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Articles on Future Fuels-Algae

• High Energy Output Found from Algae-Based Fuel, but 'No Silver Bullet'
  Sep 27, 2011 - sciencedaily.com
  
  ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2011) — Algae-based fuel is one of many options among the array of possible future energy sources. New University of Virginia research shows that while algae-based transportation fuels produce high energy output with minimal land use, their production could come with significant environmental burdens.
  
  
• Fuel From Algae, Wood Chips OK’d for Airlines
  Jul 14, 2011 - Louise Downing - firstenercastfinancial.com
  
  Airlines won the backing of a U.S.- based technical-standards group to power their planes with a blend of traditional fuel and biofuel from inedible plants, the Air Transport Association said today.
  
  
• Teaching Algae to Make Fuel: New Process Could Lead to Production of Hydrogen Using Bioengineered Microorganisms
  Jun 15, 2011 - sciencedaily.com
  
  Many kinds of algae and cyanobacteria, common water-dwelling microorganisms, are capable of using energy from sunlight to split water molecules and release hydrogen, which holds promise as a clean and carbon-free fuel for the future. One reason this approach hasn't yet been harnessed for fuel production is that under ordinary circumstances, hydrogen production takes a back seat to the production of compounds that the organisms use to support their own growth.
  
  
• Florida Algae-Prenears - Making Fuel from Algae
  Jan 10, 2011 - Cynthia Barnett - Florida Trend
  
  Some Florida businesses are squeezing a trickle of fuel from algae, claiming they can help power the world. But right now, a few expensive drops in the bucket are all they have to show.

• Algae Research in Full Bloom at NREL
  Nov 03, 2010 - Heather Lammers - NREL Newsroom
  
  In a test tube, vibrant green microalgae look fragile, but in reality getting them to spill their lipid secrets to make renewable fuels is a challenge — one that researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory are tackling, again.
  
  
• Solazymes amazing algae
  Mar 25, 2010 - marcgunther.com
  
  Algae are so good at producing oil from sunlight and carbon dioxide that there are, by some accounts, as many as 200 companies trying to make biofuels from algae.
  
  
• Group Presents Energy Vision of the Future
  Mar 25, 2010 - Jennifer Runyon - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  University of Texas, Austin Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, major technology companies and business leaders collaborate to present a unified vision on transforming energy systems.
  
  
• A bioenergy platform company utilizing proprietary technology
  Feb 18, 2010 - Solena Group
  
  Solena is a next generation zero emission bioenergy company that has developed integrated end-to-end solutions that would help satisfy the world's growing energy demands
  
  
  
• The Environmental Impacts Of Algae-Based Biofuel
  Jan 27, 2010 - BioFuel Daily
  
  With many companies investing heavily in algae-based biofuels, researchers from the University of Virginia's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have found there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production ramps up. They propose using wastewater as a solution to some of these challenges.
  
  
• Algae Cultivation: Worse Carbon Footprint Than Corn
  Jan 26, 2010 - greentech media
  
  Algae biofuel production "consumes more energy, has higher greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than other biofuel sources, such as switchgrass, canola and corn," according to a University of Virginia study published in Environmental Science & Technology.
  
  
• Is Algae Worse than Corn for Biofuels?
  Jan 22, 2010 - Katie Howell - Scientific American
  
  Growing algae for use in biofuels has a greater environmental impact than sources such as corn, switch grass and canola, researchers found in the first life-cycle assessment of algae growth.
  
  
• Algae and other plant sources could soon help power jetliners
  Oct 26, 2009 - Michelle Dunlop - Herald Net
  
  Today, algae is one of several biofuel sources seen as propelling the aviation industry’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint. “Progress is going at a much faster pace than anybody anticipated,” Giovanni Bisignani, director of International Air Transport Association, said on Friday. “Three years ago sustainable biofuels were a dream. Now we expect certification no later than 2011.”
  
  
• Cracking Algae With Electricity
  Oct 23, 2009 - greentech media
  
  Organic Fuels Algae Technology says it can use electricity to break open algae cell walls to extract oil for cheap. Can it prove the technology works outside the lab?
  
  
• Algae fuel project in line for $750,000 in federal funds
  Oct 17, 2009 - Tanya Mannes - SignonSanDiego
  
  A San Diego-based project to develop fuel from algae is expected to get $750,000 in federal funds thanks to an earmark from Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad.
  
  
• Algae as Fuel of the Future Faces Great Expectations - and Obstacles
  Sep 17, 2009 - Anne C. Mulkern - The New York Times
  
  Tim Zenk is surrounded by green. In a lab near California's coast, shades of emerald, lime and chartreuse fill petri dishes, beakers, 14-foot plastic bags and long swirling pools.
  
