Algenol’s algae fuel wins EPA approval as advanced biofuels

EPA certifies its fuels reduce GHG’s by 69%

In Florida, Algenol announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved fuels made from Algenol’s process as an advanced biofuel, meeting the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard. Fuels produced from Algenol are now eligible for a Renewable Identification Number under the D-5 classification. The EPA’s approval of Algenol’s patented Direct to Ethanol pathway covers its bio-crude co-product under an already existing pathway.

“The EPA approval is a milestone event for Algenol. The EPA validates that our suite of fuels meet the GHG reduction requirements set by the EPA for advanced biofuels and allows blenders and refiners to use our fuels to meet their Clean Air Act obligations under the RFS,” stated Paul Woods, Founder and CEO of Algenol. RINs can be purchased by blenders to document compliance with the RFS. As part of this approval, the EPA determined that ethanol produced from the Algenol process resulted in an approximate 69% reduction in greenhouse gases when compared to gasoline.

“The RINs ascribe both GHG reduction value and real economic value to Algenol’s fuels,” Woods said, “but the true game changing part originates from paying for CO2 emissions by converting them into valuable, low cost transportation fuels.” He added, “just imagine how refreshing the carbon dialogue would sound if CO2 emissions become a corporate asset rather than a liability.”

The EPA moving again on approvals

We’ve seen an uptick in the rate at which new pathways have been approved for the Renewable Fuel Standard lately.

In October, Quad County Corn Processors has achieved EPA certification to generate D3 Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) for cellulosic ethanol produced with Cellerate process technology. Formerly known as Adding Cellulosic Ethanol, Cellerate is a collaboration between Syngenta and Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quad County Corn Processors. QCCP earned D3 pathway approval from the EPA on Oct. 7 and Quality Assurance Program (QAP) certification on Oct. 10. Clearing these hurdles led to production of QCCP’s first QAP D3 RINs on Oct. 16.

In September, Oberon Fuels said that the EPA has approved its DME for inclusion under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Oberon’s biogas-based DME is now eligible for cellulosic and advanced renewable identification numbers, or RINs, after the agency determined that biogas-based DME produced from the Oberon process resulted in an approximate 68% reduction in greenhouse gases when compared to baseline diesel fuel.

Oberon is the first company to announce plans to commercialize biogas-based dimethyl ether fuel production in North America. “One of the exciting attributes of DME is that, at its core, DME is a simple fuel,” according to Oberon’s co-founder and COO Elliot Hicks. “It requires a simple diesel engine and has simple propane-like handling properties.”

More about Algenol

Algenol is a global, industrial biotechnology company that is commercializing its patented algae technology platform for production of ethanol and other biofuels.

Algenol’s patented technology enables the production of the four most important fuels (ethanol, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) for around $1.30 per gallon each using proprietary algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and saltwater at production levels of 8,000 total gallons of liquid fuel per acre per year. Algenol’s technology produces high yields and relies on Algenol’s patented photobioreactors and proprietary downstream separation techniques for low-cost fuel production.  These novel, low-cost techniques have the added benefit of consuming carbon dioxide from industrial sources, not using farmland or food crops and being able to provide freshwater.

Since its founding in 2006, Algenol’s scientists and engineers have invented and patented a broad array of new technologies for producing advanced renewable transportation fuels. The Company’s technology is a unique two-step process that first produces ethanol directly from the algae and then converts the spent algae biomass to biodiesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

For a complete up-to-the date snapshot of Algenol, visit our Algenol 5-Minute Guide for 2015, here.