PNNL researchers seek to produce fuel for remote Alaskan communities from kelp

In Alaska, kelp is plentiful in remote, coastal Alaska. Fuel is not. And it’s expensive. Many isolated communities rely on diesel generators for energy because they are not connected to pipelines or the electrical grid. But diesel is expensive since it must be barged or flown in.

In search of a cheaper, sustainable fuel, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) turned to two plentiful marine resources in Alaska: kelp and fish processing waste.

The results are a first step toward understanding whether producing biofuel from kelp and fish waste is an economically viable option. This research was supported by EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and the Water Power Technologies Office.