Thursday, April 30, 2009

BlackGold Presents at Puget Sound Brown Grease Symposium

BlackGold recently presented at the Puget Sound Brown Grease Symposium on April 15th.

Emily snapped the above shot of the Space Needle while on break from the Symposium.

Washington State is US's leading state in terms of biodiesel incentives and laws, the following map shows the official breakdown.

BlackGold Presenting at NAWT Waste Treatment Symposium

BlackGold will be presenting at the National Association of Wastewater Transporters (NAWT) Waste Treatment symposium this October 9-10 in Orlando, FL.

The NAWT Symposium immediately precedes WEFTEC's annual conference (where BlackGold will be present as well, details coming soon). BlackGold will be presenting on Day 2 at the Convert Grease Trap Waste to an Asset.

If you are interested in attending, you can register with NAWT by phone at 1-800-236-6298 or www.nawt.org

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Intership Opportunities at BlackGold!

BlackGold is currently seeking summer and year-round interns. Please see the following description.

Summer and Year-round Internship Opportunities at Renewable Energy/Alternative Fuel Company

BlackGold Biofuels (formerly known as Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel) is a Philadelphia start-up that has developed patent-pending technology to convert sewer greases into biodiesel, a low-carbon renewable diesel fuel. After 4 years of R&D at its North Philadelphia pilot plant, BlackGold is now licensing its technology for integration at waste water treatment plants and biodiesel production facilities. These low-value waste greases, often contaminated by sewage and trash, are too rancid for conventional biodiesel processing technology. BlackGold’s novel chemical process enables these to be cost-effectively converted to high-quality biodiesel – opening the door to a vast array of low cost raw materials (and thus more profitable biodiesel), providing beneficial reuses for many wastes and pollutants, and providing a feedstock for biodiesel production that does not compete with food sources. This winter BlackGold sold its first license and processing unit to the City of San Francisco and is poised for rapid growth. More information is available at www.BlackGoldBiofuels.com.

This next year BlackGold will conduct a funding round (targeting angels and small investment firms with interest in sustainable, triple bottom line businesses), building and commissioning our first commercial scale plant, shifting gears from an R&D focused company to an aggressive national product roll-out. We are seeking top-caliber interns to assist in preparing materials for fundraising, navigating the funding/deal-making landscape, improving marketing collateral, determining optimal product/license structures and roll-outs, and developing and formalizing relationships with strategic vendors/partners. We’re a small, hands-on, progressive company that values team members’ ideas – we’re happy to customize an internship work plan at the intersection of your interests/skill set and our needs.

Schedule and duration of internships are flexible – open to anything from 5 hours/week to full-time/seasonal. We have a small office in Center City Philadelphia – interns can work here, independently from their own location, or a combination of the two. BlackGold is an equal opportunity employer.

Position Openings at BlackGold Biofuels

BlackGold has openings for a Vice President of Business Development and PE Chemical Engineer Consultant.

Vice President of Business Development

BlackGold Biofuels developed patent-pending technology to convert fats, oils, and greases from the sewers (trap grease) into biodiesel, a low-carbon diesel fuel that can be used in unmodified diesel engines. BlackGold sells the technology license and processing equipment to wastewater treatment plants and large grease pumpers so that they can convert this grease liability into a revenue stream. The prefabricated, skid-mounted processing units easily integrate into treatment plants, with small footprints and continuous, fully-automated operations. The technology simultaneously addresses urgent needs in the wastewater and biofuels sectors: a best-value disposal pathway for rancid greases and a profitable means to meet the growing demand for biodiesel. With a high-visibility sale to the City of San Francisco, increasing legislation motivating buyers, growing cultural and political attention to related environmental issues, and first-mover advantage, BlackGold is poised for rapid growth and long-term success. After 5 years of R&D, BlackGold is now in commercialization phase and filling out its management team to launch the product nationally, then globally.

