San Diego & Kailua-Kona, June 6, 2013 – Cellana, developer of algae-based feedstocks for biofuels, animal feed, and Omega-3 nutritional oils, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year off-take agreement with Neste Oil, the world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel, for commercial-scale quantities of Cellana’s ReNew™ Fuel algae oil feedstocks for biofuel applications.
Richland, Wash. – A new analysis shows that the nation’s land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country’s yearly needs. The findings come from an in-depth look at the water resources that would be needed to grow significant amounts of algae in large, specially built shallow ponds. The results were published in the May 7 issue of Environmental Science and Technology, published by the American Chemical Society.
Omaha, Neb. – April 22, 2013 – BioProcess Algae LLC has been selected to receive a grant of up to $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as part of an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery project related to production of hydrocarbon fuels meeting military specification. The project will use renewable carbon dioxide, lignocellulosic sugars and waste heat through BioProcess Algae’s Grower HarvesterTM technology platform, co-located with the Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa.
Zu welchem Zeitpunkt Kraftstoffe aus Algen tatsächlich im großen Stil verfügbar sein werden, ist ein Thema an dem sich die Geister scheiden. Gerade hat sich Exxons CEO Rex Tillerson zu Wort gemeldet und Algenkraftstoff eine generelle Machbarkeit zugesprochen, den Zeithorizont aber auf etwa 25 Jahre beziffert. Auf der anderen Seite liegt die zeitliche Schätzung von Profis aus dem Sektor in einer aktuellen Studie deutlich niedriger und in den USA gab es einen ersten Testlauf mit Algensprit an Tankstellen. Was also soll man glauben?
San Francisco, March 5, 2013 – Propel Fuels, retailer of renewable fuels and clean mobility solutions, and Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oils and bioproducts company, today announced that sales and survey results from their 30-day retail pilot program show consumers prefer its environmental benefits compared to conventional fuels; would purchase more of it if it was widely available and would even pay a premium for it. The pilot program, which marked the first commercial availability of algal derived fuels, offered SoladieselBD in a B20 blend to consumers through Propel’s Clean Fuel Points in Redwood City, San Jose, Berkeley, and Oakland.
The NSF Sustainable Energy Pathways Program has awarded a 1.6 million dollar grant to a team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture and Ohio University. The multi-disciplinary group will be studying the viability and optimization of algae-based biofuel systems to meet the energy needs of homes and communities.
Algae.Tec, a Perth-based producer of algal oils used in clean fuel, plans to sell $US200 million ($190 million) of bonds in Europe to fund expansion in the Americas. The company intends to start the offering within the next month and complete it by mid-year, Chairman Roger Stroud said. The proceeds will finance new factories in Texas and Brazil that will produce algae for biofuels.
Washington, DC – January 2, 2013 – As part of the bi-partisan “Fiscal Cliff” legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on January 1, 2013, algae-derived fuels are, for the first time ever, a “qualified feedstock” under section 40 of the United States Code meaning that producers of algal fuel are eligible for a $1.01 per gallon tax credit.
South San Francisco, CA (December, 2012) – Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, announced today the successful completion of multiple initial fermentations at ADM’s Clinton, Iowa facility. In these runs, Solazyme achieved commercial scale production metrics, exhibited linear scalability of its process from laboratory scale, and demonstrated the ability to run at this scale without contamination.
On July 18th the U.S. Navy began its Green Fleet demonstrations in Hawaii–the largest display of biofueled naval power yet. Biofuels derived from a variety of sources, including algae, will be used in U.S. ships and aircraft as part of the Navy’s effort to reduce its reliance on imported oil. In support of the demonstrations, Mary Rosenthal, executive director of the Algal Biomass Organization, issued the following statement.