“Algae to the rescue” if other advanced biofuels spark “everything vs. fuel” scramble? Two reports address the futurescape
Two thought-provoking essays – one on algae energy and the other on advanced biofuels, survey the advanced biofuels economic drivers and investment landscape.
Philip Brown of Diversified Energy calls for four priorities in algae R&D. First, re-focus research and development (R&D) activities towards minimizing operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for algae production systems. Second, emphasize co-product capture and marketability to maximize revenue generation. Third, aggressively develop technologies and processes that significantly improve total algae yields, without dramatically increasing costs. Fourth, reduce total capital costs, through advanced technology, of algae production and harvesting.
The report used more than 50 independent variables supported by detailed engineering specifications, commodity market data, and vendor quotes for equipment costs to develop one of the first detailed public models for the capital cost of algae energy systems.
The complete Brown report can be downloaded here.
Dr. Tom Konrad looks at lessons learned from first generation biofuels and in particular looks at the potential that a “everything vs. fuel” may replace the “food vs fuel” debate, noting that “the paper industry (especially those companies which do not own forestry assets) will likely be hurt by rising pulp prices, like Mexicans who found they could not buy tortillas…This line of reasoning might also give you pause if you’re considering warming your home with a wood pellet stove. The advent of biofuels from wood chips will mean that the price of your wood pellets will start to track the price of petroleum, just like the price of vegetable oils are already doing. From an economic perspective, heating with wood pellets may become not much different than using heating oil.”
Konrad looks at the potential for algae to change the equation, but from an investment perspective cautioned that “the rigors of being a public company are not the best environment in which to develop an emerging technology. Algae could well be a monumental success story, but that does not mean that any of these three companies will participate in that success.”
Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter
Subscribe FREE to the world's most-widely read biofuels daily. Enter your email in the box below,
Related Stories
Hot Topics
The Hottest 50 Companies in Bioenergy
Latest algae-to-energy news
Latest jatropha news
Latest Waste-to-energy news
Entry Information
Filed Under: Featured • Top Story
Comments: 2 | Post a Comment | Trackback URL
Post a Comment | Trackback URL
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Joelle Brink | Jun 23, 2009 | Reply
Rather than looking at this feedstock and that technology for salvation, I wish we would take a systems approach to biofuels and build on the possible efficiencies, and synergies with other industries, especially with regard to resource conservation.
Most new technologies and start-ups fail, often because those involved ignored the wider context of their efforts. Some of factors we’re ignoring now include the decline in demand caused by the global recession, the unlikelihood of rapid recovery in the US due to foreign debt, the growth of the global energy conservation and environnmental movements, the end of the US domestic auto industry, the advent of small alternative fuel vehicles from other countries, sold through US and foreign brands, and reinvestment in sustainable public transportation.
jimleman | Jun 23, 2009 | Reply
Biofuels, biochemicals and energy from forest biomass through the black liquor gasification biorefinery route eliminate the food or fuel debate and provide greenhouse gas benefits, carbon neutrality and better forest management – thinning, harvesting, better rotation, etc — yield healthier forests providing increased carbon reduction, less wildfire risk, better animal habitat and improved watersheds. This fuels-from-the-forest technology is proven and nearing commercial scale capacity. USDA and DOE say the US can realistically displace 30% of our current petroleum consumption with forestry biomass. Renewable fuels, bioproducts and power from renewable feedstocks that are NOT foodstock based.