have in common? You can milk them both–sort of. L.A.-based OriginOil has developed a technique called LiveExtraction that uses electrical pulses to extract oil from inside of algae without actually killing the algae itself–in other words, OriginOil milks the algae for its oil.

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Los Angeles based OriginOil has made several major announcements during the past few weeks including a patent filing for its Dynamic Control System, and its application for a Patent Cooperation Treaty for low-energy, high-efficiency algae production. Now, they have announced a breakthrough process for Live Algae Extraction, coined ‘milking’ which is a complicated way to say that they can continually extract the oil from algae without killing the cells.

This new ‘milking’ process is an addition to the company’s Cascading Production technique which is a combined cycle that turns algae to fuel more efficiently, economically and cost competitively when compared to petroleum.

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Today, Los Angeles based OriginOil announced what they’re calling a breakthrough in algae processing, leading to a simpler and more efficient mechanism for producing algae-based biofuels.

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Fear not intrepid reader, seems that the MSM has finally discovered algae too. During a recent installment of their “Energy Fix” segment, CNN has latched on to algae biofuel as the next big thing in renewable energy. Regardless of the laughability of the anchors, the segment is actually worth watching if for no other reason than to get a close up look at OriginOil’s Helix Bioreactors.

Besides, you know it’s gonna be good when the segment is hosted by an anchor named Poppy Harlow. Video after the jump…

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On the heels of a breakthrough which the company claims will make algae oil farming a true competitor to petroleum, OriginOil has filed two patents that may make the production of fuel products from algae incredibly cheap and easy in the near future.

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