IMPORTANT READING:
Those who are day-trading and looking for quick profits please stop here and don't bore your yourself with facts and information that matters for long term investment, you can keep checking your real time charts and live your life.
For those who want to understand the business they are investing in please read on.
1- One of the main issues in the algae industry is productivity. Open pond systems are cheap to build but productivity is very low. This is because open ponds are open to contamination, labor intensive, requires a lot of land AND Water. Water loss due to evaporation is huge and water needs to be replenished on a continuous basis. Therefore you have to build your open pond system close to a water source (sea, lake) where land is naturally more expensive. If you grow your algae in sea water , salt density and deposits become a problem after a while therefore you have to shut down the system and do regular cleaning several times a month. This is labor intensive and costly. There are many other inherent problems with Open Pond systems but my space/time is limited
2- Closed PBR systems are more productive (up to many times) but more expensive to build and many require artificial lighting that increases operation costs. But overall the biggest issue is initial capital investment. No matter how productive a PBR is if the equipment price is too high it can never pay for itself by producing biodiesel. It is impossible with current technology and costs. If food or supplement usage is the goal where you can get better premium for the end product you have a better chance but still your initial investment must be low so you recoup your money in an acceptable time period and not for example in 150 years.
3- BEHL's equipment cost for a PBR system is the lowest in the industry. Their technology requires some fine-tuning but overall it is many times less expensive than the competitors with similar products. For biodiesel to work BEHL needs a free CO2 source (e.g. power plant, cement plant etc) and cost efficient harvesting & extraction, probably a fiber optic light diffusion technology that can take the sun light and diffuse it in the water more efficiently, -AND- a GMO algae strain that is more productive in producing oil than non-GMO sources. Because currently the non-GMO strains are not productive enough for biodiesel application, they need to contain more lipids than existing natural strains. Anything you have heard other than this is BS, And why am I sure?, well if it was possible you would have seen the Algae biodiesel being pumped at the gas stations by now but you do not. Many Algae companies have been operating for many years and I have not seen an algae biodiesel that can compete with Fossil Fuels as of yet. As far as I understand BEHL has scientists in Czech Rep. that can supply the GMO strains for biodiesel production. Correct me if I am wrong.
4- BEHL's main advantage is that the cost of equipment is very low and could be even lower ,and with the free CO2 source, GMO algae strain, cheap land, low cost extraction method, carbon credits, byproduct biomass for animal feed, there is a good chance this could work for BEHL. Other systems failed because closed loop PBRs they offered were very expensive to make and maintain. BEHL's system could work if all the above conditions are met. It is still ahead of the industry in many aspects.
5- Now this was all about Biodiesel. There is also a big market for Animal Feed and you can get better return on that product if you grow the algae strains with high protein and starch contents. Because you don't have to extract the oil ,which is very costly if you want to do it efficiently*, you can make good money with this. (*Physical press extraction works for some algae but it is not ideal. Algae cells are very hard to crack and usually require solvents for 100% extraction.)
6- Spirulina and Chlorella are nutritious foods and supplements. You can sell these at better price than animal feed and the return would be even higher. These PBRs could be sold or donated to African nations to resolve the starvation and malnutrition issues they face time to time.
7- Now let's talk about BEHL and their company management. BEHL management appears to be sincere in their efforts and are NOT secretive. This is very important , many algae companies are very secretive and usually it is not because they want to protect their technology but it is because if they reveal their system 100% its flaws would be apparent and thus they cannot get the gullible investors' money that they are used to getting by BS Press releases and BS power point presentations. Many do not even show the pictures of their systems, or talk about HOW exactly they are going to grow the algae efficiently. Secretive= BAD . Many who reveal some of the technology online do not share their pricing unless you sign NDAs. Why because once you know how ridiculously expensive their system is you realize how it will not work and they don’t want many people know that. Again to be able to keep fooling investors. BEHL on the other hand shows exactly how their system works(they have videos on YouTube, many pictures on the website etc), even point to current flaws (watch the last Video from Dennis Fisher) and offer plans to resolve them and they usually stick with their deadlines. This is important.
8- BEHL appears to be run on a conservative budget, you don’t see Dennis with expensive suits or you don’t see unnecessary staff with high salaries. It appears Dennis Fisher and Dennis Shen do most of the things themselves , hands on. They hire help when necessary and try to keep expenses under control. You do not see fancy websites or million dollar head quarters bought with investor money. Look at PetroAlgae, they lost 46 million dollars in three years and reported zero revenue. Whose money they spent , you guessed it right.
9- Now I would feel more comfortable with the company when they start reporting their financials but even before that I have a good feeling about how they run the company. Dennis Fisher at some point used his personal finances for the DEMO PBR so that alone is a sign that he really believes in this company.
10- Above is my personal opinion, I am not related to Dennis Fisher or Shen, I don’t get paid by anybody to write this. I own BEHL stock and I explained why I invested in this company. This company is undervalued compared to other Algae companies. I do not see the future so I do not know if they will succeed in everything they promise so take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Think in technical terms and if it makes sense invest and stick with it as long as it keeps making sense.
