ICP Parking Lot/Algae for Energy

Brief Outline of Research Results

Algae for Energy

• Companies
  • Jul 14, 2009 Exxon announced a plan to invest $600 million in the production of biofuel from algae (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/surprise-longtime-biofuel-holdout-exxon-makes-600-million-algae-f)
  • Exxon is supporting Synthetic Genomics
  • Dow Chemical
    • http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-fuel/
    • building a pilot plant on the site of a Dow plant in Freeport, Tex.
  • Fast Companies List of 5 (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/when-will-we-see-commercial-scale-algae-fuel)
    • Renewed World Energies
    • Solazyme (This six year old startup)
    • Sapphire Energy (Founded two years ago)
    • Synthetic Genomics
    • Algenol Biofuels
  • GreenFuel Technologies Corp., based in Cambridge, Mass
    • both biodiesel and ethanol
    • In Popular Mechanics: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4213775.html
• Industry Associations/Events
  • 2nd Annual Desert Biofuels Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona
• Intellectual Property
  • Valcent uses a closed, vertical system, growing the algae in long rows of moving plastic bags. The patented system is called Vertigro, a joint venture with Canadian alternative energy company Global Green Solutions. (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html)
• General BioFuel Sources
  • Grain Sources
    • Corn and Soy
      • ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans
      • Generally did not succeed due to an increase in food prices and criticism that the production process was not energy efficient. (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/francine-hardaway/world-startups-outside-silicon-valley/ten-companies-you-need-know-about)
  • NonGrain Sources
    • Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) Companies
      • Can use local resources to benefit the local economy OR be created on a larger scale and distributed.
      • Algae and Jetropha Companies:
        • Production methods
          • contaminant-free salt water aquifers
          • closed loop algae system
        • Efficiency
          • “30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans, according to the U.S. Department of Energy” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html)
          • “algae species also can grow in saltwater and other harsh conditions” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html)
• Commercialization
  • Jet Fuel
    • Boeing and Air New Zealand recently announced a joint project with a New Zealand company to develop an algae-based jet fuel, while Virgin Atlantic is looking into the technology as part of a biofuels initiative. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html)
    • Fuel Cells
      • 2000 Berkley discovery of how to use algea for hydrogen production (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2000/02/16/scum.html)
      • “microscopic green algae -- known to scientists as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and to regular folk as pond scum -- was discovered more than 60 years ago to split water into hydrogen and oxygen under controlled conditions.” (http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/08/54456)

Bibliography

• 02.16.00 - Harnessing the Horsepower of Pond Scum. Available at: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2000/02/16/scum.html [Accessed August 10, 2009].

• 10 Biofuels Companies You Need to Know About | The World of Startups Outside Silicon Valley | Fast Company. Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/francine-hardaway/world-startups-outside-silicon-valley/ten-companies-you-need-know-about [Accessed August 6, 2009].

• A Promising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy - washingtonpost.com. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html [Accessed August 5, 2009].

• Algae: Power Plant of the Future? Available at: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/08/54456 [Accessed August 5, 2009].

• Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy' - CNN.com. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html [Accessed August 5, 2009].

• Algenol Biofuels - Harnessing the Sun to Fuel the World. Available at: http://www.algenolbiofuels.com/ [Accessed August 6, 2009].

• Exxon, a Longtime Biofuel Holdout, Makes a $600 Million Algae Fuel Investment | Sustainability | Fast Company. Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/surprise-longtime-biofuel-holdout-exxon-makes-600-million-algae-f [Accessed August 6, 2009].

• Five Companies That Are Turning Algae Into Energy. Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/when-will-we-see-commercial-scale-algae-fuel [Accessed August 6, 2009].

• Inhabitat » 15 Year Old Invents Algae-Powered Energy System. Available at: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/06/24/versatile-system-by-javier-fernandez-han/ [Accessed August 5, 2009].

• Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America's Newest Alternative Energy Source - Popular Mechanics. Available at: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4213775.html [Accessed August 5, 2009].

• Turning Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com. Available at: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-fuel/ [Accessed August 6, 2009].

• Greenwire, K.H.O., 2009. Exxon Sinks $600M Into Algae-Based Biofuels in Major Strategy Shift. The New York Times. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/14/14greenwire-exxon-sinks-600m-into-algae-based-biofuels-in-33562.html [Accessed August 6, 2009].(Greenwire 2009)

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