When we say hot sugar, we mean a new generation of low cost industrial sugars that could help pull the biofuel market out of dependence on conventional crop based sugars. That leaves the field clear for the algae biofuel sector, and that’s where things start to get interesting. A company … [continued]
The pioneering biofuels producer Solazyme recently made yet another important step towards its goal of offering a commercially and economically viable alternative to conventional sources of liquid fuels — the company has officially begun commercial production for the first time at its US facilities. The two facilities — both the … [continued]
Arizona is already staking out a leadership position in solar power, and now it’s looking to take the algae biofuel field by storm with a new $8 million Energy Department grant to the University of Arizona. The funding will enable UA to fine tune its proprietary algae farming system and … [continued]
A company called Proterro has come up with a super low-cost way to squeeze sucrose out of algae, and if its new pilot-scale facility shakes out successfully, don’t be surprised to hear the sound of garment rending and teeth gnashing from the algae biofuel doubters. That’s because a sucrose feedstock … [continued]
Algae biofuel still has some catching up to do in the profitability department, but a first-of-its-kind study of a large scale algae biofuel operation puts it very close to petroleum in a key indicator of efficient energy production. That might come as a surprise given the heavy load of water, … [continued]
Right around this time last summer we took note of a new US-France urban algae farming collaboration that combines algae biofuel production with wastewater treatment. Considering all the political poop that certain US legislators have lobbed in the direction of France over the past ten years or so, that’s a … [continued]
Raising $28.4 in new capital from a group of existing and new investors, Arizona’s Heliae is ready to prove it can manufacture algae-based products for a range of target markets at commercial scale.
A research team from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering together and Harvard Medical School is on track to transform the common bacteria E. coli into a jack-of-all-trades producer of biofuels, pharmaceuticals, plastics and just about anything else that is presently made from petroleum precursors. The trick is … [continued]
High-octane biofuels — produced with the aid of newly created lines of engineered bacteria — may be in the near future thanks to new research from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. These new lines of … [continued]
A new study from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) estimates that the US could support the production of up to 25 billion gallons of algae biofuel annually. That accounts for a whopping one-twelfth of the nation’s current needs and it could prove even more significant if electric vehicles replace liquid-fuel … [continued]
