OriginOil and DOE to Develop Direct Conversion of Algae into Renewable Crude Oil

January 13th, 2012 by Glenn Meyers

Good news on the algae-to-oil front has been released by Los Angeles-based OriginOil, Inc., in conjunction with the US Department of Energy. The company will work in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to help algae growers to enter the global crude oil market.

OriginOil, a developer of a technology platform to extract oil from algae, reports that it plans to co-develop an integrated system with the DOE’s INL for direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries.

“We believe this is a major breakthrough for OriginOil and a major step forward for the algae industry,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO, in a press announcement. This is particularly good news for algae enthusiasts who have seen lots of potential for algae as a renewable energy source but little action in terms of business development.

Eckelberry points out that OriginOil already leads the industry with its chemical-free, low-energy, continuous high-flow harvesting system.

“From there it’s a natural step to helping algae growers make a direct crude oil replacement right on site, giving them direct access to the existing world market for transportation fuels, including jet fuel. That’s an instant upgrade from what is now a niche market, to the immediate 86 million barrel per day global crude oil market.”

OriginOil’s planned Biocrude System will integrate its own harvesting system with biomass processing technology being developed under the recently-announced research agreement with INL for the conversion of raw algae into barrels of renewable crude oil.

In operation since 1949, INL is an applied engineering national laboratory providing support to the DOE on energy research and national defense.

Source: Business Wire | Photo: OriginOil

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Tags: Algae, algae growers, Biocrude System, cleaner energy, DOE, global crude oil market, global crude oil market and algae, Idaho National Laboratory, INL, originoil, Riggs Eckelberry

About the Author

Glenn Meyers is a writer, producer, and director. Meyers was editor and site director of Green Building Elements, a contributing writer for CleanTechnica, and is founder of Green Streets MediaTrain, a communications connection and eLearning hub. As an independent producer, he's been involved in the development, production and distribution of television and distance learning programs for both the education industry and corporate sector. He also is an avid gardener and loves sustainable innovation.