The Vice President, Business Development will be an integral member of the executive management team, overseeing and implementing business development for the high-growth start-up. VP of Business Development will:

  • Qualify existing and develop future sales leads, convert them into signed sales, negotiate sales contracts, and oversee smooth hand-off to project manager;
  • Set and meet sales and marketing objectives/budgets;
  • Develop, continuously improve, and implement sales and marketing plans;
  • Build internal and external sales network (identify, contract with, and manage manufacturer's reps, etc);
  • Work with CEO to develop strategic vendor and partner relationships; and
  • Collaborate with Marketing Manager to optimize marketing channels and campaigns once that role is filled; Collaborate with R&D Manager on market trends, customer needs and new products/improvements to determine R&D priorities.

In the short-term, this position will need to leverage a small staff and limited budget...and then effectively manage a much larger budget and staff as the company grows. The right candidate will thrive with the autonomy, agility, and upside potential of a start-up as well as the unique demands and constraints also characteristic of this environment. As a small company, management plays a key role in implementation as well as oversight, and thus it is important to be able to both think strategically and execute in the trenches.

Ideal candidates will have broad contacts within the waste water sector, an understanding of the industry landscape, and a personal reputation for integrity and follow-through. Demonstrated entrepreneurial performance, general creativity and resourcefulness, and genuine interest in sustainability are musts. Experience in project finance, media relations, public-private partnerships, project development, operations management, public speaking are each plusses.

The position will be based out of BlackGold’s Philadelphia office and involve significant travel. Compensation package will be a combination of a base salary, equity, and commission, weighted heavily toward the latter two. This is an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneurial person to get onboard a clean-tech business positioned to take advantage of growing opportunities in both the water infrastructure and renewable energy spaces. BlackGold is an equal opportunity employer. Send cover letter and resume to: info@BlackGoldBiofuels.com.


PE Chemical Engineer Consultant

BlackGold Biofuels developed patent-pending technology to convert fats, oils, and greases from the sewers (trap grease) into biodiesel, a low-carbon diesel fuel that can be used in unmodified diesel engines. BlackGold sells the technology license and processing equipment to wastewater treatment plants and large grease pumpers so that they can convert this grease liability into a revenue stream. The prefabricated, skid-mounted processing units easily integrate into treatment plants, with small footprints and continuous, fully-automated operations. The technology simultaneously addresses urgent needs in the wastewater and biofuels sectors: a best-value disposal pathway for rancid greases and a profitable means to meet the growing demand for biodiesel. With a high-visibility sale to the City of San Francisco, increasing legislation motivating buyers, growing cultural and political attention to related environmental issues, and first-mover advantage, BlackGold is poised for rapid growth and long-term success. After 5 years of R&D, BlackGold is now in commercialization phase.

This is an excellent opportunity to work with a very creative team conducting cutting-edge clean-tech research, development, and commercialization. The Engineering Consultant will join the existing technical team (www.blackgoldbiofuels.com/Team.html) and provide general, as-needed support related to process scale up and optimization, pilot plant upgrades and operations, process troubleshooting, design review, safety and HazOps review, procurement of new and used equipment, creative design solutions on a budget, mentoring Engineers in Training, and occasional CAD work. At times, work may be hands-on and may require stamping drawings. This position can be largely home-based, though will require visits to the North Philadelphia pilot plant at least every two weeks. Participation on a standing hour-long weekly conference call is required, as is execution of a nondisclosure agreement. Position will require occasional (~2x/yr) travel to San Francisco (for project installation and commissioning) and St. Louis (to review progress of fabricator).

Candidate should be a PE Chemical Engineer with at least 10 years work experience and access to CAD. Experience in a pilot plant, process development, and/or operations, a resourceful and creative nature, and enjoying working with your hands are all plusses. This position is nonexclusive, meaning there is no prohibition against contracting for other nonconflicting companies. Time commitment is estimated to be 4 hours/week, though may vary from 1-40 hours per week. Higher volume weeks will be predictable in advance and fairly flexible.

Please send cover letter and resume to info@BlackGoldBiofuels.com. We look forward to hearing from you. BlackGold is an equal opportunity employer.