ADVANCES IN ALGAE

'Green goo' biofuel gets a boost
Steve Mollman, August 24, 2009 (CNN)

"Three years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world's automotive fuel could come from algae… Now there are well over 50 [companies seriously focused on producing algae fuel]…The number should double within the next year or two…

"…ExxonMobil… publicly skeptical of other biofuels…invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter…a key player in sequencing the human genome. Synthetic Genomics is looking at…[ways] to boost the plant's oil production. The startup received an earlier investment from BP a few years ago, but this one by ExxonMobil has raised eyebrows…[A]fter years of careful research ExxonMobil concluded that algae, among all the alternatives, has the most potential…"

The eater of our enemy is our friend. (click to enlarge)

"The airline industry, plagued by high jet-fuel prices, is also investing and testing, with players including Boeing, GE Aviation, Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines and Continental Airlines…Algae fuel has already helped power planes, cars, and other vehicles in various tests and demonstrations…

"…[T]he U.S. Department of Energy's [1978-1996] Aquatic Species Program focused on it before closing down…[due to] low petroleum prices and the relatively high cost of making algae fuel…Economic competitiveness remains the key challenge, and the hunt is on to find the best strains of algae…But it…will now get the kind of funding and attention…needed to turn it into a competitive industry…[Many] approaches are being tried…Solazyme (whose investors include Chevron) is growing algae in big dark tanks and feeding them sugar…Seambiotic is growing marine microalgae using…[coal-plant] carbon dioxide, which algae feed on…NASA and Google [are]…using semi-permeable membrane enclosures of sewage floating in the ocean. Only clean water leaks out, and the algae feed on [nutrients in the sewage]. Other methods...[range from] bioreactors to open ponds."

The numbers are impressive. (click to enlarge)

"…[Unlike biofuel sources] like palm…sugar cane or corn…[algae] doesn't have to be grown in places that…serve for food production or endangered species habitat…Algae can be fed sewage and carbon dioxide and grown in… deserts, ponds, and oceans…[And it] fits relatively easily into the vast infrastructure of refineries and [fossil fuel] distribution channels…But [it] is not environmentally perfect. It still creates pollution when burned…[E]nvironmentalists…prefer… cleaner options like solar and wind. Algae fuel..[is too much like] Big Oil…[However, it] does burn cleaner than fossil fuel…SunEco [algal fuel showed] an 82 percent reduction in particulate emissions with no loss of power [in trucks]…

"Huge sales…ExxonMobil says…[are] five or ten years away…[M]any ventures…will surely not survive…GreenFuel Technologies…went out of business this spring…co-products [may buoy some]…Seambiotic make food additives…Solazyme has made nutraceuticals, additives and soaps using algae…[T]he ethanol industry doesn't have a similarly wide range of fall-back alternatives…[But] ExxonMobil seems prepared to spend substantially…The initial $600 million…[plus billions for commercialization]…That's small change for the likes of ExxonMobil, but it represents a big change for the status of algae fuel."