Bio Architecture Lab to develop seaweed ethanol project to replace 5 percent of Chilean gasoline usage

In Chile, Bio Architecture Lab, which this week was profiled in the Digest for its innovative work with macroalgae and a research partnership with DuPont to develop seaweed as a biobutaol feedstock, has founded BAL Chile, and will develop a 240-acre pilot seaweed farm on the island of Chiloé. The $5 million project will include a pilot ethanol production facility that will be located in Los Lagos.  BAL has developed microorganisms that ferment the algae into ethanol — and has partnered with local Chilean companies and universities on the project.

The project is expected to increase to a 24,000 acre harvest area spanning the entire coastline of the country, that will produce enough ethanol to replace 5 percent of Chilean gasoline consumption.

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