The UA is the lead institution for the Regional Algal Feedstock Testbed, or RAFT, partnership, which was recently awarded $8 million over four years by the Department of Energy to research how algae can be grown year-round outdoors in open ponds in different climates.
Gainsville, Fla. — Many scientists see great promise in algae as a new source of oil — a sustainable, environmentally sound way to break the world’s fossil fuel dependence. Algal lipids from microalgae are one of the best sources for biofuels — algae grow quickly, tolerate extreme weather conditions, and do not pose the same issues as biofuel crops that are grown both for fuel and food.
Am Lehrstuhl für Verfahrenstechnik des industriellen Umweltschutzes der Montanuniversität werden in Zusammenarbeit mit der OMV die Rahmenbedingungen für die österreichweite, industrielle Produktion von Öl aus Mikroalgen sondiert. Dieses könnte abseits der Teller/Tank-Diskussion in Zukunft als zusätzliche, erneuerbare Rohstoffquelle dienen. Im März wurde nun ein Sondierungsprojekt zum Thema „Next Generation Crude Production“ mit der Montanuniversität als Koordinator genehmigt.
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.
San Diego, March 20, 2013 – Sapphire Energy, Inc., a leader in algae-based Green Crude oil production, today announced it has entered into a commercial agreement with Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Tesoro Corporation. Under the agreement, Tesoro will purchase crude oil from Sapphire Energy’s Green Crude Farm in Columbus, New Mexico, which recently reached a new milestone: continuous cultivation and crude oil production. This begins the first step of a commercial relationship to process Green Crude oil from Sapphire’s future commercial facilities.
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 DIEGO, February 20, 2013 – As part of an ongoing effort to improve commercial scale algae biofuel production, a group of scientists, led by crude oil producer Sapphire Energy, Inc., today announced the completion of a collaborative study which identified the morphology, ultrastructure, and life history of A. protococcarum, one of the most difficult to manage algae parasites.
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.