Stephen Campbell

October 11, 2010

A Canadian company recently announced stumbling upon a strain of algae capable of producing triacylglycerol oil, an important ingredient of biofuel, at a rate 60 times that of any existing algal type. Algae has emerged as an attractive source of biofuel due to the low amount of space and energy needed for its cultivation relative to other sources such as crops and biomass. Its ability to grow in standing ponds and vertical "biofences" allow it to produce the oils necessary for biofuel production with inputs of only water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide while not consuming large areas of land or forcing cultivators to divert food resources for fuel development. Its high oil yield also gives it a much higher energy output per unit of energy expended on cultivation than traditional biofuel sources making it a more efficient fuel source.

These benefits have attracted the interest of governmental and international private organizations in the form of investment aimed at using biofuels to offset the use of traditional fossil fuels and their resulting carbon dioxide emissions. One sector focusing heavily on integrating biofuel into their operations is the aviation industry. As different transportation methods focus on lowering the carbon emissions associated with their operation, airlines and governmental departments utilizing airplanes are not able to consider electricity as a fuel alternative. To lower their carbon emission they are therefore looking to biofuels to provide solutions. Companies such as Boeing are aiming to increase the amount of biofuel used in their airplanes to 1 per cent by 2015 while the United States Navy and Air Force are planning to have 20 per cent of their fleet running on biofuels by 2020.

This advancement in algal oil production efficiency is also good news for legislators concerned with biofuel development. Last month a bill was passed by the House of Representatives which would give a tax credit for biofuels derived from algae equal to that given to biofuels derived from traditional sources. It also provides a 50 per cent bonus depreciation for property used in algal biofuel production. Increased algal oil production efficiency could potentially make support of algal based biofuels more attractive to legislators concerned with security, reliability and environmental risks associated with depending on imports of traditional fossil fuels. For those hoping to allocate more resources to advancements in biofuel development and cultivation for commercial use this discovery could prove beneficial.

Sources:

Hillary Brenhouse, Canada Produces Strain of Algae for Fuel, N.Y. Times, Sept. 29, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/business/energy-environment/30iht-renalg.html

Tyler Hamilton, Green Jet Fuel Takes Flight, (Sept. 12, 2010) http://www.thestar.com/business/article/858682

Interview by Biofuels Digest with Brian Bilbray, Congressman, California (Oct. 6, 2010) available at http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2010/10/06/change-in-control-whats-next-in-washington/

United States Department of Energy, National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap (2010). Algae-based Renewable Fuel Promotion Act of 2010, H.R. 4168, 111th Cong. (2010)