  
• Algae Biofuels: From Pond Scum to Jet Fuel
  Sep 15, 2009 - Chris Tachibana - RenewableEnergWorld.com
  
  Exxon Mobil and genome expert Craig Venter hope to strike it green with oilgae, but a few obstacles remain on the path to commercialization of biofuel from algae. by Chris Tachibana, Science Writer
  
  
• Solazyme To Develop Algae Fuels for US Navy
  Sep 10, 2009 - Renewable Energy World.com
  
  Solazyme Inc. has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to research, develop, and demonstrate commercial scale production of algae-derived advanced biofuel that meets the United States Navy's rigorous specifications for military tactical platforms. Solazyme will utilize its innovative large-scale algal oil production process to provide renewable F-76 Naval Distillate fuel for testing and fuel certification to demonstrate it meets all military specifications and functional requirements.
  
  
• First Algae-powered Prius Sets Off on Cross-Country Tour
  Sep 2, 2009 - EV World
  
  Green Fuel is real fuel as the Algaeus, the world’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle to cross the country on fuel containing a blend of algae-based renewable gasoline, hits the road to celebrate the launch of the award-winning film FUEL. Sponsored by the Veggie Van Organization, the eco-aggressive, 10-day cross country tour features a caravan of high technology ‘green’ vehicles, led by the groundbreaking Algaeus, which is fueled by Sapphire Energy. The tour kicks off on September 8 in San Francisco and culminates in New York City on September 18 to celebrate the nationwide premiere of FUEL, the movie that inspires green energy solutions such as those demonstrated on the tour.
  
  
• Aurora biofuels doubles algae's CO2 uptake and fuel production
  Aug 26, 2009 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Aurora Biofuels said that it has succeeded in optimizing its base algae strains to more than double CO2 consumption and fuel production. The company has proven these results in an outdoor open system over the last several months.
  
  
• Cultivating algae for liquid fuel production
  Thomas F. Riesing, Ph.D. - Permaculture Activist
  
  With the increasing interest in biodiesel as an alternative to petrodiesel, many have looked at the possibility of growing more oilseed crops as a solution to the problem of peak oil. There are two problems with this approach: first, growing more oilseed crops would displace the food crops grown to feed mankind. Second, traditional oilseed crops are not the most productive or efficient source of vegetable oil. Micro-algae is, by a factor of 8 to 25 for palm oil. and a factor of 40 to 120 for rapeseed, the highest potential energy yield temperate vegetable oil crop. Michael Briggs at the Univ. of N. Hampshire Biodiesel group estimates that using open. outdoor, racetrack ponds, only 15,000 square miles could produce enough algae to meet all of the USA's ground transportation needs. Transportation accounts for 67% of US oil consumption according to the Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2005. We'll say more about the 15,000 square mile number below. If all of this land were in one rectangular piece, it would be 120 miles by 125 miles—about 1/7th of the area of the state of Colorado.
  
  
• Coming Soon: $2 a Gallon Diesel From Algae?
  Aug 18, 2009 - greentech media
  
  Aurora Biofuels says it has a species of algae that breeds like a rabbit.
  
  
• BP Gives Nod to Algae Fermentation With Martek Deal
  Aug 11, 2009 - greentech media
  
  Sugar costs money, but BP wants to know if it’s more economical than sunlight. Martek Biosciences will help the company figure it out.
  
  
• Blooming Biofuel: How Algae Could Provide the Solution
  Jun 22, 2009 - Jeffrey Decker - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  In the years since the discovery of significant concentrations of lipids in certain species of algae, estimates for the potential of the single-cell water-borne plant have varied wildly. What is agreed is the substantial potential for algae to become a valuable resource in the portfolio of second generation biofuels. The tiny plants can produce at least 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives like jatropha, rapeseed and palm, and are 20 times as productive as corn and soy. Today, high-end food supplements are still the main algal product, but some estimate their fuels could compete with petroleum at US$60 per barrel.
  
  
• Deal blooms for algae biofuel research
  Jul 15, 2009 - Thomas Kupper - Signonsandiego
  
  A San Diego biotechnology company led by genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter has landed a deal with Exxon Mobil that could include more than $300 million in funding to develop biofuels from algae.
  
  
• Exxon mobil bets $600 million on algae
  Jul 14, 2009 - Katie Howell - Scientific American
  
  Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. is making a major jump into renewable energy with a $600 million investment in algae-based biofuels.
  
  
• Algae Biofuel Leaders Converge on the Capitol
  Jun 11, 2009 - PR Newswire
  
  Leaders of the algae biofuel industry will meet on Capitol Hill today to brief congressional legislators on sector-wide technology and production advancements allowing for commercially-viable fuels, and advocate for continued federal support to help see the technology to maturity.
  
