Comments on: ExxonMobil’s Excellent Algae Biofuel Adventure… Or Not

By: vetxcl

vetxcl — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:35:00 +0000

Thanks for detailing how THAT source of biofuel just DRIED up. No, no … you didn’t say that. I understand legal constraints.

By: vetxcl

vetxcl — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Gee, it’s NOT like there is ANY history of a market dominator buying up the rights to market newer tech and then NOT marketing it. Oh wait, there IS.

By: agelbert

agelbert — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:31:00 +0000

It could be. However, it could be a legalese boiler plate fig leaf put out there while they do the opposite.
The only thing “complicated” about the environmental problems of GHG to Exxon is the fact that they threaten big oil’s bottom line all the way to potential bankruptcy. Their track record is crystal clear. Read “The Tyranny of Oil” by Antonia Juhaz.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tyranny-Oil-Powerful-Industry/dp/B0064XOAFI

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:50:00 +0000

That would be for oil. Forty-four gallons of gasoline for a road vehicle would cost roughly $160 in the US at the moment. But my point is just that $400 a barrel doesn’t seem so bad to people in a lot of countries. At least not for something that’s still in the kit bashing stage.

By: Tom Gable

Tom Gable — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:10:00 +0000

U.S. prices are currently around $100 a barrel.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:22:00 +0000

$400 a barrel is about 40% more than gasoline in Australia and almost the same price as gasoline in Norway.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:02:00 +0000

Exxon Mobil published this in 2011…

Environmental performance (including GHG emissions) is assessed and recognized through the annual planning and budget process. During this process, key strategies and objectives are established for each business line for both the short and long term. During the initial planning meeting and then each quarter, results are stewarded against prior commitments.

Society currently faces, and will continue to face, two major, global energy-related challenges. The first is to maintain and expand energy supplies to meet growing global demand. The second challenge is to address the societal and environmental risks posed by rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Managing GHG emissions and energy challenges requires action by individuals, companies, and governments. This will require an integrated set of solutions, and for ExxonMobil, this includes increasing efficiency; advancing lower-carbon energy technologies; and supporting effective, national and international policies. Our efforts aim not only to reduce emissions from our operations, but also to reduce emissions by end users of energy.

At ExxonMobil, our strategy to reduce GHG emissions is focused on increasing our own energy efficiency in the short term; implementing current proven emission reducing technologies in the near and medium term; and developing breakthrough, game-changing technologies for the long term.

—

While climate change remains extraordinarily complex, increasing scientific evidence makes it clear that rising GHG emissions pose risks to society and ecosystems. These risks justify the development and implementation of responsible actions by governments, companies, and individuals.

ExxonMobil believes that the long-term objective of a climate change policy should be to reduce the risk of serious impacts on society and ecosystems, while considering the importance of energy to global economic development.

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Files/cdp_investor_2011.pdf

It could be that Exxon is doing what they said they were going to do….

By: Tom Gable

Tom Gable — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:16:00 +0000

The future of algae biofuels is promising, but perhaps a decade or more down the road. This seems to be a more pragmatic approach to commercialization. Early hype in this area was incredible, such as testing Navy fighter planes with biodiesel at $400 a barrel. Our favorite was the Synthetic Genomics Hypemobile, in 2009, to promote a movie. Most of the efficiency was gained from plugging in the hybrid electric car to recharge, rather than using gasoline and biodiesel (1.25 gallons for the cross-country trek!). We blogged about it then. Glad to see the hype easing. http://goo.gl/9LII9

By: agelbert

agelbert — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:51:00 +0000

It’s possible that Exxon, true to corporate skullduggery form, wants to be the first to patent certain algae products that product superior oils, fuels or lubricants than are possible to obtain from crude refining and then SIT ON THEM. I think Sapphire Energy or Heliae is going to beat them to it. One or both of these algae to fuels and food corporations are ramping up to compete with fossil fuels as we speak.

http://www.sapphireenergy.com/IABR/P5020089_stitch.jpg
http://www.sapphireenergy.com/

Heliea patents:

http://www.patentbuddy.com/Company/Profile/HELIAE-DEVELOPMENT-LLC/1878274

Big oil ALWAYS fights dirty.

By: Mohan Raj

Mohan Raj — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:55:00 +0000

Exxon will never sell a bio-fuel that competes with their own Product (OIL). In fact, they opposed the natgas as a transportation fuel until their oil production went down drastically.

By: James Wimberley

James Wimberley — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:05:00 +0000

How much really is there in the distinction at the heart of this post: “foundational research to develop enhanced strains of algae, rather than seeking a quickie commercial solution”? If you have the right algae, the rest is boring off-the-shelf biochemical engineering. The “right algae” includes how they interact in a range of photoreactor designs, so SGI can’t just focus on nice-looking genes.