Five major algae announcements; unprecedented algae biofuels development activity underway

An unprecedented bloom in algae-related biofuel project development continued this week with no less than five major announcements from companies in the field.

In Canada, W2 Energy announced that it had completed its Sunfilter commercial scale algae bioreactor, and that the product is ready for sale to algae and/or biodiesel producers or other companies investigating algae or CO2 sequestration or recycling efforts.

In Ohio, Algaeventure Systems said that it had received an order from General Atomics for its algae harvesting, dewatering, and drying technology. The technology will be utilized in the DARPA project that GA is heading, that aims to produce an environmentally friendly, efficient, and cost-effective process for algae jet fuel.

In North Dakota, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota was awarded a subcontract by SAIC to use its proprietary technology to produce jet fuel from algal oils. The technology was developed by EERC under a previous DARPA contract. The $14.9 million SAIC project aims, like the General Atomics-led project, to produce JP-8 reewable jet fuel from algae at a target cost of $3 per gallon.  EERC fuel was used in the recent Flometrics test rocket flight in the Mojave Desert.

In South Carolina, California-based algae developer Kent BioEnergy announced that it would establish a division of the company based in Charleston, partnering with local entrepreneur Grant Knox. Knox had approached KBE after South Carolina utilities had expressed increased interest in algae-based renewable energy. KBE holds worldwide rights to technology for algae harvest and extraction that were originally developed at South Carolina’s Clemson University. KBE has been growing algae since the early 1990s at a 160-acre facility in California, with an original focus on bioremediation that has expended to biofuel production.

In Florida, Lee County commissioner Ray Judah said that Economic Development Director Jim Moore and Algaenol CEO Paul Woods have commenced discussions on a partnership aimed at keeping Algenol in the state. Algenol, which recently announced a $70 million investment from Dow Chemical that would lead to the construction of a facility in Texas, had been reportedly not even on the county’s database of companies, despite the fact that Alganeol is headquartered in Bonita Springs.

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