Investors are still pumping money into algae fuel, despite the lack of
commercial availability of the green gas. 4
Investors are still pumping money into algae fuel, despite the lack of commercial availability of the green gas.
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Solazyme says that they will be able to show case/ move towards commercial production by 2012/ 2013.
Solazyme's process is totally different and I wonder if there is any other company who is following this process.
Overall the industry stalwarts are a dampening force for the industry as they keep saying that it will take 10 plus years for the algae to oil industry to materialise.
Such dampening statements are not going to make VCs rush in for funding in this scenario.
If VC funding is not much and if the Gov grants too are not adequate, how can an industry break the technological barrier.
Only way out is private funding.
Like, Exxon. Like Chevron.
Which is happening.
But that is not enough.
What is required is VC funding like how it happened during the dotcom boom.
Everyone knows the potential for algae. Either mankind has to give up algae saying that it has tried enough with John Benneman and others OR they have to work as if there is no tomorrow for getting oil out of algae. That is grow algae in a large scale and extract algae to substitute fossil fuels to save mother earth.
In every aspect of the process from algae to oil there is scope for coming out with innovative ideas.
Strain selection, cultivating, PBRs, open ponds, dewatering, harvesting, drying, etc etc.,
If there are adequate funds, researchers will rush in.
If researchers rush in, results will come in fast.
I think it is time the industry stalwarts explain as to what makes them set a time line like 10 years.
What is it that they are seeing, what milestones are they seeing, which are the low hanging ones and which are the difficult ones, which milestones do they expect to be finally achieved before commercialisation . They must answer.
To me for a stalwart to just say that it will take
10 to 12 years appears tobe arrogating endless powers about an industry which is so critical for man's survival.
Also see the link in
http://www.oilgae.com/club/users/aathmika/blogs/578
"Investors are still pumping money into algae fuel, despite the lack of commercial availability of the green gas."
I think there are tax write offs too for that here in the States.
Investors need to pump in more money, so that more researchers get into the green gas rush and more innovations happen and more results come about.
In fact we need to put the best of breed researchers like how Exxon Mobil has put in strain selection / modification using Craig Venter for it.
The crying need is to have the best of the researchers in similar fields. Low cost PBR development for instance.
PBRs for commodity products.
Research should flow into all algae related products much more than now.