DOE Issues RFI for Advanced Algae Fuel Research
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking input from industry, academia, and other biofuels stakeholders regarding supply systems and services for the production, handling, storage, transport and delivery of algae via a new Request for Information (RFI)
DOE may use the information in support of program planning and may determine to issue a formal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for this area.
The DOE Office of Biomass Program is interested in responses that address one or more of the following parts:
- Near-term Production and Supply of Algal Biomass. This section of the RFI is focused on obtaining information on the approaches, facilities, equipment, and processes that could be used to enable the near-term establishment of algal biomass production and supply services.
- Downstream Algal Biomass Requirements. This section of the RFI is focused on obtaining information on requirements for algal biomass supplies to support downstream operations such as dewatering, extraction, separation, conversion and/or end-use (e.g., refineries, animal/aquaculture feed producers) facilities.
- Non-Destructive Production of Advanced Biofuels or Intermediate Metabolites. Algae may also be developed, grown, and maintained in culture systems capable of operating in a manner that allows for the extracellular secretion, or non-destructive extraction (milking) and separation of metabolite from the cells and supporting culture media. Such metabolites may be advanced biofuels, or may be in the form of intermediates that can easily be converted to advanced biofuels with further processing.
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| | posted by Sumukhi Sreevatsan
August 15th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
The US taxpayer has spent over $2.5 billion dollars on algae research over the last 50 years. To date, NOTHING has been commercialized by any algae researcher.
The REAL question is: Does the DOE really want to get off of foreign oil, or do they want to fund more grants to reasearcher for anothr 50 years to keep them employed at universities for another 50 years? In business, you are not given 50 years to research anything.