OriginOil has shipped the first production model of its Algae ApplianceT harvester to Paris-based Ennesys, its urban algae joint venture. This marks the first commercial invoice for Origin Oil's newly-introduced Model 4. Located in the iconic La Defense complex near Paris, the program aims to demonstrate that algae can help achieve eco-sustainability for large building complexes.

As shown in a company video , the unit shipped July 10 is OriginOil's entry-level Algae Appliance, the Model 4, designed to process up to four liters (about a gallon) of dilute algae water per minute, intermittently or continuously, without the use of chemicals, into an algae concentrate (see specifications). This low-energy process can help generate clean energy for a building complex while also helping with water purification.

"After building very large custom systems for our Australian project, we designed a standard, entry-level production harvester that complements our chemical-free, continuous flow, low-energy system," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil's CEO. "This unit is compact and self-contained, perfect for running algae test scenarios."

Eckelberry added, "Based on our in-house testing, we are confident that the Algae Appliance Model 4 is the quickest and most energy-efficient way to process algae water continuously into a useful algae concentrate."

"We've seen internal test results that indicate this harvester can remove up to 99.9 percent of water in a single pass," said Pierre Tauzinat, CEO of Ennesys. "That is a disruptive technology that we can't wait to put to work into our urban algae demonstrator."

The Ennesys site is designed to test the suitability of algae production for helping large commercial buildings achieve a positive energy balance and natural water management, as envisioned by France's RT 2020 sustainable energy framework.

Buildings are Europe's greatest source of energy demand, consuming 40 percent of all electricity throughout the continent. France has taken the ambitious step of mandating that by 2020, all new buildings must qualify as Positive Energy Buildings (BEPOS), requiring them to cleanly generate more energy than they consume, and to purify their waste water.

These regulations are seen as a major market opportunity for algae. In addition to being a source of clean energy and water management, algae absorbs large amounts of CO2, creating a carbon-neutral fuel that can eliminate equivalent amounts of emissions from fossil fuels.