Primafuel Quickly Assumes Spotlight in Energy Sector

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Primafuel is making huge waves in the biofuels industry.


Last week, it was among a California delegation representing the United States at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Primafuel, a three-year-old startup, served on a low-carbon panel with Chevron and Toyota.


Last month, the Signal Hill-based company was named a 2008 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. Previous winners include Google and Encore Software.


Primafuel’s patent-pending technology allows refineries to extract more energy from alternative sources than what has been possible in the market. Its blend of aquaculture feedstock and its processing equipment can increase corn-based ethanol production by 10 percent.


The technology purifies glycerin, a common byproduct of biodiesel production, so that it can be recycled for reuse or sold.


Primafuel is also building a $90 million biofuel refinery at the port of Sacramento. California Air Resources Board recently gave $640,000 toward the project, the largest biofuels production grant to date.


The fact that Primafuel plans to be a biofuel producer as well as a technology developer makes the company competitive, said Brook Porter, chief operating officer.


This should enable Primafuel to generate revenue sooner than its competitors, which are building or raising money for construction of large-scale bio-refineries, Porter said. Licensing revenues have begun to trickle in and the company expects licensing contracts to grow well before the Sacramento plants begins producing fuel next year. Other refineries are planned in California and China.


The 40-person company has offices in New York and Sweden.


Primafuel is backed primarily by I2BF Venture Capital.



Disney Money


EdgeCast Networks recently secured $6 million from Steamboat Ventures, an investment arm of Walt Disney Co.


The L.A.-based content delivery network for rich media, such as music and video downloads, boasts that its unique network architecture makes it scalable for massive audiences. The company, launched in 2006, claims this translates to cost savings for clients compared with services provided by industry leaders such as Akami and Limelight Networks.


In addition to Steamboat, Hollywood veterans, such as CinemaNow Chairman Mark Amin and Lions Gate Films Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer contributed to this round of financing, which brings the company’s total venture funding to $10 million.



Expertise Online


ExpertVillage.com, a how-to video Web site with professional content, has an answer to the Hollywood writers’ strike.


It offers immediate work-for-pay on more than 2,000 assignments on the site to filmmakers and videographers. The year-old site’s popularity among freelancers has helped boost its total number of videos on the site to 50,000 recently, according to a news release by Demand Media, which owns and operates ExpertVillage, among other sites.


The site offers visual instruction on everything from kickboxing to cooking techniques. It has paid more than $1 million to freelance filmmakers and videographers to date.


ExpertVillage’s proprietary technology platform, called the ExpertVillage Filmmaker program, automatically connects professional scriptwriters and producers to projects whenever they become available.


Kyle Saylors, an L.A.-based filmmaker who co-owns an independent production company, said in the news release that he likes to choose a few assignments from the thousands available on the site and work on them in between his stints on larger projects.



Microsoft Suit


Craigslist and eBay are marketplaces to buy and sell just about anything, from bicycles to houses. But counterfeit software?


Los Angeles residents Huy Nguyen, Shane Nusser and Christopher Neilson were allegedly selling pirated Microsoft software online. This made it all too easy for Microsoft Corp. to find them. And now the computer giant is taking them to court.


The computer giant’s legal team is making a worldwide sweep of counterfeit Microsoft software sold primarily online, said Microsoft attorney Matt Lundy. The four cases in Los Angeles are among 74 civil lawsuits and criminal actions being pursued in 13 countries. Nineteen of these cases came from consumer tips.



Napster Turnover


It’s been a volatile year for Napster Inc.’s corner executive offices.


In August, the L.A.-based Internet music company terminated Chief Operating Officer Laura Goldberg to hire a veteran product strategist, Christopher Allen.


Last week, Chief Financial Officer Nand Gangwani resigned.


Gangwani, who has been commuting from his home in the Bay Area for the past four years, decided he will step down for personal reasons Dec. 31, according to a news release.


Suzanne Colvin, Napster’s controller, will serve as the company’s interim chief financial officer.



Staff reporter Booyeon Lee can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or at

[email protected]

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