Category: Blog

Algae.Tec has signed a deal with government-owned power company Macquarie Generation to site an algae carbon capture and biofuel production facility alongside a 2640MW coal-fired power plant in Hunter Valley Australia.

This first of its kind deal will capture an estimated 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which will be fed into an algae bed and converted into biodiesel. The Australian facility is expected to cost $140 million and the company has begun initial talks with funders and hopes to close its first round by the end of the year.

Algae.Tec has secured an off-take agreement with Biodiesel Industries Australia to put the fuel to use in the local area for transportation and mining.

Algae.Tec also made headlines last September when it signed a deal with German airline Lufthansa to build an aviation grade biofuels plant, but has come under construction delays and not yet come online.

In the wake of President Obama’s speech on climate change, utilities and power producers in the US can be expected to face new restrictions on CO2 emissions. As such, carbon capture has once again become a major topic of conversation. In fact, a new report estimates that the US could store a mean of 3,000 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in geologic basins throughout the country. Understandably, coal proponents point to this study as a reason to keep the status quo.

However, its important to remember that adding capture technology to plants is expensive, in the many millions depending on the size of the facility. Because the emissions are treated as waste, this is pure expense. The Algae.Tec project could showcase a new model for carbon mitigation – recycling CO2 emissions into valuable products rather than burying them. This approach flips the economic proposition on its head – turning a cost center into, ultimately, a profit center.

This is a compelling economic and environmental argument that we hope will continue to get traction as companies like Algae.Tec succeed.

 

UPDATE: Biofuels Digest had an excellent interview with the Chairman of Algae.Tec last last week, which can be found here.

 

A recent report by an Australian think tank found that algae farming in that country could generation billions of dollars in economic benefits and up to 50,000 jobs. Experts at Future Directions International examined the benefits that would come from producing algae-derived Omega-3 oils, aquaculture feeds and biofuels in regions of Australia with ample land and sunlight.

The numbers are big, but might only be the tip of the iceberg when you consider that the study examines algae’s potential in just one country. The larger economy and higher fuel demand in the United States, for example, point to an even larger potential world wide.

Austrialia’s ABC has the story, along with some great video of ABO member Aurora Algae’s operations.

President Obama gave a speech today outlining how his Administration will address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the changes that come with a warming world. One important tool he mentioned was the ability of innovators to find new ways to make products that don’t exacerbate pollution. The algae industry is proving to be one of those innovators, and ABO’s executive director Mary Rosenthal had these comments explaining how emitters of carbon dioxide may find a friend in algae:

“While many people think of CO₂ emissions as a problem, algae technology companies see them as valuable inputs for the production of algae-based food, fuel and animal feed.  Algae consume CO₂ as they grow, and for high productivity, algae require more CO₂ which can be supplied by emission sources such as power plants.   By reusing CO₂, algae-based technologies provide carbon-intensive industries with an emissions reduction approach that is a revenue-generating opportunity, rather than a costly expense.

While reducing overall emissions, these technologies also reduce our reliance on imported oil and create new sources of food and feed on lands unsuitable for agriculture and using waters unsuitable for human consumption.

Members of the Algae Biomass Organization look forward to working with utilities and other affected entities to showcase algae-based solutions that can help them meet their obligations while creating jobs, reducing costs and creating new growth opportunities.”

Today the Supreme Court refused to allow a halt to E15, or gasoline that includs a higher level of ethanol blended than is currently widely available.

Ethanol Producer has a good story about the ruling, and ABO issued a statement that noted the previous fuel transitions that America has undergone. Not all of those transitions were smooth, but each time the fuel mix the the U.S. was improved.

“Today’s decision is another step in our nation’s journey to a future of cleaner, renewable and more secure sources of fuel for our cars, trucks and planes,” said Rosenthal. “The decision affirms the hard work of innovative companies that are commercializing new feedstocks, such as algae, to be a source of sustainable ethanol and other biofuels. These are fuels that can be produced by Americans for Americans. From coal to petroleum to biofuels, America has a long tradition of adopting new and better energy sources, and today it’s great to know we are keeping the doors to innovation open.”

With companies like  Algenol (producing ethanol with algae) and BioProcess Algae (using CO2 from ethanol production to grow algae) the algae industry is looking forward to providing the nation with more sustainable, domestically produced fuels, feeds and other products.

Algae Biomass Organization Executive Director Mary Rosenthal authored a column in Biofuels Digest on Tuesday discussing the future of advanced biofuels and how government backing lends a helping hand to an emerging industry.

“For algae, support from agencies like the DOE and the USDA has been invaluable, and the interplay between business and government illustrates that technology commercialization will rarely succeed on the efforts of any single scientist, entrepreneur, investor, or government agency.”

Read the whole article here to learn more about how these types of partnerships can yield a robust, clean, domestic energy future.