Bionavitas wants to give algae more light. The Redmond, Wash.-based startup has unveiled what it calls Light Immersion Technology — essentially, acrylic tubes that can direct sunlight deeper into a pond of algae. That could allow algae to grow up to 1.5 meters deep, rather than the about 10 centimeters depth now possible before "self-shading" prevents deeper growth, Bionavitas CEO Michael Weaver said Wednesday. And that density of growth per square meter could allow algae-based biofuel to compete with petroleum-based diesel and gasoline on price, he claimed. "For you to be able to grow any kind of density that’s cost effective, you must be able to break through the self-shading barrier," he said. Algae-based biofuel production has gotten a lot of interest for its promise of providing a naturally oily feedstock. But growing and harvesting large quantities of algae at an affordable cost have remained challenges (see Algae Biodiesel: It's $33 a Gallon). Weaver, who made his fortune by co-founding legal software company Applied Discovery and then selling it to LexisNexis, founded Bionavitas in 2006. He and other founders have funded it themselves and with angel investments so far. Now he wants to raise some money to prove the technology works. How much exactly will "depend on the market itself," he said. "It's not the same kind of venture capital market it was a year ago," when algae-based biofuel startups raked in a record amount of investment (see Algae Biofuel Investments Explode). Still, Weaver hopes to have one or two 1-hectare pilot plants, using canal-shaped covered ponds with Bionavitas's light-immersing acrylic tubes floating freely in them, up and running soon. The algae grown there would be aimed at biofuel production, which could include both biodiesel or other fuels made from algal oil or ethanol made from algal sugars, or both, depending on the partners Bionavitas brings in. Bionavitas is also developing a closed, computer-controlled bioreactor using LEDs for light to grow algae for nutraceutical uses, which can offer higher prices than fuels, he said. Growing algae for bioremediation, or cleaning toxins from contaminated water, is another potential line of business, he said. "We have a significant amount of interest from the mining industry," he said, "specifically, companies that have legal obligations to extract harmful elements from the water that’s coming from their mines."