Member Profile
I work in the Policy and Sector Division of the Australian Agency for International Development. I have privately invented a system for large scale ocean based algae biofuel production which requires proof of concept through lab and field trials. The methods described have strong potential to support global security through sustainable commercial production of energy and food at scale, while also helping to stabilise the global climate through carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management.
In my worked for AusAID since 1989, I have had program and policy management experience across sectors including climate change, agriculture, infrastructure, economic governance, private sector development, mining and financial services. I have a Master of Arts Honours Degree (Macquarie University 1992) with a thesis on ethics, and a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade (ANU/Monash 1999) with focus on economics and international relations.
The concept described here, using bags of fresh water floating at sea to power an algae PBR, emerged from my AusAID interest in finding new industries for the nation of Papua New Guinea. I contacted Terry Spragg, inventor of the waterbag, to explore if waterbags could be a feasible method to export drinking water from PNG to Australia. This led to discussions with a number of Australian governments about domestic use of waterbags. The priority given to desalination meant these discussions did not lead to piloting the new technology. In 2007 I joined AusAID’s Forest Carbon Initiative, with responsibility for investigating feasibility of a project in PNG on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation. My research on forests and climate led me to recognise that algae is a far more rapid way than trees to remove carbon from the atmosphere, if the technical and cost challenges for algae could be solved. Investigating waterbag technology as a means to make algae technology efficient at scale then provided the basis for development of this proposal.
Proposals
Large Scale Ocean Based Algae Production System | Jun 15, 2013 |
Ocean Floor Algae Fabric Production System | Oct 28, 2015 |
Tidal Pump | Jun 13, 2015 |
Proposal Links
Abundant Food, Job Security, and Export Income with Restorative Aquaculture | Aug 12, 2019 |
The complex protection against storm waves for river mouths and seashores | Jul 20, 2018 |
Supporting
Activities
Robert Tulip updated a proposal Ocean Floor Algae Fabric Production System | Oct 28, 2015 |
Robert Tulip created a Proposal Ocean Floor Algae Fabric Production System | Oct 28, 2015 |
Robert Tulip voted for proposal Nualgi - Diatom Algae for Sewage Treatment | Aug 8, 2015 |
Robert Tulip voted for proposal Tidal Pump | Aug 4, 2015 |
Robert Tulip updated a proposal Tidal Pump | Jul 14, 2015 |
Robert Tulip updated a proposal Tidal Pump | Jul 14, 2015 |