Ventures

Proteus focuses on identifying key transformative environmental technologies within the energy, food, water and climate categories and commercializing them through a multi-step  process that includes striking early partnerships with downstream end-users of the technologies and/or their products - companies that will make the greatest profits by being early adopters of new sustainability technologies. Of the company names listed below, those that begin with the word “Proteus” are currently internal placeholders.

  • Proteus Sustainability Solutions

Sustainability is moving from a buzzword to a critical approach for generating improved profits, a better environment and social benefits. Proteus provides consulting services that help its clients to improve their bottom line through the careful implementation of sustainability technologies and practices. We provide our clients with a comprehensive analysis of their sustainability options that is weighted by both the economic and societal benefits. Proteus also defines entrepreneurial strategies for achieving sustainability goals and can help implement the chosen strategies.

PhycoSystems is a Los Angeles-based biotechnology company pioneering a market-changing, new approach to creating biofuels and electricity from algae – the fastest growing plants on earth. It brings together a unique technical and business team to focus on a cost-effective approach to production of these renewable energy products.

  • Microbial Energy Systems

Microbial Generators are a combination of new engineering technologies and new discoveries in microbiology. They can treat organic wastes and create electricity. Adaptations of the technology will also remove toxic metals from waste-water or drinking-water. Microbial Energy Systems has an initial focus on scalable devices that will work at village or farm scale to city scale.

  • Proteus Aquaseed, LLC

New discoveries in the genetics and physiology of marine animals will increase the yield of traditional aquaculture as much as 1-3 fold. This “hybrid vigor” and domestication is analogous to the improvements in corn agriculture that led to the green revolution. This is accomplished without any of the genetic modifications that are sometimes called genetically modified organisms. Starting with shellfish, Proteus Aquaseed will apply the latest in understanding of the growth of marine animals to select markets in the rapidly growing aquaculture industry.

  • Proteus Automation, LLC

Modern advances in automation and robotics can revolutionize many environmental challenges and solutions, particularly in the sea. Current fish farms are labor-intensive and, because of the sensitivity of the technologies to rough weather, concentrated in protected waters near shore. Off-shore aquaculture is an emerging solution to many of the risks from aquaculture and automation is required for this approach to food production to become more widespread. Using the latest technological breakthroughs in self-reconfigurable robots, Proteus Automation focusses on sophisticated, cost-effective robots to improve efficiency in aquaculture and to economically expand the practice offshore. Similar approaches can also improve other ocean industries, automate tasks with biofuel production and even help with understanding carbon sequestration in the open sea.

  • Proteus Carbon, LLC

Proteus Carbon is designed to further develop, test and verify a variety of approaches to carbon efficiencies and carbon sequestration in partnership with other companies and emerging carbon markets. It looks at new technologies that can have a large role in future carbon markets, developing both the technologies and the market itself. It will also play a role in marketing the carbon credits and offsets that may arise from other Proteus companies.