  
• Jet biofuel ready for takeoff
  May 29, 2009 - Katie Howell - Scientific American
  
  Jet fuels derived from algae, camelina and jatropha -- plants that pack an energy punch, are not eaten as food and do not displace food crops -- could be approved and replacing petroleum fuels in commercial flights as early as next year, a Boeing executive said yesterday.
  
  
• PNNL creates way to make natural gas from algae
  May 7, 2009 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.
  
  A new method for converting algae into natural gas for use in pipelines and power generation has been transferred to the marketplace under a license between Genifuel Corp. and Battelle.
  
  
• San Diego, Silicon Valley of Algae Innovation?
  Apr, 30, 2009 - Josie Garthwaite - earth2tech
  
  San Diego, Calif., has one very high-profile player in the algae game — Sapphire Energy, which counts Bill Gates and the Rockefeller family among its backers and has the ambitious goal of producing a million gallons of algae-based diesel and jet fuel per year by 2011. But does the San Diego region have what it takes to become the Silicon Valley of algae innovation?
  
  
• Algae-to-Fuel research enjoys resurgence at NREL
  Apr 16, 2009 - Joseph B. Verrengia - NREL - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Passenger jets cruise at 35,000 feet without a hiccup. Catfish farmers lease ponds to biofuels entrepreneurs. Venture capitalists sink $1 billion into green crude.
  
  
• New possibilities for hydrogen-producing algae
  Mar 25, 2009 - Science Daily
  
  Photosynthesis produces the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe ― could it also help satisfy our future energy needs by producing clean-burning hydrogen? Researchers studying a hydrogen-producing, single-celled green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, have unmasked a previously unknown fermentation pathway that may open up possibilities for increasing hydrogen production.
  
  
• The Next Generation of Biofuels
  Mar, 2009 - Scientific American
  
  Americans burn through 140 billion gallons of gasoline a year. And even if drivers switch to more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, the nation’s fuel needs are expected to increase by a fifth over the next 20 years, thanks to dramatic increases in car and airplane use. Which is why, in addition to developing solar, wind and geothermal energy, policy makers, including President Barack Obama, are advocating biofuels to transform the transportation culture.
  
  
• First flight of algae-fuelled jet
  Jan 8, 2009 - BBC Monitor
  
  A US airline has completed the first test flight of a plane partly powered by biofuel derived from algae. The 90-minute flight by a Continental Boeing 737-800 went better than expected, a spokesperson said.

• The Quest for Alternative Fuel in the Aviation Industry Takes Off
  Nov 24, 2008 - James DiGeorgia - Renewable Energy World.Com
  
  It's one of the busiest travel seasons of the year and it's almost here. The Thanksgiving holiday is notorious for crowded airports, long lines and flight delays. And while you may not be flying on an airplane powered by alternative fuel to get to Thanksgiving dinner this year, scientists are studying the possibilities now more than ever.
  
  
• General Atomics, SAIC to explore algae fuel for less
  Dec 27, 2008 - Mike Freeman -SignOnSanDiego.com
  
  Two San Diego-based defense contractors have received federal grants totaling nearly $35 million to drive down the cost of making jet fuel from algae.
  
  
• Biofuel of the future: oil from algae
  Oct, 2008 - David Biello - Scientific American
  
  The future of biofuel may lie in one word: algae. The tiny primitive plants can produce a lot of oil in a little space. Solix Biofuels has a pilot plant in the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colo., that uses the excess carbon dioxide from beer making to feed algae growing in indoor tanks. Global Green Solutions has a test facility in El Paso, Tex., that grows algae in tall, thin, sunlit bioreactors.
  
  
• Green oil by 2020?
  Oct 29, 2008 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  LONDON, UK. The Carbon Trust is launching the Algae Biofuels Challenge seeking to commercialise the use of algae biofuel as an alternative to fossil based oil by 2020.
  
  
• From flu-gas to algae-biomass
  Oct 28, 2008 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  MADRID, SPAIN and CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, USA, October 28, 2008. GreenFuel Technologies Corporation and renewables management company Aurantia are now in the second phase of their joint project to develop and scale algae farming technologies in the Iberian Peninsula.
  
  
• Using Plants Instead of Petroleum to Make Jet Fuel
  Oct 3, 2008 - David Biello - SciAm.com
  
  New aviation biofuel made from soybeans and other crops proves identical to oil-based kerosene.
  
  
• Rapid growth in the algae market; managing risk in the renewables space
  Oct 2, 2008 - Stephen Lacey - Renewable Energy World.com
  
  With over US $180 million in venture capital invested in Algae companies already this year, the market looks ready to explode. That explosion couldn't come soon enough for biodiesel producers who are having trouble getting enough feedstock to meet global demand.
  
  
• Algae: Biofuel Of The Future?
  Aug 19, 2008 — ScienceDaily
  
  In the world of alternative fuels, there may be nothing greener than pond scum.
  
