TAPPING ALGAE ENERGY

Sapphire Energy, the Sorrento Valley company that’s on a mission to turn algae into the fuel of the future for cars and jets, is on a roll.
And Cynthia “C.J.” Warner who joined the company in 2009 as president and was tapped as CEO this year should know.
Last month, the company completed $144 million in financing from Arrowpoint Partners and Monsanto. Original investors include Bill Gates (Cascade Investment), VenRock (Rockefeller family ventures) and Britain’s Wellcome Trust.
Next month, Sapphire launches its new “green crude farm” in Luna County, N.M., where it will begin to grow multiple acres of algae in open ponds. The goal for the demonstration plant is 100 barrels a day by 2015 and by 2018 a projected 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day.