ALGAE EMERGING SLOWLY (OR NOT?)

Algae Energy Orgy; Scum artists: The false promise of algae-fuel companies
Emily Waltz, September/October 2009 (Mother Jones)

"…Adam Freeman graduated last December from Kennesaw State University…with a degree in biochemistry…[and] set out on an algae road trip…[H]e realized that the industry wasn't what it purported to be. No one actually seemed to be producing oil…[T]he algae industry's slimy secret: Some companies have promised impossible amounts of oil…raising millions from unwitting investors…Biofuel experts say…in the next three to five years, an acre of algae can theoretically yield as much as 5,000 gallons of oil annually—enough to fuel about 10 cars for a year…[while] the current yield for corn ethanol is about 400 gallons per acre. Yet ethanol sells for about $2 a gallon, while making algal oil is still so prohibitively expensive that the algae companies have produced only a few dozen gallons of it.

"Not one algae company has a commercial-scale system…[M]ost haven't moved out of the lab…A concerted effort to study algal fuels started in 1978 at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado. The $25 million program, which laid the groundwork for much of the current research, shut down in 1996, in part because algal oil couldn't compete with the low cost of crude. But entrepreneurs pounced when fuel prices jumped in 2006…Today there are an estimated 200 algae companies worldwide."

Hype or hope? (click to enlarge

"…[T]urning [algae] into fuel seems so straightforward…[D]eprived of nutrients, they stop growing and put their energy into storage, often in the form of natural oils called lipids. These oils can be refined into just about any kind of fuel…Algae have the potential to produce 10 times more oil per acre than common biofuel crops…Production can be done in open ponds or enclosed, transparent bioreactors; on swampy land and in salt water; and without competing with food crops. Algae can even suck carbon dioxide from industrial emissions pumped directly into their ponds, while plants have to absorb it from the air…But with simple technology come simple limits…

"Pitching an algae company on inflated numbers is surprisingly easy…[W]hen people ask to see your facility, tell them it's top secret…Concerns about the hype haven't discouraged major investors. In July, petroleum giant ExxonMobil, once famous for scoffing at biofuels like ethanol, announced it would invest $600 million in algae technology…[and the] Department of Energy plans to devote $50 million of its stimulus funding to an "algal biofuels consortium" aimed at bringing together public sector labs like Sandia with private companies. As much as another $200 million, subject to congressional appropriations, will be divided among 5 to 12 groups with proposals for biorefinery projects. Algae companies are eligible…[One] top DOE biomass researcher, is aware of the industry's murky claims, but his fellow researcher [sees great potential]…"

The company's claim for algae's per acre yield is more conservative than the Department of Energy's research findings. (click to enlarge)

"…Valcent Products [says it]…can produce 100,000 gallons of oil per acre per year…SunEco Energy…claims it will be able to produce more than 33,000 gallons per acre per year based on a pilot operation with the volume of a large backyard swimming pool. It also claims that it will make fuel for close to $20 a barrel…But [thwe Sandia Labs scientist] estimates the actual cost of algae fuel at $420 to $840 a barrel…GreenFuel Technologies was founded in 2001…[and] insisted it could produce oil at the equivalent of more than 44,000 gallons per acre per year. Venture capitalists ponied up more than $33 million between 2005 and 2008…GreenFuel's pilot project proved twice as expensive as projected, and the company folded in May…

"Whether the algae charlatans will be exposed before the DOE sinks taxpayers' money into their companies is another question. Curtis Rich, a renewable energy attorney, says he believes the DOE's review teams will [distinguish between sound and unsound companies]…But [it was fooled by GreenFuel Technologies]…As for [Adam] Freeman, he has concluded that instead of joining up with an existing algae company, he's better off starting his own. The way he sees it, there isn't a lot of real competition out there."