The Return of Fed-Funded Algae Fuel Research
The Aquatic Species Program was launched in 1978 by president Jimmy Carter to explore the potential of algae as an energy source. About $25 million was put into the program until it was shelved by the Clinton administration in 1996. They never found the ‘lipid trigger’ — the trick to making the organisms produce lipids capable of being turned into biofuels in a high-volume low cost manner.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the investment of up to $24 million for three research groups to tackle key hurdles in the commercialization of algae-based biofuels.
The funded groups consist of partners from academia, national labs and private industry that are based across the country, with projects expected to continue for a period of three years.
The three consortia selected for funding are:
Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consortium (Mesa, Arizona): Led by Arizona State University, this consortium will focus on testing the acceptability of algal biofuels as replacements for petroleum-based fuels. Tasks include investigating biochemical conversion of algae to fuels and products, and analyzing physical chemistry properties of algal fuels and fuel intermediates (DOE share: up to $6 million).