  
• Will pond scum become the new oil?
  Jul 30, 2008 - CNN
  
  Pond scum. The thought typically evokes images that leave most people cringing, but it may one day occupy an important role in the nation's energy supply.
  
  
• Algae biodiesel
  Jul, 2008 - Alternative Energy News
  
  One area of alternative fuels that has gained a lot of interest over the last year or two is algae biodiesel. This is probably because it will produce 10-30 times what the best oil producing crops in America will produce.
  
  
• Algae from the ocean may offer a sustainable energy source of the future
  Jun 28, 2008 - ScienceDaily
  
  Research by two Kansas State University scientists could help with the large-scale cultivation and manufacturing of oil-rich algae in oceans for biofuel.
  
  
• Wuxi Uses Blue-green Algae to Generate Power
  Jun 23, 2008 - SinoCast
  
  Blue-green algae that is damaging the water quality of the Taihu Lake will soon become a new raw material for power generation in Wuxi, a beautiful city in Jiangsu Province.
  
  
• The byproducts of biodiesel production are valuable organic acids, researchers say
  Jul 22, 2008 - Jade Boyd - Renewable Energy World.Com
  
  In a move that could possibly change the economics of biodiesel refining, chemical engineers at Rice University have come up with a set of techniques for converting sometimes problematic biofuels waste into chemicals that fetch a profit.
  
  
• Turning algae into ethanol, and gold
  Jun 11, 2008 - Carli Ghelfi - Cleantech Group
  
  No ponds, no fresh water, no harvesting, no oils. One algal biofuel company says it's found a way to convert algae directly into ethanol on the cheap.
  
  
• 15 Algae startups bringing pond scum to fuel tanks
  Mar 27, 2008 - Katie Fehrenbacher - earth2tech
  
  If corn-based biofuels are the Britney Spears of th cleantech world (a fallen star but still all over the place), fuel made from algae is the next great American Idol winner (major potential in the pipeline). And despite the fact that algae-to-biofuel startups have been taking their sweet time bringing a pond scum fuel product to market, some inroads have been made recently — GreenFuel is building its first plant, PetroSun starts producing at their farm on April 1, and big oil Chevron and Shell have made some early bets as well.
  
  
• Chevron, NREL To Collaborate on Algae-to-Biofuel Research
  Nov 2, 2007 - Renewable Energy World.Com
  
  Chevron Corporation and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced yesterday that they have entered into a collaborative research and development agreement to study and advance technology to produce liquid transportation fuels using algae.
  
  
• Designer algae: the next Biofuel?
  Oct , 2007 - E85.Whipnet.net
  
  In 2006, the dusty town of Anthony Texas had little more going for it than being a New Mexico border town and an alfalfa field. This Dusty Texas Town recently became the home of a new and developing technology and oddly enough, it’s dependent on water. The old saying “Everything is bigger in Texas” doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to the Vertigro alternative fuel laboratory being constructed there. The dry stretch of land in West Texas might seem like the last place to study anything that lives in water, but the effort is based on more than just a new idea.
  
  
• Hydrogen from algae
  Sep 27, 2007 - Prachi Patel - Technology Review
  
  Algae are a promising source of biofuels: besides being easy to grow and handle, some varieties are rich in oil similar to that produced by soybeans. Algae also produce another fuel: hydrogen. They make a small amount of hydrogen naturally during photosynthesis, but Anastasios Melis, a plant- and microbial-biology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that genetically engineered versions of the tiny green organisms have a good shot at being a viable source for hydrogen.
  
  
• What's happening in the biodiesel from algae sector?
  Sept 4, 2007 - Meghan Murphy - Renewable Energy World.Com
  
  Most of the energy in the fossil fuels we use today comes from ancient algae that stored the sun's energy in hydrocarbon bonds. Now scientists and entrepreneurs are trying to take that ancient process, speed it up by a couple of million years and market it on an industrial scale.
  
  
• Alabama grant furthers cultivating algae for biofuel
  Apr 30, 2007 - Renewable Energy Worl.Com
  
  Gov. Bob Riley has awarded a $10,000 grant to Auburn University to conduct a study to determine the economic and technical feasibility of cultivating pond algae commercially as a source for biofuel.
  
  
• Algae tested as fuel for Arizona power plant
  Oct 26, 2006 - The Associated Press
  
  Algae may seem like one of life's little annoyances, but researchers hope the green, slimy stuff will one day replace one-third of the natural gas used to power an electric plant run by Arizona Public Service.
  
  
• Mutant algae is hydrogen factory
  Feb 23, 2006 - Sam Jaffe - WIRED
  
  Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have engineered a strain of pond scum that could, with further refinements, produce vast amounts of hydrogen through photosynthesis.
  

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